Billy Chemirmir was convicted in the slayings of two elderly women at high-end Texas retirement homes and was later indicted for the killings of 20 more victims. He used his work as a caregiver to target elderly women in the Dallas area, gaining access to their homes by posing as a maintenance person or medical professional. Chemirmir would then smother these women, leaving little evidence of foul play. Due to the women’s ages, their deaths were often attributed to natural causes, allowing Chemirmir to evade suspicion for some time.
The daughter of one of Chemirmir’s victims, Marilyn Cardillo Bixler, had initially not suspected foul play in her mother’s death. However, Cheryl Pangburn found it suspicious that her mother’s glasses were across the room from her body and her hair appeared unkempt. Similarly, Shannon Dion was concerned when her mother’s jewelry and wallet were missing after her death, leading to suspicions that she had been robbed. Chemirmir was eventually identified as a suspect after a 91-year-old woman, Mary Bartel, survived his attempt to smother her, leading to his arrest and the recovery of stolen jewelry.
Survivor Mary Bartel testified at Chemirmir’s murder trial, recounting how he had tried to smother her with a pillow until she lost consciousness. While she survived the attack, several pieces of jewelry were missing from her home after the incident. Despite being convicted in multiple cases, Chemirmir maintained his innocence in interviews with the media, asserting that he was wrongly accused and did not belong in prison. Following his conviction for the murders of Lu Thi Harris and Mary Brooks, Chemirmir was sentenced to life in prison at the Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony, Texas.
Despite being spared the death penalty in Dallas County, families of Chemirmir’s alleged victims were hopeful that Collin County would pursue capital punishment. However, in September 2023, Chemirmir was killed by his cellmate Wyatt Busby, who was serving a 50-year sentence for another murder. The attack reportedly took place after Chemirmir made inappropriate sexual comments about Busby’s children, prompting swift retaliation. The families of Chemirmir’s victims were left devastated but found some sense of closure knowing that he would no longer harm anyone else. The case of the suspected serial killer Billy Chemirmir highlighted the vulnerabilities of elderly individuals and the importance of ensuring their safety and protection.
