Jury Selection to Begin in Kaufman County Murder Trials

The first evaluation of potential jurors for the trials of two people accused of killing three people in Kaufman County is scheduled for Friday.

Kim and Eric Williams have both been indicted on capital murder charges for their alleged involvement in the shooting deaths of Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse and District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia McLelland.

Hasse was gunned down walking near the courthouse in January 2013; McLelland and his wife were killed inside their home about two months later.

Eric Williams, a former Justice of the Peace for Kaufman County, will be tried in Rockwall for the murders of Hasse and the McLellands following a decision by a Kaufman County judge to attempt to give him a more fair trial.

Williams’ wife, Kim, has also been charged with capital murder in all three incident, s but no change of venue has been requested in her defense.

The jury selection process beginning on Friday is expected to take months.

According to a tentative schedule set by a judge during a late January hearing, March 28 will be the start of the search for a fair and impartial pool of jurors, however the court stated the "voir dire" process of jury selection wouldn't occur until May 5. By Aug. 15, court officials stated they should have a final jury panel selected.

A trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 20.

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