Cleophus Cooksey Jr. Sentenced to Death for Killing Eight People in Phoenix-Area Killing Spree

A three-week killing spree in Arizona left eight people dead in 2017. More than eight years later, Cleophus Cooksey Jr. learned his fate in a case that shocked the Phoenix area.

On December 18, 2025, Cooksey, 43, was sentenced to death for six of the eight murders. The jury could not reach a unanimous decision on the death penalty for the other two victims, his own mother, Rene Cooksey, and stepfather, Edward Nunn. He also received more than nine years in prison for additional crimes, including kidnapping, armed robbery and attempted sexual assault.

Cooksey was convicted in September 2025 of eight counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors said the killings occurred over approximately three weeks in Phoenix and Glendale, beginning in late November 2017.

The first victims, 21-year-old Parker Smith and 27-year-old Andrew Remillard, were found shot to death inside a parked car on November 27. On December 2, 31-year-old security guard Salim Richards was killed while walking toward his girlfriend’s apartment.

The violence continued in December. Latorrie Beckford, 29, and Kristopher Cameron, 21, were killed in separate shootings in Glendale. Maria Villanueva, 43, was later found dead in a Phoenix alley after authorities said she had been sexually assaulted.

The final two victims were Cooksey’s mother and stepfather. On December 17, 2017, police responded to a report of gunfire at his mother’s apartment and discovered both of them dead. Cooksey was taken into custody following an encounter with officers.

Investigators connected him to the killings through multiple pieces of evidence, including DNA, firearms and shell casings. Authorities also said he was wearing a necklace stolen from Richards when he was arrested, while Villanueva’s car keys were found in his apartment.

Despite the convictions, a clear motive for the killings has not been established publicly. Authorities said some victims may have been known to Cooksey, while others appeared to have been targeted without an established prior connection.

In January 2026, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said prosecutors would not seek a second death-penalty proceeding for the murders of Cooksey’s mother and stepfather. He will instead face life imprisonment for those two killings, in addition to the death sentences imposed for the other six murders.

The case remains one of the most disturbing criminal investigations in the Phoenix area in recent years, leaving eight families grieving and many questions about what drove the violence.

Source: ktar