Billy Chemirmir: Man accused of murdering 22 women is killed by his cellmate

Published

8 months ago

September 20, 2023

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A man accused of killing 22 older women has been fatally attacked by his cellmate in a Texas prison.

Billy Chemirmir, 50, was found dead in his cell after being targeted by another inmate serving a sentence for murder, but officials have not confirmed how it happened.

Last year, Chemirmir was convicted of murdering two women, but he was also linked to the deaths of 20 others.

According to prosecutors, he targeted older women in the Dallas area for two years – killing them and stealing their valuables.

Despite bereaved relatives raising concerns about missing jewellery, many of the deaths were initially recorded as being down to natural causes. This confused families even further, as many of the victims were still healthy and active.

Chemirmir was caught after a 91-year-old woman survived an attack in 2018 – telling officers a man had forced his way into her apartment at a retirement home, tried to smother her with a pillow, and took her jewellery.

Officers found him the following day in a car park holding jewellery and cash. He had just thrown away a jewellery box, with documents inside leading detectives to the home of an 81-year-old woman found dead in her bedroom.

After his arrest, police across the area reexamined deaths and the charges against him grew.

Following his conviction, a woman gave an impact statement where she showed two pictures of her mother – one where she was alive, and another after she was killed.

“This is my beautiful mother,” Ellen French House said as she displayed the first photo. “This is my mother after you pried her wedding ring off of her finger that she couldn’t even get off.”

Chemirmir had maintained his innocence and was serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole.

An investigation has been launched into his death.

Families of those Chemirmir was charged with killing expressed shock and relief at the news of his death.

Shannon Dion, whose 92-year-old mother Doris Gleason was one of his alleged victims, said: “My mother died in fear. This man did not have a peaceful passing. There’s some relief in feeling that he didn’t get off easily.”

US

Michael Cohen tells trial he lied and bullied for ex-president and was ‘knee deep’ in Trump ‘cult’

Published

8 hours ago

May 15, 2024

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Michael Cohen tells trial he lied and bullied for ex-president and was 'knee deep' in Trump 'cult'

Michael Cohen said he had been “knee deep into the cult of Donald Trump” as he testified for a second day in the ex-president’s trial.

As Trump‘s defence tried to paint the former lawyer and ‘fixer’ as a bitter and fame-hungry former acolyte, he denied being obsessed by his former boss but said he had once “admired him tremendously”.

He is testifying in the case about hush money payments to ex-porn star Stormy Daniels in an attempt to cover up an alleged sexual encounter in 2006.

Trump trial – Day 17 as it happened

Such payouts aren’t illegal, but Trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide it – a claim he denies.

He told the court on Tuesday that loyalty was the reason he kept lying about the payment when it came out in the media.

In 2016 he described Trump as kind, humble, honest and genuine.

The defence asked whether he had believed what he was saying.

“At the time, I was knee-deep into the cult of Donald Trump,” he responded, adding: “I was not lying, no, that’s how I felt.”

Mr Cohen admitted he “missed Trump” at times after he became president.

They have also pointed to hundreds of media appearances, podcasts and interviews in which the disgraced lawyer has mentioned him.

His credibility was under attack as Mr Cohen has previously admitted lying under oath.

The 57-year-old was jailed after pleading guilty in 2018 to charges relating to the hush money payment and other unrelated offences.

He said that after a FBI raid on his home the same year, Trump had messaged him: “I am the president of the United States, everything is going to be okay, stay tough”.

Donald Trump denies the liaison with Stormy Daniels and says Mr Cohen acted on his own initiative when he made the payment.

The former lawyer denied that claim in earlier evidence, saying “everything required Trump’s sign-off”.

‘I violated my moral compass’

Mr Cohen – who once said he would take a bullet for his boss – admitted at the end of questioning on Tuesday that he “violated my moral compass” while working for Donald Trump.

“I regret doing things for him that I should not have,” he told the New York court. “Lying, bullying people in order to effectuate the goal.

“I don’t regret working for the Trump Organisation – as I expressed before, [those were] some very interesting, great times,” he added.

“But to keep the loyalty and to do things that he had asked me to do, I violated my moral compass, and I suffered the penalty, as did my family. That is my failure.”

On Monday, the court heard him testify about setting up a shell company to make the $130,000 hush money out of his own money.

Prosecutors say Trump later paid the money back and covered it up by recording it as a legal retainer fee.

He faces 34 counts of falsifying business records over the claims.

Trump – who will take on Joe Biden in his bid to become president again in November – is unlikely to face a custodial sentence if found guilty.

His other cases are potentially more damaging but mired in delays.

They concern allegations of keeping stacks of secret documents after leaving office and trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. He denies the claims.

