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Mark Hasse, a 57-year-old prosecutor from the Kaufman County District Attorney's Office, was shot and killed on January 31, 2013. The prosecutor was walking to the courthouse at around 8:30 am when a masked man shot him multiple times.
In the initial days of the investigation, detectives looked into the involvement of a gang in the shooting of Hasse as he prosecuted several high-profile cases. However, further investigation revealed that Mark Hasse's murder was the beginning of a chain of events that uncovered a hidden conspiracy.
The case of Mark Hasse's death and what led to it was covered in episode 2 of season 2 of Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler. The episode, which aired on February 1, 2025, looked at why Mark was killed and the deeper conspiracy behind it.
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The murder of Mark Hasse
According to Oxygen, 57-year-old prosecutor Mark Hasse parked his vehicle close to the Kaufman County Courthouse on January 31, 2013, at around 8:30 am. As he walked towards his workplace, he was shot multiple times by a masked man. Witnesses on the scene described the attack as brutal and noted that the shooter was wearing dark clothes.
The episode description stated that the masked man attacked the prosecutor and fired several shots before running away. The investigation into the murder was conducted by several law enforcement agencies including the local police and the federal authorities. A massive investigation was launched into the murder of the prosecutor.
The investigation and the key suspect
Investigators initially suspected that Hasse's death was gang-related since he had prosecuted multiple cases against various organized crime groups. However, they found no evidence that linked Mark Hasse with any gang or organized crime group.
Things took a turn for the investigation when two months later, on March 30, 2013, a Kaufman County District Attorney, Mike McLelland, and his wife Cynthia were killed in their house.
The second attack raised suspicions that public officials were being targeted. The authorities' attention shifted to Eric Williams, a former Kaufman County Justice of Peace.
Williams had been convicted of theft by Hasse and McLelland, which led to him being removed from office and stripped of his law license. As they looked into Williams and his involvement, they discovered weapons and a getaway vehicle in a rented untied, connecting him to both the crimes.
The trial and sentencing of Eric Williams
Former Kaufman County Justice of Peace, Eric Williams was tried and convicted of both murders in December 2014. The evidence investigators found included ballistics reports, video footage, and other testimony pointing fingers at him in connection with the crimes.
Williams was sentenced to death for murdering Cynthia McLelland, leading to prosecutors deciding not to pursue separate cases against him for the murders of Mark Hasse and Mike McLelland.
Mark Hasse and Mike and Cynthia McLelland's murders were a planned attack by Eric Williams, a former official with a personal vendetta. What initially seemed like a gang-related attack turned out to be a revenge-driven crime against those who had prosecuted him.
The case of Hasse's murder was depicted in Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler on Oxygen.
