( CNN ) -- A former justice of the peace now faces capital murder charges in the killings of two Texas prosecutors and the wife of one of them , authorities announced Thursday . Eric Williams ' bail has been set at $ 23 million in the March killings of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife , Cynthia , and the January slaying of Mark Hasse , one of McLelland 's assistant district attorneys . Williams was already in jail on a charge of threatening investigators probing the killings , and his wife had been charged with murder on Wednesday . `` The murder of a public official , such as a judge a prosecutor or a law-enforcement officer , is an assault on all the people of the state , because it 's an attack of the rule of law , '' said Kirby Dendy , chief of the Texas Rangers . Kaufman County Sheriff David Byrnes said the killings stemmed from Williams ' `` past legal problems with the criminal justice system of this county '' -- a 2012 conviction on burglary and theft charges that led to his removal from office . His wife , Kim Williams , was booked early Wednesday on murder charges . She confessed in detail to her involvement in the scheme and implicated her husband as the trigger man , according to court papers . Byrnes said Eric Williams fired the fatal shots in both slayings . In Hasse 's death , Kim Williams was the getaway driver ; in the McLellands ' killings , she was a passenger , `` and Eric did the killing . '' `` We do not believe there were any other major actors in this case , '' Byrnes said . Hasse and Mr. McLelland both believed that Eric Williams blamed them for his removal from office , a sheriff 's sergeant noted in Kim Williams ' arrest paperwork . The prosecutors carried handguns for their protection after the Williams trial `` because they believed Eric Williams to be a threat to their personal safety . '' Eric Williams was arrested last week on a count of making a terroristic threat . A sheriff 's affidavit accused him of using his home computer to threaten police investigating the McLellands ' killings . Eric Williams ' attorney released a statement Friday saying he `` has cooperated with law enforcement and vigorously denies any and all allegations . He wishes simply to get on with his life and hopes that the perpetrators are brought to justice . '' Investigation opens window on 2012 trial . CNN 's Chuck Johnston and Martin Savidge contributed to this report .
NEW : Eric Williams charged with capital murder . NEW : His bail is set at $ 23 million . Comment: