A former North Texas public official is facing a death sentence after being convicted of capital murder Thursday in a revenge plot against a local district attorney, his wife and a top assistant.
Jurors found Eric Williams guilty Thursday of the murder of Cynthia McLelland, the wife of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland after one hour and 40 minutes of deliberation. Williams has been charged with the deaths of both McLellands and prosecutor Mark Hasse. The trial on the wife's death was the first of three cases being heard separately.
Williams is a former justice of the peace who lost his job and law license after McLelland and Hasse prosecuted him for stealing three computer monitors from a county government building.
Sentencing is expected to begin at 8:45 a.m. Monday, and Williams faces the death penalty.
The state and defense both rested their cases Wednesday after prosecutors presented strong evidence against Williams for three consecutive days.
During closing remarks, former Dallas Assistant District Attorney Toby Shook opened for the state and said the McLellands were murdered after the defendant broke into their home as "a ruthless killing machine" and opened fire on the couple, shooting them multiple times.
Shook said the defendant, before leaving the McLellands' home, shot Cynthia once more, in the head, to be sure she was dead.
U.S. & World
The prosecution added that there was evidence the murders were premeditated and that Williams had a storage room reserved under a pseudonym, bought a car under a fake name and that he went to the McLellands' home wearing a sheriff's emblem on his vest.
Bill Wirskye, one of the special prosecutors appointed to the case, told jurors during opening statements that they had an "airtight case" before them.
“Do not be fooled by the normalcy of this man. Understand what lies inside,” he said. “It’s not fantasy. Sometimes people that look like that do horrible things.”
During the trial the defense cross examined some state witnesses but called none of their own while Williams declined the right to speak in his own defense.
Williams' defense lawyer, Matt Seymour, said during closing arguments that there is no proof that Williams is the killer, there is no proof that he was at the McLellands' home and that their client is innocent. He added that there is reasonable doubt and that the facts presented do not prove the prosecution's case.
"It's a fantasy. It's a guess. There's no proof of it," defense attorney Matthew Seymour said in closing arguments.
After the guilty verdict was announced, Williams' brother-in-law, Zach Bellemare, said the defense team "was terrible."
Looking ahead to the sentencing, Williams' defense attorneys said they would call witnesses and present evidence during the next phase of the trial. Thursday morning, before closing arguments began, the defense asked for a mistrial after the names of jurors were published on the Internet; that request was denied.
Williams' wife, Kim, has been indicted for capital murder, though her attorney has said she is cooperating with prosecutors. She is accused of having driven the getaway vehicle after Hasse's killing.
NBC 5 reporter Ken Kalthoff is tweeting during the trial. Keep up with the latest updates below.
The Associated Press' Emily Schmall contributed to this report.
