DISGRACED JUDGE PULLS TRIGGER IN EXECUTION MURDERS

Published: Jan. 12, 2024, 6:46 p.m.

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January 31, 2013, a 911 call comes in: the caller tells the operator that a man has been shot.

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Around 9 a.m., five shots were fired and seconds later, 3 more shots were fired. Police arrived at the crime scene swiftly and find the chief assistant district attorney for the Kaufman County Criminal District Attorney\'s Office Mark Hasse bleeding. No traces were left at the crime scene, not even a bullet casing.

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The only evidence is eyewitnesses. One witness said the shooter was completely dressed in black, and after firing the shots, jumped into the back seat of the white sedan and disappeared. Another witness, \\xa0according to Medium.com, said he heard Hasse shouting loudly \\u201cNo, no, I\\u2019m sorry.\\u201d

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Hasse dies. Just two months after, Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse is gunned down.

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Kaufman County Criminal District Attorney Mike McLelland, and his wife, Cynthia McLelland, plan an Easter dinner for friends and family. Dallas police officer CJ Tomlinson is a family friend, and his mother is supposed to drop off vegetables for Cynthia McLelland to prepare for dinner. When she doesn\'t get the McLellands on the phone, she asks her son to check on the couple.

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Tomlinson and his stepfather go to the McLelland home. The front door is open and shell casings are on the entryway floor. Mike and Cynthia McLelland, both have been shot dead. One of the shots was directly into Cynthia McLelland\'s head. Tomlinson describes the scene as a "home invasion" style assault.

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Mark Hasse and Mark McLelland acted as prosecutors in former judge Eric Williams\' felony theft Case. That history put him on the police radar. When officers checked his internet search history, they found that Williams had been actively searching for information on Mark Hasse and Mike McLelland.

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Documents were found on a white sedan, issued in a false name, and the login and password for an account that had been leaving anonymous messages for police about the murders were found, but there was not enough evidence to charge him with the murders. \\xa0

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Then came a break. An acquaintance of Eric Williams\\u2019 says that he had been asked to rent a garage in his name. Police find the white sedan in the garage, as well as police uniforms, badges, \\xa0weapons, and even homemade napalm. \\xa0There were also more than 30 guns, \\xa0but there was no weapon matching the one that shot the victims.

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And there was still one question to be answered: If the suspect jumped into the back seat to speed away from the crime scene, who was driving?

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Kim Williams was driving. She was Eric Williams\' wife. She confesses to the police. The pair are convicted. Eric Williams gets the death penalty, which he has appealed repeatedly.\\xa0

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Joining Nancy Grace Today:

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  • Judge Erleigh Wiley -\\xa0 Kaufman County Criminal District Attorney (name appeared on Eric Williams\' \'hit list\');\\xa0 Author of, \\u201cTarget on My Back: A Prosecutor\\u2019s Terrifying Tale of Life on a Hit List\\u201d\\xa0\\xa0
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  • Alan Bennett\\xa0\\u2013 Former Assistant District Attorney; Partner at Gunter, Bennett, and Anthes
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  • Caryn L. Stark\\xa0\\u2013 NYC Psychologist, Trauma and Crime Expert; Twitter: @carynpsych, Facebook: \\u201cCaryn Stark\\u201d
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  • Fil Waters\\xa0\\u2013 Former Homicide Detective for the Houston Police Department, President & CEO of Kindred Spirits Investigations & Security, Inc.
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  • Dr. Michelle Dupre\\xa0\\u2013 Forensic Pathologist and former Medical Examiner, Author: \\u201cHomicide Investigation Field Guide\\u201d & \\u201cInvestigating Child Abuse Field Guide\\u201d, Ret. Police Detective Lexington County Sheriff\\u2019s Department
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  • Hayden Sparks - Senior Reporter for The Texan; X: @HaydenJSparks & @TheTexanNews\\xa0
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