Photos: Kaufman County Sheriff's Office
Texas couple arrested in connection with the murder of three victims including two Kauffman County prosecutors.
By H. Nelson Goodson
April 17, 2013
Kaufman, Texas - On Wednesday, Kim Lene Williams, 46, was taken into custody around 3:00 a.m. and charged with one felony count of capital murder in connection with the deaths of Mike McLelland, 63, Cynthia Woodward McLelland, 65, and Mark Hasse, 57. She admitted to Texas authorities that both her and her husband, Eric Williams, 46, were involved in the homicides. Her husband was taken into custody on Saturday and charged with one felony count for making a terrorist threat by e-mail, which an e-mail was traced back to him. But, Eric hasn't been charged for any homicide as of yet. A $3 million dollar bond was set for Eric and a $10 million dollar bond was set for Kim, according to Lt. Justin Lewis, spokesman for the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office. Both of the suspects remained at the county jail.
Authorities with warrants have confiscated 20 weapons and are being test for ballistic evidence in the homicides. A Crown Victoria vehicle stored and registered in a different name was also seized for evidence. The day the McLelland's were killed, a neighboring home with surveillance camera captured images of a similar vehicle in the area.
Court documents show, that both Kaufman County prosecutor, McLelland and assistant prosecutor Hasse had prosecuted Eric last year for stealing three computer monitors from the county. Eric was eventually convicted in the case and got probation. He subsequently lost his job as justice of the peace and his law license as an attorney was revoked.
Both McLelland and Hasse believed Eric was a threat and began carrying handguns for self-defense, according to authorities.
The bodies of both Mike McLelland, and his wife, Cynthia were discovered at their home on March 30. Kaufman County procesutor McLelland was shot multiple times with an assault rifle and his wife once. Investigators at the crime scene found multiple spent casings inside the home and no signs of forced entry was determined, according to the investigation report.
On January 31, Kaufman County Assistant prosecutor Hasse was gundown after parking his vehicle in the court annex parking lot and walked to the courthouse.
