PHOENIX — An Arizona man was sentenced Thursday to death in a string of fatal shootings in metro Phoenix during a three-week span in 2017.
Cleophus Cooksey Jr., 43, was found guilty in late September of murder in eight killings. Jurors agreed on the death penalty in six of the killings, but they were undecided on the punishment in the deaths of Cooksey’s mother, Rene Cooksey, and stepfather, Edward Nunn.
Prosecutors said they could seek the death penalty in a sentencing retrial or let a judge impose life sentences.
Authorities never offered a motive for the attacks. Cooksey maintained his innocence at a monthslong trial.
Here’s a timeline of the serial killings:
Andrew Remillard, 27, and Parker Smith, 21, are found dead with gunshot wounds to the head inside a parked car in Phoenix.
Salim Richards, 31, is shot and killed while walking in west Phoenix. His 9 mm Glock handgun and a necklace are missing.
Latorrie Beckford, 29, is found shot twice in the head in the common area of a Glendale apartment complex.
Kristopher Cameron, 21, is shot and killed upon arriving at a Glendale apartment complex to complete a drug transaction with Cooksey, police say.
About 90 minutes after Cameron was shot, Maria Villanueva, 43, parks her car at another complex 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away. Surveillance cameras show an unknown man approach her and then drive away in Villanueva’s car with her in the front passenger seat. She is found partially nude and shot to death in a Phoenix alley the next morning.
Police responding to gunfire at a central Phoenix apartment find Cooksey at the scene and, after a brief altercation, take him into custody. They find the bodies of his mother, Rene Cooksey, 56, and her husband, Edward Nunn, 54, behind the front door. Both had been shot to death.
Investigators said they found Richards’ gun, which was later linked to the killings of Beckford, Cameron and Villanueva. The keys to Villanueva’s vehicle also were found there, and police say Cooksey was wearing Richards’ necklace when he was arrested.
