The bodies of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found Saturday night in their home. Sources said the couple had been fatally shot. Their deaths come about two months after an assistant district attorney was killed.
HANDOUT/REUTERS
Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland was found dead when a police officer and friend checked on him and his wife Saturday night and found the door to their home open.
The shocking killing of a North Texas prosecutor and his wife inside their home doesn't appear random, a local official said Sunday.
Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found with fatal gunshot wounds Saturday — two months after Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was gunned down outside of a nearby courthouse.
Forney Mayor Darren Rozell said that the McLelland murders appear to be a “targeted attack” potentially linked to Hasse's death.
“Obviously, it’s a tragedy and shock, but we don’t want to think that the Forney community at large is being targeted,” Rozell told the Daily News.
The McLellands lived in an unincorporated area of Kaufman County near the city of Forney, southeast of Dallas.
Rozell said Mike McLelland, 63, was well-known in the tight-knit community of more than 15,000.
“He was visible and personable, and he had a great sense of humor,” Rozell said. “We need to continue to pray for the McLelland family.”
Kaufman County sheriff’s Lt. Justin Lewis declined to say how the couple died or whether authorities believe their deaths are linked to Hasse’s. Police, FBI agents, Texas Rangers and deputies are all part of the investigation.
The Associated Press
The body of Cynthia McClelland, 65, was found in front of the house, and her husband, 63, was found in the hallway, possibly trying to flee.
A police officer and friend of the couple had checked on them Saturday night and found the door open, reported.
The body of Cynthia McLelland, 65, was found in the front of the house, while her husband was found in the hallway, possibly trying to flee, sources told WFAA-TV.
They said the weapon may have been a .223-caliber assault rifle with about 14 rounds fired.
Kaufman Police Chief Chris Aulbaugh told The Dallas Morning News that the McLellands had been shot in their home, and although investigators didn’t know if their deaths were related to Hasse’s killing, they couldn’t discount it.
“It was a shock with Mark Hasse, and now you can just imagine the double shock. And 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,” Aulbaugh told the newspaper.
Sam Rosander, who lives in the same unincorporated area of Kaufman County as the McLellands, told The Associated Press on Saturday that sheriff’s deputies were parked in the district attorney’s driveway for about a month after Hasse was killed.
Aulbaugh said recently that the FBI was checking to see if Hasse’s killing could be related to the March 19 killing of Colorado Department of Corrections head Tom Clements, who was gunned down after answering the doorbell at his home.
Evan Spencer Ebel, a former Colorado inmate and white supremacist who authorities believe killed Clements and a pizza deliveryman two days earlier, was killed in a March 21 shootout with Texas deputies about 100 miles from Kaufman.
Courtesy Kaufman County Sheriff's Office
Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was shot to death on Jan. 31 just outside a courthouse in North Texas. An official believes the killings may be connected, though others are less certain.
Hasse was chief of the organized crime unit when he was an assistant prosecutor in Dallas County in the 1980s, and he handled similar cases in Kaufman County.
Investigators had been looking into the possibility that violent white supremacist gang the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas was involved in the killing.
“Anything anybody can think of, we're looking through,” McLelland said after Hasse’s death.
McLelland graduated from the University of Texas before a 23-year career in the Army, according to the website for the district attorney’s office. He later earned his law degree from the Texas Wesleyan School of Law.
He and his wife had two daughters and three sons. One son is a police officer in Dallas.
McLelland and his wife had moved into the home within the past few years, Rozell said.
“Real friendly, became part of our community quickly,” Rozell said. “They were a really pleasant happy couple.”
HANDOUT/REUTERS
Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland was found dead when a police officer and friend checked on him and his wife Saturday night and found the door to their home open.
The shocking killing of a North Texas prosecutor and his wife inside their home doesn't appear random, a local official said Sunday.
Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found with fatal gunshot wounds Saturday — two months after Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was gunned down outside of a nearby courthouse.
Forney Mayor Darren Rozell said that the McLelland murders appear to be a “targeted attack” potentially linked to Hasse's death.
“Obviously, it’s a tragedy and shock, but we don’t want to think that the Forney community at large is being targeted,” Rozell told the Daily News.
The McLellands lived in an unincorporated area of Kaufman County near the city of Forney, southeast of Dallas.
Rozell said Mike McLelland, 63, was well-known in the tight-knit community of more than 15,000.
“He was visible and personable, and he had a great sense of humor,” Rozell said. “We need to continue to pray for the McLelland family.”
Kaufman County sheriff’s Lt. Justin Lewis declined to say how the couple died or whether authorities believe their deaths are linked to Hasse’s. Police, FBI agents, Texas Rangers and deputies are all part of the investigation.
The Associated Press
The body of Cynthia McClelland, 65, was found in front of the house, and her husband, 63, was found in the hallway, possibly trying to flee.
A police officer and friend of the couple had checked on them Saturday night and found the door open, reported.
The body of Cynthia McLelland, 65, was found in the front of the house, while her husband was found in the hallway, possibly trying to flee, sources told WFAA-TV.
They said the weapon may have been a .223-caliber assault rifle with about 14 rounds fired.
Kaufman Police Chief Chris Aulbaugh told The Dallas Morning News that the McLellands had been shot in their home, and although investigators didn’t know if their deaths were related to Hasse’s killing, they couldn’t discount it.
“It was a shock with Mark Hasse, and now you can just imagine the double shock. And 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,” Aulbaugh told the newspaper.
Sam Rosander, who lives in the same unincorporated area of Kaufman County as the McLellands, told The Associated Press on Saturday that sheriff’s deputies were parked in the district attorney’s driveway for about a month after Hasse was killed.
Aulbaugh said recently that the FBI was checking to see if Hasse’s killing could be related to the March 19 killing of Colorado Department of Corrections head Tom Clements, who was gunned down after answering the doorbell at his home.
Evan Spencer Ebel, a former Colorado inmate and white supremacist who authorities believe killed Clements and a pizza deliveryman two days earlier, was killed in a March 21 shootout with Texas deputies about 100 miles from Kaufman.
Courtesy Kaufman County Sheriff's Office
Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was shot to death on Jan. 31 just outside a courthouse in North Texas. An official believes the killings may be connected, though others are less certain.
Hasse was chief of the organized crime unit when he was an assistant prosecutor in Dallas County in the 1980s, and he handled similar cases in Kaufman County.
Investigators had been looking into the possibility that violent white supremacist gang the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas was involved in the killing.
“Anything anybody can think of, we're looking through,” McLelland said after Hasse’s death.
McLelland graduated from the University of Texas before a 23-year career in the Army, according to the website for the district attorney’s office. He later earned his law degree from the Texas Wesleyan School of Law.
He and his wife had two daughters and three sons. One son is a police officer in Dallas.
McLelland and his wife had moved into the home within the past few years, Rozell said.
“Real friendly, became part of our community quickly,” Rozell said. “They were a really pleasant happy couple.”