US

Eight dead and 40 taken to hospital after bus carrying farm workers involved in Florida collision

Published

16 hours ago

May 14, 2024

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Eight dead and 40 taken to hospital after bus carrying farm workers involved in Florida collision

Eight people have died and another eight were critically injured after a bus carrying farm workers crashed and overturned in Florida.

The bus was transporting 53 workers when it collided with a pickup truck in Marion County, north of Orlando, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) said.

The bus then swerved off State Road 40 – a hilly two-lane road that goes through farms – and crashed through a fence, before overturning, authorities said.

The incident took place at 6.35am local time on Tuesday and it is unclear why the two vehicles crashed.

A total of 40 people needed hospital treatment – eight of whom are in a critical condition, the Marion County Fire Rescue confirmed to NBC News.

The driver of the truck was also taken to hospital and more than 30 ambulances attended the scene, NBC News added.

Lieutenant Pat Riordan, from the FHP, told reporters some of those injured are “in very serious condition” and there’s a “high probability” the number of dead could rise.

“At this point, we are conducting a massive traffic homicide investigation,” he said.

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Torrential rain and thunderstorms have hit some US regions in recent days – including Marion County – and authorities will be investigating if the weather contributed to the collision.

Photographs from the scene show the bus on its side, with both its rear emergency door and top hatch open.

The farm workers were being transported to Cannon Farms in Dunnellon, where watermelon harvesting has been taking place.

Following the crash, a post on the farm’s social media account said it will “be closed today out of respect to the losses and injuries endured early this morning”.

“Please pray with us for the families and the loved ones involved in this tragic accident,” the post continued. “We appreciate your understanding at this difficult time.”

Cannon Farms is a family-owned business that has been operational for more than 100 years, according to its website.

They now focus on peanuts and watermelons, which they supply to grocery stores across the US and Canada.

The vehicle transporting the workers was a 2010 International Bus and the pickup truck was a 2001 Ford Ranger, authorities said.

US

Donald Trump ‘not thinking about Melania’ when he paid off Stormy Daniels, says ex-lawyer Michael Cohen

Published

1 day ago

May 14, 2024

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Donald Trump 'not thinking about Melania' when he paid off Stormy Daniels, says ex-lawyer Michael Cohen

Donald Trump “wasn’t thinking about (his wife) Melania” when he paid off a former porn star, his former lawyer has testified.

Michael Cohen told a court Mr Trump personally approved $130,000 in hush money to Stormy Daniels over an alleged 2006 sexual encounter.

The payout isn’t illegal, but Mr Trump is accused of falsifying records to hide it – a claim he denies.

On Monday, his trial in New York heard from Mr Cohen, once a lawyer and self-described “fixer” for the ex-president.

Mr Trump’s lawyers have painted the hush money as an attempt to protect his wife from rumours and upset.

However, Mr Cohen said his boss was purely concerned with keeping the claims quiet as he ran for the presidency.

“He wasn’t thinking about Melania. This was all about the campaign,” he said, prompting Mr Trump to shake his head in response.

Mr Cohen told the court he’d heard Stormy Daniels was considering selling her story and he told his boss swift action was required.

Mr Trump denies the affair and his lawyers say Mr Cohen acted on his own – a claim he denied in court.

He told jurors in Manhattan that “everything required Mr Trump’s sign-off” and he was ordered to “just do it”.

Mr Cohen said he stumped up the $130,000 himself after Mr Trump told him he would pay him back.

He said he set up a shell company – listed as a “real estate consulting company” – to make the payment.

Prosecutors say Mr Trump later paid the money back and covered it up by recording it as a legal retainer fee.

He faces 34 counts of falsifying business records over the claims.

The court also heard a recording of a conversation between Mr Trump and Mr Cohen over hush money said to have been paid to another woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who he also allegedly had an affair with.

Mr Cohen suggests in the recording setting up another company to repay David Pecker – who said he provided the $150,000 to cover up the story.

The former National Enquirer boss previously testified he bought the story to keep it hidden and eventually decided against seeking reimbursement.

Later in the recording, Mr Trump can be heard suggesting the $150,000 might be better off being paid in cash.

Mr Cohen told the court this was to “avoid any type of paper transaction”.

The 57-year-old – who once said he would take a bullet for Mr Trump – worked for him for nearly a decade.

He pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance law in 2018 over the Stormy Daniels payment and was jailed, but at the time prosecutors did not bring charges against Mr Trump.

Mr Cohen’s credibility is in the sights of defence lawyers as he has previously admitted lying under oath.

Mr Trump – who will take on Joe Biden in his bid to become president again in November – is unlikely to face a custodial sentence if found guilty.

His other cases are potentially more damaging but mired in delays.

They concern allegations of keeping stacks of secret documents after leaving office and trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. He denies the claims.