Phoenix serial killer gets death penalty for six 2017 murders

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(The Center Square) - A Phoenix jury Thursday sentenced serial killer Cleophus Cooksey Jr. to death for committing six murders over a three-week period in 2017.

Cooksey, 43, was convicted in September of first-degree murder for eight killings in the Phoenix area. The Maricopa County Superior Court jury decided the death penalty would be the punishment in six of the killings, but couldn’t reach a unanimous decision concerning the murders of Cooksey’s mother, Rene Cooksey, and stepfather, Edward Nunn.

Cooksey was found guilty of shooting and killing Parker Smith and Andrew Remillard while they sat in a car. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said that started a killing spree that culminated in the murders of Cooksey’s mother and stepfather. In addition to Smith, Remillard, Renee Cooksey and Nunn, Cleophus Cooksey was convicted of killing Salim Richards, Latorrie Beckford, Kristopher Cameron and Maria Villanueva.

The murders took place in 2017 between Nov. 27 and Dec. 17 in Phoenix and its suburb, Glendale, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office spokesperson Erin Pellett told The Center Square Friday.

“Anyone who questions why we need the death penalty needs to look no further than this case,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a statement. “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, and we will do everything in our power to see it carried through.”

Under Arizona law, Cooksey’s murder convictions are under automatic appeal to the state Supreme Court, Pellett told The Center Square. 

No date is currently set for the case to be heard in the court, Richie Taylor, a spokesperson for the Arizona attorney general's office, told The Center Square Friday.

According to Mitchell's office, Cooksey was connected to the murders through evidence tying the crime scenes together. The evidence included DNA, firearms and casings. Cooksey was also found to possess items belonging to the murder victims, the office said, pointing to Cooksey wearing a gold necklace stolen from Richards when he was arrested. The office added that Villanueva's car keys were found in Cooksey's apartment.

In addition to the murders, Cooksey was found guilty of other felonies: two counts of kidnapping, three counts of armed robbery and one count of attempted sexual assault. Cooksey was sentenced to more than nine years in prison for the non-capital charges.