14 DAY TRIAL // The district attorney in Kaufman County, Texas, has been killed in a shooting on Saturday, March 30. DA Mike McLelland died in his home, along with his wife, Cynthia Woodward McLelland.
Dallas News relays a statement by Kaufman Police Chief Chris Aulbaugh which confirms that their bodies have been recovered inside their residence, near Forney, Texas.
The McLellands’ remains were discovered by a family friend who stopped by to check on the couple after trying to get in touch with them earlier.
Neighbors heard gunshots the day before, but wrote them off as noises made by Friday's thunderstorm. Kaufman DA Eric Smenner warns of someone seeking retaliation going after law enforcers in the district.
“It looks like somebody is making a pretty concentrated effort to target the most important people in that office.
“I think everybody there is a target. They’re not safe in the streets in downtown Kaufman. They’re not safe in their homes,” Smenner says.
He has asked for protective detail for the DA's staff, following an incident in which district DA Mark Hasse was fatally shot near the courthouse, on January 31.
A preliminary investigation into Hasse's death pointed at members of the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood prison formation as the culprits.
A source described the murder scene in the McLellands’ case as gruesome, detailing that a large number of shots had been fired.
“There are shell casings everywhere. [...] This is unprecedented. This is unbelievable. This is huge,” the insider says.
“It was a shock with Mark Hasse, and now you can just imagine the double shock. … Until we know what happened, I really can’t confirm that it’s related, but you always have to assume until it’s proven otherwise,” the Police chief comments.