phoenix — It was a guy from Arizona convicted Thursday to death in a A series of fatal shootings in metro Phoenix during a three-week period in 2017.
Cleophus Cooksey Jr., 43 years old He was found guilty In late September of killing in eight killings. Jurors agreed on the death penalty in six of the murders, but were undecided on the punishment in the deaths of Cooksey’s mother, Renee Cooksey, and stepfather, Edward Noone.
Prosecutors said they may seek the death penalty in a retrial or allow the judge to impose a life sentence.
The authorities never provided a motive for the attacks. Cooksey maintained his innocence in a trial that lasted months.
Here is a timeline of the serial killings:
Andrew Remillard, 27, and Parker Smith, 21, were found dead with gunshot wounds to the head inside a parked car in Phoenix.
Slim Richards, 31, was shot and killed while walking in west Phoenix. His 9mm Glock pistol and a necklace are missing.
Latorre Bickford, 29, was found shot twice in the head in the common area of ​​an apartment complex in Glendale.
Police say Christopher Cameron, 21, was shot and killed when he arrived at a Glendale apartment complex to complete a drug deal with Cooksey.
About 90 minutes after Cameron was shot, Maria Villanueva, 43, parked her car at another complex 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away. Surveillance cameras show an unknown man approaching her and then driving off in Villanueva with her in the front passenger seat. She was found partially naked and shot to death in a Phoenix alley the next morning.
Police responded to a shooting at a central Phoenix apartment, found Cooksey at the scene and, after a brief altercation, took him into custody. They found the bodies of his mother, Renee Cooksey, 56, and her husband, Edward Nunn, 54, behind the front door. Both were shot dead.
Investigators said they recovered Richards’ gun, which was later linked to the killings of Bickford, Cameron and Villanova. Villanueva’s car keys were also found there, and police say Cooksey was wearing Richards’ necklace when he was arrested.