An Arizona jury has convicted Cleophus Cooksey Jr. of eight murders tied to a three-week violent spree in 2017, setting the stage for prosecutors to seek the death penalty. The killings, which authorities described as a “reign of terror,” left victims across Phoenix and nearby Glendale, including Cooksey’s own mother and stepfather.
According to the New York Post, the jury returned guilty verdicts Thursday on murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, and armed robbery charges. Prosecutors announced immediately that they would pursue capital punishment against the 35-year-old man.
Investigators said Cooksey, an aspiring rapper, carried out shootings that targeted both people he knew and strangers. Despite the convictions, he has continued to deny any involvement, calling the accusations false and insisting during past court statements that he was “a music artist, not a murderer.”
Brutal details of killings revealed
The spree began just four months after Cooksey was released from prison on a manslaughter conviction stemming from a 2001 strip club robbery where an accomplice was killed. Authorities said he quickly spiraled into violence, fatally shooting victims in cars, apartment complexes, and alleys.
The first victims, Parker Smith and Andrew Remillard, were discovered in a parked car with fatal gunshot wounds. Five days later, security guard Salim Richards was gunned down while walking to meet his girlfriend.
Police allege Cooksey then killed Latorrie Beckford and Kristopher Cameron in separate Glendale shootings. Around the same time, Maria Villanueva was found dead and partially unclothed in a Phoenix alley, with investigators determining she had been sexually assaulte,d and Cooksey’s DNA was discovered on her body.
Family members among the dead
The spree ended in December 2017 when police responded to a shots-fired call at Cooksey’s mother’s apartment. Officers forced entry after noticing blood, only to discover the bodies of his mother, Rene Cooksey, and his stepfather, Edward Nunn.
Authorities said Cooksey tried to convince officers he had only cut his hand, but they became suspicious after spotting evidence linking him to prior killings. Richards’ missing gun was later recovered in the home, along with Villanueva’s car keys and personal belongings that tied him directly to the victims.
During his arrest, police also reported that Cooksey threatened to slit an officer’s throat. Detectives later noted he was wearing Richards’ necklace, adding to the mounting evidence of his involvement.
History of crime and repeated denials
Cooksey’s conviction comes after years of delays following his 2017 arrest and a complex investigation involving DNA, ballistics and witness testimony. In a 2020 handwritten letter to a judge, he urged a swift trial, insisting that a jury would prove him innocent.
“I am in a hurry to prove my charges are no more than false accusations,” he wrote, adding, “I am a music artist.” He repeatedly rejected the idea that he was capable of sexual assault or murder.
Police, however, characterized him as a dangerous repeat offender, pointing to his criminal past and the spree’s brutality. They said, unlike other serial shooting cases in Phoenix’s history, his crimes occurred over just three weeks, escalating quickly without public awareness until his arrest.
