A beloved prosecutor in the small town of Kaufman, Texas, Mark Hasse, was gunned down in broad daylight right outside the court house in January 2013. Two months later, Assistant District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia were slayed in their Kaufman County home. Speculation about drug cartels and violent gangs seeking revenge followed the murders. The connected killings gained national attention on the rumor that the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang was responsible. It was not.
A former Texas justice of the peace, Eric Williams, whose theft case had been prosecuted by the prosecutors/victims, was found guilty of the three murders and sentenced to death. His wife, Kim Williams, is being tried separately. She has confessed to being the getaway driver in the Hasse killing and to taking part in the slayings of the McLellands. Dateline NBC will broadcast a two-hour special about the victims and the murders on Friday, February 27 at 9pm.
