A man charged with the murders of 18 women in Texas is ready to stand trial for one of them.
Billy Chemirmir, 48, faces life in prison without parole if convicted of capital murder over the death of 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris.
Chemirmir is suspected of murdering 18 elderly ladies in Dallas and its suburbs during a two-year period.
He was arrested in March 2018 after 91-year-old Mary Annis Bartel survived an attack at a senior living complex in Plano by a guy who forced his way into her apartment.
Following his arrest, the authorities announced they would review hundreds of deaths, signalling the possibility that a serial killer had been stalking older people.
Chemirmir allegedly forced his way into apartments or pretended to be a handyman, killing the majority of the victims at independent living homes for the elderly.
He is also accused of killing women in private homes, including the widow of a man he had cared for in his job as an at-home carer.
Chemirmir’s lawyer has said the evidence against his client is circumstantial.