'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
It's been nearly a decade since the brutal Kaufman County murders, including the killings of District Attorney Michael McLelland, his wife Cynthia, and his top associate Mark Hasse, who was shot dead in public in broad daylight on January 31, 2013. The McLellands were riddled with bullets inside their suburban home, with surveillance footage showing the shooter firing at least 20 rounds at them.
An investigation led authorities to former Justice of the Peace Eric Williams and his wife Kim, who reportedly carried out the murders seeking revenge for a 2012 theft and burglary prosecution by McLelland and Hasse that resulted in Williams losing his position and legal license. His wife would later testify that they planned on killing others involved in his prosecution but were arrested before that.
Both Eric and Kim were found guilty, and while the latter's testimony helped send her husband to death row, she pleaded guilty to acting as an accomplice and was given a 40-year sentence with the possibility of parole. Williams was compared to other notorious killers due to the intensity of his crimes, leading to one of the most high-profile cases Texas has ever seen.
A thorough revenge plan and four other key facts about the Kaufman County murders
1) Former justice Eric Williams executed the Kaufman County murders for revenge
About a year before the murders, Eric Williams, who was then a Justice of the Peace in Kaufman County, was prosecuted in a theft and burglary case for reportedly stealing computer monitors and other items from a county building. Mark Hasse and Michael McLelland were the prosecutors in the case. The conviction cost him his position and legal license.
Eric was so furious at the time that he sought revenge and plotted the murders of all those involved, including Hasse and McLelland. His wife, Kim, would later testify to this during his trial for the Kaufman County murders.
2) Mark Hasse was shot in broad daylight in public
A masked shooter shot and killed Mark Hasse, the associate district attorney for Kaufman County, on January 31, 2013.
Hasse was reportedly walking through the 100th block of East Grove Street in Kaufman, Texas, heading towards the courthouse from the parking lot when the gunman, clothed entirely in black, fired shots. After the shooting, the masked man drove off in a getaway car.
3) Michael McLelland and his wife Cynthia were murdered two months after Hasse's death
On March 30, 2013, Kaufman County District Attorney Michael McLelland and his wife Cynthia were found shot to death in their suburban home. The killings occurred two months after Mark Hasse's shooting while investigators were still looking into the case and trying to find the perpetrator.
Kim Williams testified that Eric knocked on the couple's door that morning while wearing an all-black outfit and a bulletproof vest carrying the letters "sheriff" on it. CCTV footage showed that Eric Williams was only there for less than two minutes, yet he shot at least 20 rounds.
4) The couple planned on killing two more individuals but were arrested before that
Eric and Kim Williams' revenge plot, which led to the horrific Kaufman County murders, included two other names on the list - one was former state District Judge Glen Ashworth, and the other was Kaufman County District Attorney Erleigh Wiley, who was being considered to succeed Michael McLelland as a judge. But before they could commit the killings, the couple was arrested.
5) Kim Williams' testimony helped prosecutors send Eric to death row
Kim and Eric were both charged with capital murder in the Kaufman County murders. Although the former had no plea deal with prosecutors, she willingly testified to her husband's crimes and her involvement in the murders as an accomplice - the getaway driver. She claimed she helped him in planning and executing the three murders.
Eric Williams reportedly killed Cynthia McMelland, who had no connection to his previous conviction, because she witnessed the murder of her husband. Kim also stated that she helped her husband dispose of the weapons used in the McLelland killings. Due to Kim Williams' testimony, prosecutors were able to send Eric to death row and offered her a 40-year sentence as part of a plea deal.
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered discusses more on the Kaufman County murders.
