Jury Imposes Ultimate Penalty for Three-Week Reign of Terror
An Arizona jury has delivered a death sentence to a man convicted of a string of brutal murders that terrorised the Phoenix metropolitan area over a three-week period in 2017. The verdict on Thursday marked the conclusion of a gruelling seven-month trial concerning attacks that claimed eight lives, including those of the defendant's own mother and stepfather.
A Trail of Violence and Conviction
Cleophus Cooksey Jr., 43, was found guilty in late September on eight counts of murder. His convictions also included charges for kidnapping, armed robbery, and attempted sexual assault linked to the attacks in Phoenix and the neighbouring city of Glendale.
Jurors decided that the death penalty was the appropriate punishment for six of the eight murders. However, they could not reach a unanimous decision regarding the sentence for the killings of his mother, Rene Cooksey, 56, and stepfather, Edward Nunn, 54.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell is now weighing her options. She must decide whether to seek a new sentencing trial specifically for those two murder convictions or to abandon the pursuit of the death penalty for those counts, allowing a judge to impose life sentences instead.
The Victims and the Evidence
The victims, selected seemingly at random, included:
- Parker Smith, 21, and Andrew Remillard, 27, fatally shot while sitting in a car on 27 November 2017.
- Salim Richards, 31, a security guard killed five days later while walking to his girlfriend's apartment.
- Latorrie Beckford, 29, and Kristopher Cameron, 21, shot in separate incidents at Glendale apartment complexes.
- Maria Villanueva, 43, whose body was discovered in a Phoenix alley; authorities found Cooksey's DNA on her.
Investigators stated that crucial evidence linking Cooksey to the crimes was discovered in his mother's apartment after her death. This included a firearm used in several shootings, vehicle keys belonging to a victim, and a victim's necklace that Cooksey was wearing at the time of his arrest. Authorities have never publicly proposed a motive for the killings.
Arrest and Broader Context
Cooksey's arrest on 17 December 2017 came after police responded to a shots-fired call at his mother's residence. He initially claimed a hand injury explained the blood at the scene, but then threatened an officer. The bodies of his mother and stepfather were found inside.
In a powerful statement, County Attorney Mitchell said, "Anyone who questions why we need the death penalty needs to look no further than this case. It takes a special kind of evil to prey upon the vulnerable and needlessly take the lives of eight innocent people. Death is the only just punishment for him."
This case followed two other serial shooting incidents in the Phoenix area. Notably, bus driver Aaron Juan Saucedo was arrested in 2017 and charged with nine murders. Prosecutors are also seeking the death penalty against Saucedo; his trial, initially scheduled for this month, has been postponed until December 2026.
Cooksey, an aspiring musician who knew some victims but not others, has maintained his innocence throughout. Defence attorney Robert Reinhardt did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
