A Texas senior living community had a rash of unusual deaths before 91-year-old resident Mary Bartel was found unconscious in her apartment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Watch new episodes of\u00a0Unknown Serial Killers of America\u00a0Sundays at 10 p.m. on Oxygen.<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Bartel was supposed to go to an exercise class that morning, when her neighbors came by to pick her up,\u201d Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Glen Fitzmartin explained in Oxygen\u2019s Unknown Serial Killers of America<\/a>. \u201cThey knocked on the door, she didn\u2019t answer.\u201d<\/p>\n Bartel\u2014a former teacher and resident of Preston Place in Plano, Texas\u2014was rushed to the hospital where, miraculously, she was revived and gave a harrowing account.\u00a0<\/p>\n She\u2019d been attacked by a man who knocked on her door, then forced her onto the bed and tried to suffocate her with a pillow, before stealing her jewelry.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was pushing down so hard,\u201d she recounted from her hospital bed, \u201cthat there was not much I could do except just lie there.\u201d<\/p>\n Investigators suspected she was the sixth victim at the upscale senior living community who had been attacked by a calculated killer targeting vulnerable, older women.<\/p>\n Her chilling account helped lead police to Billy Chemirmir, a well-dressed man from Kenya who worked as a caregiver for the elderly.<\/p>\n Though Chemirmir was only convicted of two murders, he was indicted in connection to 22 deaths and was suspected of killing many more.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was an incredibly prolific killer,\u201d one victim\u2019s daughter Jennifer Bassett remarked. \u201cHow does such evil exist?\u201d<\/p>\n RELATED:\u00a0Woman Vanishes After Affair with Married Man. His Alibi? He Was Handcuffed to His Bed<\/a><\/p>\n Chemirmir was finally stopped, in part, due to Bartel\u2019s bravery.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was the leader of the family and she was always so strong, someone who was born to a very poor farm family who ends up taking down a serial killer,\u201d her son Rick Bartel remarked. \u201cThat\u2019s a pretty good story.\u201d<\/p>\n String of Deaths Begin at Preston Place<\/p>\n Preston Place was considered a tight-knit community where residents enjoyed the camaraderie of other seniors.<\/p>\n As investigator reporter Lise Olsen noted, \u201cThe reputation of these upscale, independent living places was that they are safe spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n But on March 7, 2018, Plano Police launched an investigation after the family of the late Martha Williams reported that about $7,600 worth of jewelry had been stolen after her death, including a wedding ring that she never typically removed.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to know more about the actual death investigation,\u201d Plano Police detective Jennifer Chapman explained. \u201cSo I start looking at the report.\u201d<\/p>\n Though the death was deemed an unattended natural death by the medical examiner\u2019s office, Chapman noticed Williams had been found next to her bed and her shirt had been pulled up over her head under what she deemed \u201csuspicious\u201d circumstances.<\/p>\n RELATED:\u00a0She Heard Voices Before She Killed Her Parents. Then the \u201cScreaming\u201d Stopped<\/a><\/p>\n As Chapman dug deeper, she learned that there had been three other unattended deaths at the facility since October 2017, all elderly women who appeared to have died from natural causes.<\/p>\n According to Fitzmartin, \u201cThese individuals were found either laying on a bed or laying on the ground right next to the bed.\u201d<\/p>\n There were no signs of foul play or signs of a break in and the apartments were typically locked when the bodies were discovered.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of them lived by themselves, some had recently been widowed. These individuals were very active,\u201d Fitzmartin explained. \u201cAnd when they\u2019re found deceased\u2026it was shocking to the family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Though no jewelry had been reported missing in the other cases, Chapman went back to speak to the families and learned that in all of the cases, family members did discover jewelry had been taken.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt that moment, we realized, oh boy,\u201d she said. \u201cThese cases have got to be connected.\u201d<\/p>\n Victim Miriam Nelson Provides Telling Clue Before Her Death<\/p>\n Investigators began to suspect that were dealing with a serial killer.<\/p>\n \u201cSomebody who is repeatedly killing similar types of victims with the same MO,\u201d criminal forensic psychologist Dr. Maris Mauro explained. \u201cWhat seems most obvious is there was some type of money motivation. That’s very unique.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n RELATED:\u00a0How a Woman\u2019s Folded Laundry Provided Eerie Clue to Her Son\u2019s Killer<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Preston Place had another unattended death on March 9 when 81-year-old Miriam Nelson was found dead on her bed. Once again, about $11,000 in jewelry had been stolen.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of her family members remembered Nelson telling them two days before her death that someone posing as a maintenance person had come into her apartment and may have taken some of her jewelry.<\/p>\n She described the person as a well-dressed, bald, Black man.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fitzmartin explained, \u201cThe management company told police there was no one matching that description working at Preston Place.\u201d<\/p>\n After putting out a description of the suspect to residents, a resident\u2019s son spotted a man getting into his car who matched the description and jotted down his license plate number.<\/p>\n Police were able to link the car to 45-year-old Chemirmir.<\/p>\n RELATED:\u00a0How a Homecoming Queen\u2019s Journal Helped Solve Her Shocking Murder<\/a><\/p>\n Who Was Billy Chemirmir?<\/p>\n Detectives learned that in 2005 Chemirmir came to the United States from Kenya, where he was part of a prominent family, and had worked as a caregiver for the elderly.<\/p>\n Chemirmir had prior arrests for operating while intoxicated, public intoxication and been arrested for criminal trespassing at another Dallas senior living facility.<\/p>\n More Victims Are Discovered as Police Hone in on Suspect Billy Chemirmir<\/p>\n According to Plano Police Detective Jon Hoffman authorities desperately wanted to speak to the man who had become their prime suspect.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is all hands on deck,\u201d he said. \u201cBut at the same time we\u2019re trying to find Billy Chemirmir, Plano Police department gets another 911 call.\u201d<\/p>\n Bartel had been attacked in her apartment\u2014but survived to tell the tale to police. From her hospital bed, she said a man matching Chemirmir\u2019s description had forced his way inside.<\/p>\n \u201cHe just said, \u2018Don\u2019t fight me, just get on the bed,\u2019\u201d she remembered. \u201cOf course, I had no idea what was going to happen next, but he grabbed a pillow off my bed and just forcibly pushed down very hard.\u201d<\/p>\n She described not being able to breathe.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I would die,\u201d she said, \u201cwhich I\u2019m not afraid to die, but I didn\u2019t want to die that way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n RELATED:\u00a0Aspiring Rapper Jerome “Blizzy” Blake Killed After Walking Into Deadly Recording Studio Ambush<\/a><\/p>\n When she regained consciousness at the hospital, she discovered her wedding ring and another diamond ring she had been wearing were missing.<\/p>\n Just hours after Bartel was attacked, as police were still processing her apartment, Jennifer discovered her 82-year-old mother Ann Conklin dead across the hall.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mother\u2019s on the floor, face down,\u201d she remembered, \u201cand I can see that she isn\u2019t moving and start screaming.\u201d<\/p>\n Much like the other cases, her diamond necklace and watch were missing.<\/p>\n Billy Chemirmir is Arrested in Connection With Senior Living Deaths<\/p>\n As police were waiting for Chemirmir to return to his apartment, Hoffman found someone with an account linked to Chemirmir attempting to sell Bartel\u2019s ring on the online site OfferUp.<\/p>\n Chemirmir was arrested and taken into custody on March 20 after he was spotted outside his apartment throwing a red jewelry box into the dumpster.<\/p>\n