Billy Kipkorir Chemirmir, a man convicted of killing two people and accused of killing nearly two dozen others, has died in a Texas state prison.
Chemirmir was found dead in his cell on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, after being attacked by his cellmate.
Chemirmir was a Kenyan-born former healthcare worker who posed as a utility or maintenance worker to gain entry to senior living facilities and homes where he suffocated his victims with pillows.
Defendant Billy Chemirmir lowered his mask as a state's witness was asked to identify him during his murder trial at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas on Nov. 17, 2021. (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)
He was arrested in 2018 and charged with capital murder in the deaths of elderly women in Dallas and Collin counties.
In 2021, he was convicted of killing two women and sentenced to life in prison.
Chemirmir's death is being investigated as a homicide, and his cellmate has been identified as the suspect.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has not released the name of the cellmate or any details about the motive for the attack.
Chemirmir's case gained attention due to the large number of victims he was suspected of killing.
Defendant Billy Chemirmir listens to motions and language being discussed and sent to the jury in his capital murder trial at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Nov. 19, 2021. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool)
In addition to the 12 women he was charged with killing, he was also suspected of killing at least 10 others.
The TDCJ has not released any information about whether Chemirmir's death would affect the ongoing investigation into those cases.