Murdered Texas prosecutor Mark Hasse, who was ambushed outside his office recently, was remembered Saturday at a memorial service in a school auditorium in Terrell.
Hasse is the first Texas prosecutor to be shot to death since Chris Marshall was murdered inside the Tarrant County Courthouse on July 2, 1992. Marshall was at work when George Lott barged into the courthouse in Fort Worth and shot him to death. Marshall was an icon among Texas prosecutors and recognized as one of the top appellant criminal attorneys in the Lone Star State. Marshall's murder led to the installation of metal detectors in courthouses around the United States. Lott was executed after waiving his appeals.
Prosecutors are not provided with any special protections as they do their work pursuing justice.
Hasse, 57, was shot multiple times the morning of Jan. 31 while exiting his car which was parked near his office in the Kaufman County Courthouse.
The unspeakable crime has inspired a massive investigation into the shocking execution of the veteran prosecutor who served many years in the Dallas County District Attorney's Office prior to his stint as an assistant district attorney with Kaufman District Attorney's Office.
While no one has been arrested in the brutal murder case, a reward for anyone offering information which will lead to an arrest of the suspect or suspects, has soared to more than $80,000. Hasse handled many high profile cases which has led federal, state and local investigators to peruse his files as they seek suspects.
The FBI, ATF, Texas Rangers, Kaufman County Sheriff's Office and Kaufman Police Department are combining to review videotapes and files in an attempt to hunt down the cold-blooded killer or killers.
Many of these law enforcement personnel attended the memorial service which celebrated the life of Hasse during a 90-minute ceremony. Among those speaking was his last boss Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland. McLelland said Hasse never backed down from any challenge.
Hasse never married and had no children.
McLelland said that a day of reckoning will come for those responsible for the cold-blooded murder.
"You honor him by the massive effort you are making to find out who did this," said his brother Paul Hasse, according to an article in the Wichita Falls Times Record News today.
Other speakers at the service mentioned Hasse's penchant for telling stories. He was also a pilot. His career beginning as a prosecutor in the 1980s in Dallas as well as his three-year stay with the Kaufman DAs office was recounted by several who spoke in memory of the fallen prosecutor.
Pennsylvania prosecutor Ray Gricar disappeared on April 15, 2005. His laptop computer has been found in the Susquehanna River. His case is still open.
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