Wife of ex-judge arrested in Texas killings

By DANNY ROBBINS, Associated Press

KAUFMAN, Texas (AP) - North Texas authorities have arrested the wife of a former justice of the peace who was charged with making a terroristic threat in connection with the shooting deaths of a district attorney and his wife.

Kim Lene Williams was arrested early Wednesday. Online jail records do not list charges against her and efforts to reach Kaufman County Sheriff David Byrnes, county Judge Bruce Wood and others were not successful.

A law enforcement official has said authorities are trying to build a case against her husband, Eric Lyle Williams, in the deaths of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, whose bodies were found at their home March 30.

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A probable cause affidavit says Eric Williams sent an email, one day after the McLellands' bodies were discovered, implying there would be another attack if authorities didn't respond to various demands. The email was sent from Eric Williams' personal computer. Authorities arrested him on Saturday and charged him with making a terroristic threat.

He was being held on $3 million bond on that charge.

Williams lost his elected position as justice of the peace after he was convicted of stealing three computer monitors from an office. McLelland and Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse -- who was shot and killed in an apparent ambush outside a courthouse in January -- prosecuted that case.

During closing arguments, the prosecutors presented testimony indicating that Williams had made death threats against a former girlfriend and a local attorney.

A jury found Williams guilty; he received two years' probation and lost his law license and position as justice of the peace.

"The good old boy network is gone,'' McLelland said at the time.