After Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia McLelland, were murdered, Kaufman, Texas, is currently on the hunt for the individuals responsible. Officials closely involved in the case believe the murder of Mike McLelland’s assistant two months earlier may be connected, though they have not found proof.
According to CNN, Kaufman Mayor William Fortner said he believed there was a “strong connection” between the two murders. He also believed both men were targeted by people seeking revenge.
“That’s the logical conclusion, and I don’t have any information that directs me to think that’s the case, but that’s what you would assume under the circumstances, since they targeted two people from our prosecutors,” Fortner said.
The Kaufman County sheriff’s office has yet to officially state that the killings are connected, since there is no proof.
All authorities are reporting that they have no suspects for the murders.
“I have no idea who’s responsible,” Kaufman County Judge Bruce Woods said.
CNN reports; however, that McLelland’s office was one of the agencies involved in prosecuting 34 members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, including four of its senior leaders. The 2012 indictment was pronounced to be a devastating blow to the organization by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lanny A. Breur.
While the authorities in Kaufman have not given any link between the gang and the murders, CNN reports however that Mclellands office was one of the agencies to prosecute the Aryan brothers.
U.S. Rep. Ted Poe told CNN that it was possible that the group could be responsible.
“The district attorney has said they operate in his portion of the state of Texas,” Poe said. “It seems that a scenario may be developing that the district attorney’s office was investigating this gang or another gang and they wanted to prevent that investigation and therefore they resort to violence.”
Regardless of who the killers are, authorities are most concerned with the safety of other officials in the county and state. Armed guards surround the Kaufman County Courthouse and police have been assigned to public officials in around-the-clock protection according to CNN.
Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia has out Houston DA Mike Anderson and family under 24-hour surveillance since Anderson’s office was part of the same task force as the Kaufman County office.