joseephuss
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 28,041
- Reaction score
- 6,920
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/01/justice/texas-da-killed/index.html
Who's killing Texas prosecutors? Chilling mystery leaves county on edge
Kaufman County, Texas (CNN) -- Frayed nerves and a palpable tension cloak this quiet Texas county as half a dozen agencies hunt for the killer or killers apparently bent on taking out top criminal justice officials.
Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found dead in their house Saturday, two months after an assistant district attorney was gunned down in broad daylight outside the county courthouse.
The killings have residents and prosecutors in Kaufman County, about 50 miles east of Dallas, on edge -- and on guard.
"We are all on heightened alert. There's no question about that," county Judge Bruce Wood told CNN's "Starting Point" on Monday, a few hours before the county courthouse was scheduled to reopen under heavy security.
The district attorney's office, however, will remain closed Monday amid an intensive investigation and lingering questions over what's happening: Are the killings the work of a lone wolf or a gang? Are they retribution? Most troubling, will there be more?
Wood, who is not involved in the investigation and does not handle criminal cases in the county, earlier said he believes there is a "strong connection" between the McLellands' deaths and the slaying of Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse, who was killed January 31.
The two prosecutors "worked on similar cases very closely," he said.
"The folks who work in the courthouse, they've been through a lot," Wood said. "I've been trying to think of the right words to describe what we're going through. It's shock and disbelief."
Investigators at the McLellands' home recovered several shell casings from a .223-caliber rifle, a law enforcement source said Sunday.
Exactly who fired them, and why, remains uncertain.
Who's killing Texas prosecutors? Chilling mystery leaves county on edge
Kaufman County, Texas (CNN) -- Frayed nerves and a palpable tension cloak this quiet Texas county as half a dozen agencies hunt for the killer or killers apparently bent on taking out top criminal justice officials.
Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found dead in their house Saturday, two months after an assistant district attorney was gunned down in broad daylight outside the county courthouse.
The killings have residents and prosecutors in Kaufman County, about 50 miles east of Dallas, on edge -- and on guard.
"We are all on heightened alert. There's no question about that," county Judge Bruce Wood told CNN's "Starting Point" on Monday, a few hours before the county courthouse was scheduled to reopen under heavy security.
The district attorney's office, however, will remain closed Monday amid an intensive investigation and lingering questions over what's happening: Are the killings the work of a lone wolf or a gang? Are they retribution? Most troubling, will there be more?
Wood, who is not involved in the investigation and does not handle criminal cases in the county, earlier said he believes there is a "strong connection" between the McLellands' deaths and the slaying of Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse, who was killed January 31.
The two prosecutors "worked on similar cases very closely," he said.
"The folks who work in the courthouse, they've been through a lot," Wood said. "I've been trying to think of the right words to describe what we're going through. It's shock and disbelief."
Investigators at the McLellands' home recovered several shell casings from a .223-caliber rifle, a law enforcement source said Sunday.
Exactly who fired them, and why, remains uncertain.
