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Eric Williams, an ex-justice of the peace of Kaufman County, Texas, is facing the death sentence as he plotted to commit murders within the county community in 2013. Once a public official, Williams turned into a cold-blooded killer, seeking revenge against those he believed had wronged him.
He was convicted of murdering Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland, his wife Cynthia McLelland, and Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse. Currently, Eric Williams is at Allan B. Polunsky Unit in a maximum security prison.
The case of Mark Hasse will be covered in episode 2 of season 2 of Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler. The episode will air on February 1, 2025 on Oxygen.
Crimes and Arrest of Eric Williams
According to Oxygen, the events that led to the arrest of Eric Williams started on January 31, 2013, when Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was shot dead outside the Kaufman County Courthouse. The witnesses claimed two masked men left the scene in a car.
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Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were shot two months later on March 30, 2013. Their bodies were found inside their house.
During the investigation, law enforcement officials suspected Eric Williams of having possible motives for killing the three victims.
In 2012, Mike McLelland and his assistant Mark Hasse prosecuted Williams for stealing county computer equipment. As a result, Williams was then removed from office as a justice of the peace. Since he was prosecuted by both Hasse and McLelland, authorities believed that it led him to seek revenge.
According to Oxygen, suspicion deepened when police discovered an anonymous email threatening further attacks, which they traced back to Williams. After a long investigation, law enforcement arrested him on April 17, 2013.
Conviction and Sentencing
According to Oxygen, on April 18, 2013, Williams was charged with three counts of capital murder.
The prosecutors reportedly disclosed that Williams had guns and masks and had planned the killings. A search in a storage unit associated with Williams led to the recovery of guns and a getaway car among other incriminating items.
The prosecution insisted that Williams sought revenge for his theft prosecution and dismissal from his job. In December 2014, he was found guilty by the jury on capital murder charges and given a death sentence.
His wife, Kim Williams, testified against him saying she had helped plan and carry out the killings. In exchange for her testimony, she received a 40-year prison sentence.
Where Is Eric Williams today?
According to Oxygen, Eric Williams is still on death row in Texas. He is at Allan B. Polunsky Unit in a maximum security prison, with Texas death row inmates. Kim Williams is also serving her term at the Christina Melton Crain Unit in Gatesville, Texas.
For more details on the case, watch Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler on February 1, 2025, on Oxygen.
