Mistrial declared in Texas murder case

Defendant faces 18 slaying charges

DALLAS — A Texas judge declared a mistrial Friday in the first murder case against a man charged with killing 18 older women inthe Dallas area over a twoyear span, and a defense attorney said he expects his client will be retried.

Judge Raquel Jones issued the ruling when a jury deadlocked after deliberating since Thursday afternoon in the capital murder case charging Billy Chemirmir with the death of 81year-oldLu Thi Harris.

The mistrial raises questions about how prosecutors will proceed with the cases against Mr. Chemirmir, who authorities have accused of being a prolific killer preying on the elderly. The Dallas County district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a requestfor comment.

In a series of notes to the court Friday, the 12 jurors said they were “hopelessly deadlocked 11 to one” over the case. It was not clear what verdict the majority of jurors supported. Judge Jones initially resisted declaring a mistrial, repeatedly ordering the jury to continue de liberation.

After the decision, family of the women Mr. Chemirmir is accused of killing spoke outside the courtroom, which they’d been prohibited from entering during the trial as a COVID19 precaution. They expressed frustration with the mistrial, anger with the juror they saw as a holdout against conviction and hope for a different outcome in another case against Mr. Chemirmir.

Mr. Chemirmir’s attorneys rested their case without calling any witnesses or presenting evidence, and the 48-year-old didn’t testify. They dismissed the evidence against their client as “quantity over quality” and asserted that prosecutors had not proved Mr. Chemirmir’s guilt beyond a reasonabledoubt.

Following the mistrial, defense attorney Kobby Warren said he expects prosecutors to retry the case, dismissed the idea of it being derailed by a “rogue juror” and said his client maintainshis innocence.