A Dallas County Grand Jury handed down an additional six indictments of capital murder against Billy Chemirmir – a man accused of posing as a home health care worker or maintenance worker to gain access to elderly victims in Collin and Dallas counties. He’s accused of strangling or smothering the victims to rob them of jewelry, cash and other valuables.
Court records identify the victims as Norma French, Phoebe Perry, Phyllis Payne, Rosemary Curtis, Mary Brooks and Doris Gleason. The women died in 2016 and 2018.
Richard Arnold, attorney for Gleason's daughter, says Gleason was smoothered inside her apartment at a senior living facility in Dallas.
"She had immediate suspicions something wasn't right," said Arnold. "There was a particular piece of jewelry her mother always wore that was missing."
It was a gold necklace Gleason never took off. It was gone, along with some cash and other jewelry - according to Arnold.
This week, Plano Police anticipated five additional capital murder charges on top of the seven total capital murder charges in Dallas County.
Chemirmir was previously indicted on a capital murder for the death of a 91-year-old Dallas woman named Lu Thi Harris who died March 20, 2018.
A Collin County grand jury also indicted Chemirmir on two counts of attempted capital murder. The victims, one in Plano and another in Frisco, survived the attacks.
Last year, Dallas Police said a string of attacks prompted the department to review 750 unattended death cases to look for similarities. Other local department also planned to review their cases.
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The investigation into Chemirmir began after Plano police said they identified Chemirmir as a suspect in the attack of a 91-year-old woman who was smothered and robbed inside her Plano apartment on March 19, 2018.
An arrest affidavit said Chemirmir forced his way into the woman's apartment and told her to, "go to bed, don't fight me." The victim lost consciousness but was later revived by Plano Fire Rescue and told investigators the person stole jewelry from her. Plano police said they identified Chemirmir as a suspect from a license plate at the complex.
Following up on that lead, investigators kept tabs on Chemirmir in Dallas on March 20, 2018 when they watched him throw a jewelry box in a trash bin. Police retrieved the box and found a name inside. Investigators connected the name to Harris, where officers found the woman dead.
In Frisco, police said Chemirmir posed as a maintenance worker in October 2017 and forced his way into the home of a 93-year-old woman living at Parkview Elderly Assisted Living in Frisco.
The victim told police she was smothered with a pillow and began praying because she thought she was going to die. The woman's attacker, police said, stole jewelry.
The Gleason family is now suing the facility where Gleason lived, believing the suspect got in while posing as a maintenance worker.
"We certainly think he should have been noticed on the day Doris Gleason was murdered," Arnold said.
Arnold says the family wants to see security increased at Gleason's former home and other similar facilities.
Tradition-Prestonwood in Dallas e-mailed a statement to NBC 5 on Wednesday.
“Each of our residents is family to us. We are committed to cooperating with the authorities. It’s not appropriate to speculate on what legal proceedings may be underway. We can only stress that the safety of our residents is a top priority every day.”
