This is a fascinating tale and the latest news coming from Texas about alleged serial killer Billy Chemirmir’s horrific crime spree (and one the corporate media has successfully blocked from widespread distribution).
Imagine for a minute if a white man had been smothering vulnerable senior citizens (18 at least!) and stealing their jewelry and other valuables. Imagine if the victims were people of color—it would be front page news every day all day!
See my extensive coverage of the unspeakable horror story here.
Now this from the Dallas Morning News (kudos to them for never quitting on a story that goes against the prevailing media narrative that only black lives matter).
This Plano woman survived an attack and led police to serial-murder suspect Billy Chemirmir
The family of Mary Bartel, who died in February of last year, has published a book about her life, publicly acknowledging for the first time her role in cracking the case.
Seven of Mary Bartel’s neighbors had been found dead by the time the stranger knocked on her door.
Jewelry and other valuables were missing from their apartments at Preston Place Retirement Community in Plano, but police and paramedics said their deaths must have been from natural causes, like heart attacks.
And though a stranger had been spotted on the property and fliers were posted warning residents about him, no one suspected he was robbing and killing the women until he visited Bartel.
Billy Chemirmir, 48, was arrested the next day, accused of forcing his way into her apartment, trying to smother her with a pillow and stealing her jewelry. He has since been charged with 18 counts of capital murder in Dallas and Collin counties.
Police have long said a woman who survived an attack in Plano helped lead them to Chemirmir, but they hadn’t identified her publicly, though Bartel’s name appears in court documents identifying her as the surviving victim.
Saved is the story of Mary Annis Bartel, a 91-year-old widow and retired schoolteacher living in an independent living retirement community in Plano, Texas. When perhaps the most prolific serial killer of modern times targeted Mrs. Bartel as his next victim, an unexpected outcome caused a remarkable series of events.
The first paragraphs of the linked article:
[Seven of Mary Bartel’s neighbors had been found dead by the time the stranger knocked on her door.
Jewelry and other valuables were missing from their apartments at Preston Place Retirement Community in Plano, but police and paramedics said their deaths must have been from natural causes, like heart attacks.]
Like most people I don’t have much contact with cops; but I used to watch TV, and got the same impression most people do: they’re dedicated, smart, and always catch the bad guy (whereas in reality a great many are 9 to 5 boobs).
So I found this story of gruesome murder and police/medical examiner incompetence hard to believe — I emailed the reporter, and he replied:
[… in all but one of the two dozen of the deaths linked to Chemirmir, natural causes were blamed despite missing valuables. Autopsies were performed in many of the cases, and were also ruled as heart attacks or other natural causes. It was only after Chemirmir’s arrest that authorities began re-investigating the cases as possible homicides.]
Got that? — a series of deaths that any idiot would find suspicious — *missing valuables in each case* — despite autopsies (what were the findings?) all the deaths ruled to be from natural causes.
The racial facts don’t fit the narrative, which is no doubt why this story has not gotten much national attention — given how it lays bare gross incompetence of authorities, I’m a little surprised it seems to have gotten such good local coverage.
>kudos to them for never quitting on a story that goes against the prevailing media narrative
Yes.
Personally I think the later victims ought to sue — and obviously there should be consequences for the cops and coroner(s) who screwed up so badly.
I have written many many posts on this story. Check them out by following my tag for ‘Billy Chemirmir’ there are many lawsuits in the works mostly aimed at the senior living facilities where security was completely lacking for these women (and one man). No doubt the investigators and medical examiners failed miserably.
They are not even going to seek the death penalty for this thing.
Yes, I know, at least in Dallas. I haven’t heard if the other case being prosecuted in another county will ask for the death penalty.