NBC 'Dateline': Kaufman County murders couple Kim and Eric Williams get divorced amid prison sentence
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: NBC's 'Dateline' has churned out episodes that focus on true-crime events in different counties and keep its viewers extremely captivated. Viewers often end up immersing themselves in the lives of the victims and perpetrators, and often seek out more information on how their lives have been affected.
One such instance that sparked the interest of viewers was about the perpetrators of Kaufman County murders - Eric Williams and his wife Kim Williams. Kim filed for divorce while in prison, and that caught the attention of the masses because they were going to serve life without any possibility of parole.
Eric Williams' treatment of his wife
Eric, a former lawyer and justice of peace, was held accountable for three murders. His wife Kim was an accomplice and aided him in committing the murders. While Kim filed for divorce a day after her indictment in June 2013, she had to plead again in August 2013 by stating that they were married in 1996 and had ceased to live together as a married couple since April 12, 2013. She filed the divorce citing his cruel treatment towards her, which made it impossible for them to continue living together.
Given that Eric was the gunman in all the three murders, it warranted a deal for Kim that she may receive less sentence if she managed to testify against her ex-husband in court. In order to do so, she had to separate from her husband to not get a death sentence and also get her prison sentence reduced. Kim only drove Eric to the locations, and the murders were committed by Eric.
Was Eric Williams framed by the victims?
Kim admitted her part in the murders of the three victims, but at the same time managed to convey what Eric had told her about them. She mentioned that her husband was arrested for stealing computer equipment in 2011 and was set up by the three victims. The three victims who had initially accused him of burglary were Cynthia McLelland, her husband Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland, and assistant DA Mark Hasse.
The original intention of Eric and Kim was to kill Mike and Mark. However, during the crime Eric ended up killing Cynthia as well, who he referred to as collateral damage.
Kim claimed to have questioned Eric about the reason behind killing her. Kim said, "He said she had to die … she was collateral damage", reports Kaufman Herald. Also, Eric was not happy about the way Mark and Mike both got Janice Gray involved to testify in court. Eric threatened to shoot Janice after they briefly dated, and this incident was going to be brought up at court but he still maintained to his wife that this was not true.
Kim Williams believed her husband and regretted it
Every time Eric made up a story, she believed him. So, when he said that he was being framed by Mike and Mark, Kim believed him about that as well. However, Kim maintains that she did not believe that her husband would actually go ahead and kill two people in cold blood.
She did not take Eric seriously whenever he mentioned about exacting revenge. Only after Eric got convicted in 2012 for burglary that things started to take a turn for the worse because he lost his license to practice law. She considered Eric's anger, and her anger as well; so it was difficult for her to let go of the people who were responsible for making Eric lose his job.
Despite being Eric's accomplice and accusing him of cruel treatment, she felt joy for him prior to the murders. Eric's excitement about killing Mark and Mike did not know any bounds and it was a joyous occasion for Kim because she was just trying to be a good wife.
One good thing that emerged from this situation is that Kim did not try to deny her role in all three murders but rather focused on correcting and acknowledging her mistakes. The petition filed by Kim claims that she has her own property separate from her husband.
Why file for divorce when life will be spent behind bars anyway?
One of the surprising elements of the case was that the divorce did not necessarily make sense for the couple as the gruesome nature of the killings was bound to get them life imprisonment anyway, and which is what happened. The pair was granted divorce after the finalization of the four-year long proceedings at a time when both remained jailed after convictions in 2014.
Eric Williams was sentenced to death for the murder of Cynthia McLelland and remains on Texas death row. The decision was further upheld by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. At the same time, Kim pled guilty to her connection and compliance in the murder of Mark and was sentenced to 40 years. Despite the couple getting their sentences, Kim chose to file for divorce. It was only to ensure that she can get her life back on track once she is released from prison because she would need certain assets to sustain her livelihood.
