Kaufman County DA Murder Trial Starts Today

By Stephen Young Mon., Dec. 1 2014 at 11:02 AM

Dallas Observer

Investigators leave Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland's house in 2013.

The trial of Eric Williams, the former justice of the peace accused of killing the Kaufman County district attorney, the district attorney's wife and one of the district attorney's top assistants started Monday morning.

The trial is being held at the Rockwall County Courthouse, the venue to which it was assigned in January in order to give Williams the fairest trial possible.

Prosecutors believe that Williams, upset after being removed from his justice of the peace post for stealing county computer equipment, plotted to kill Mike McLelland, the district attorney, Cynthia McLelland and Mark Hasse, with help from Williams' then wife, Kim Williams.

So far Monday, jurors have been questioned as to whether they saw an episode of Criminal Minds that mentioned the killings -- all jurors said they hadn't -- and special prosecutor Bill Wirskye's opening statement.

Wirskye apologized to jurors that they would have to see the carnage wreaked upon the McLellands and Hasses and accused Williams of extensively planning and practicing for the killings. Wirskye also described a "treasure trove" of evidence discovered in a storage unit rented to Williams. Matthew Seymour, Williams attorney, declined to make an opening statement.

Cameras have been allowed in the courtroom for the duration of the trial. You can watch WFAA's feed here.

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everlastingphelps topcommenter

Remember when everyone here was convinced this was skinheads?

tdkisok

LMAO White people........

wcvemail topcommenter

First! and first to say that there will be no winners in this case, not even the DA's office if they secure a conviction, as they probably will. A man felt driven to kill because his life had been ruined by possibly over-zealous prosecution, and his wife felt compelled to participate in the killing because of her previous choice to marry that man. Multiple families are saddened. I have no snark.

JFPO

I don't remember, I must have been out that day. It's still a crazy white redneck, so what's your point?

dingo

@everlastingphelps

Going after high profile law enforcement officials is not conducive for successful drug distribution business models, at least not this far north of the Rio Grande. That initial theory didn't make much sense.

buckbucky

Myrna and mavdog are still looking for the kkk

ivyhall

@wcvemail Agree ---toxic small town politics+ grudges went nuclear.

buckbucky

Lol. Fuck your garbage culture criminal sympathizing.

everlastingphelps topcommenter

@JFPO Of course the bigots have to come out with the racism.

wcvemail topcommenter

@buckbucky

I'm sure that's the verb you used to react to your sixth-grade teacher's correction of your so-called language skills. Wasn't quite the same once they addled you with meds and put you in the special class, though, was it.

JFPO

Uhm, you brought it up with the veiled defense of skinheads. But I'm the "bigot." Lulz

leftocenter

@wcvemail

C'mon...you know better than to engage with fuckbucky...buttfucky...

Damn autocorrect...

everlastingphelps topcommenter

By that logic Myrna has been making a "veiled defense" of Ebola.

JFPO

@everlastingphelps Myrna didn't come in here whining about how we were unfairly picking on skinheads. That was you.

everlastingphelps topcommenter

@JFPO @everlastingphelps How the fuck did you get that out of 'remember when everyone here was wrong?'

JFPO

@everlastingphelps @JFPO "Remember when everyone here was convinced this was skinheads?"

How the fuck else does one take this statement? Own your shit, man.

everlastingphelps topcommenter

@JFPO @everlastingphelps Own it? Fuck you, OWN this:

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2013/04/this_is_the_home_where_kaufman.php

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2013/04/touching_eulogies_and_a_bomb_t.php

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2013/01/kaufman_county_officials_vow_t.php

JFPO

@everlastingphelps Own what? I've apparently touched a nerve. Your initial comment wasn't chiding commenters in the threads you linked for unfairly picking on skinheads? There must be some wisdom in that statement I'm obviously missing.

everlastingphelps topcommenter

@JFPO @everlastingphelps Your initial comment wasn't chiding commenters in the threads you linked for unfairly picking on skinheads?

No, it was chiding commenters in threads for unreasonably jumping on the"OMG SKINHEADS" theory floated (with zero evidence) by the investigators at the start.

Skinheads are your bogeyman because you hate white people. Skinheads aren't a boogeyman for me because they are just a bunch of half-educated meth heads, not a sophisticated crime syndicate.