BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas – The man convicted of killing an East Texas family of six in 2015 will now be given the death penalty.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton succeeded in obtaining the death penalty for William Hudson, whose victims ranged in age from six to 77. The family was killed while camping on property they bought from Hudson's family. 

According to prosecutors, Hudson was upset about the sale of the land and decided to shoot the family to death. The wife of one of the victims survived by hiding during the shooting and gave key testimony during the trial.

“We are grateful on behalf of the victims’ families that justice has been served, and we are thankful that this vicious killer has been removed from society,” said Paxton. “Given the brutal nature of the mass murders, anything short of the death penalty would have been disproportionate. I am grateful to the Criminal Prosecutions Division of my office and the Anderson County DA’s office for all of the hard work they put into trying and winning this case.” 

Among the victims was 77-year-old Carl Johnson and his 40-year-old daughter Hannah Johnson.

Even though the killings occurred in Anderson County, the trial was moved to Brazos County to avoid jury biases.

Hudson was convicted of capital murder last week.