‘Pillowcase Murders’: What happened to suspected serial killer Billy Chemirmir?

Two years ago, Billy Chemirmir was convicted of murdering two elderly women in Texas and accused of killing nearly two dozen others. The chilling story lies at the center of Paramount+’s new true crime docuseries “The Pillowcase Murders,” which premiered May 14.

According to the Associated Press, Chemirmir was accused of preying on older women so he could steal their jewelry and other valuables. A 91-year-old woman’s survival of an attack in 2018 had led to Chemirmir’s arrest when she told police a man had forced his way into her apartment, tried to smother her, and taken her jewelry. Her report also led police to reexamine the deaths of older people across the Dallas area that had happened around that time.

What happened to Billy Chemirmir?

Chemirmir first faced a capital murder trial for the slaying of 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris, who was found dead in her bedroom with lipstick smeared on her pillow, but it ended in mistrial in 2021, NBC5 reported. He was later found guilty in 2022 of her murder in a retrial. That same year, he was convicted of a second killing in the death of Mary Brooks, 87, according to NBC5.

After he was convicted in those two cases, prosecutors chose not to seek the death penalty, according NBC5.

Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot spoke to The Dallas Morning News about the decision not to seek the death penalty, saying he considers how long it takes to execute a person and costs of appeals. He added that Chemirmir was “going to die in the penitentiary.”

According to the Associated Press, Chemirmir was found dead in September 2023 in his prison cell in East Texas, where he was serving a life sentence. Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Hannah Haney said that he was killed by his cellmate, who was also serving a life sentence for murder.

According to the Associated Press, Chemirmir’s lawyer, Phillip Hayes, said his death was “a horrible tragedy.”

“Nobody deserves to be killed at any point, especially when you are in a place you’re being held against your will,” Hayes said.

In October of that year, the Associated Press reported that the Office of the Inspector General had publicly identified Chemirmir’s alleged killer as Wyatt Busby and that he had been killed with a “knife/edged instrument.” It’s unclear if officials are seeking charges.

What did the alleged victims’ families say about Chemirmir’s death?

Chemirmir was convicted in the respective murders of Harris and Brooks, though he was charged with killing 22 women over a two-year span, NBC5 reported. In October 2022, prosecutors dismissed the remaining 20 cases, according to NBC5.

Some family members and relatives of Chemirmir’s alleged victims expressed both shock and relief at the news of his death.

“My first response was shock, chills running all over my body,” Loren Smith, the daughter of Phyllis Payne, told NBC5 of the moment she found out about Chemirmir’s death. Chemirmir was indicted on Payne’s 2016 death three years later, according to Dallas Morning News.

Grieving families of the alleged victims formed a nonprofit, Secure Our Seniors, to call for reform and new policies in independent living centers to better protect seniors.

“This was jailhouse justice,” Dan Probst, nephew of Catherine Sinclair, said about Chemirmir’s death, also according to NBC5. Chemirmir was accused of killing Sinclair, who lived in the same complex as Payne, CBS reported. “I don’t know if I’m happy or sad because there is still so much that our families have been through.”

“My mother died in fear,” Shannon Dion, whose mother was another of Chemirmir’s alleged victims, said at a news conference, according to the Associated Press. “This man did not have a peaceful passing. There’s some relief in feeling that he didn’t get off easily.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com