Jurors delivered a death sentence for six murders and split on punishment in two family slayings.
PHOENIX, AZ — A Maricopa County jury has sentenced Cleophus Cooksey Jr. to death for six killings carried out during a three-week span across the Phoenix metro area in late 2017, bringing a seven-month trial to a close after convictions this fall in eight murders.
Jurors found Cooksey, 43, eligible for capital punishment and agreed on death sentences in six cases tied to a fast-moving series of shootings in Phoenix and Glendale. They could not agree on punishment in the killings of his mother, Rene Cooksey, and stepfather, Edward Nunn, leaving those counts for a possible sentencing retrial or life terms imposed by a judge. Prosecutors said the case reflects one of the region’s most violent sprees in recent memory, with victims who were both acquaintances and strangers. The verdict caps years of investigation, forensic testing and pretrial litigation that followed Cooksey’s arrest in December 2017.
Investigators said the spree began Nov. 27, 2017, when Andrew Remillard and Parker Smith were found shot inside a parked car. Over the next 20 days, shootings in apartment lots, on neighborhood streets and near businesses left six more people dead, including security guard Salim Richards, Latorrie Beckford, Kristopher Cameron and Maria Villanueva. Police arrested Cooksey on Dec. 17, 2017, at the scene of his mother and stepfather’s deaths in north Phoenix. Detectives said items taken from earlier victims, along with a handgun, were recovered in the apartment, and ballistic testing linked shell casings across multiple scenes. “This was a ruthless series of attacks that shattered families in every corner of the Valley,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said after the verdict.
Prosecutors told jurors Cooksey targeted people he barely knew as well as those close to him, sometimes after brief encounters. In one case, a woman was sexually assaulted and killed, and in others, victims were shot during robberies or disputes that lasted moments. Crime scene reports, phone records and surveillance video were presented at trial, along with testimony from firearms examiners who described matching marks on shell casings and bullets. Jurors also heard that jewelry, a necklace and other belongings from victims were found in Cooksey’s possession. Authorities have never offered a single motive, calling it unknown. Cooksey maintained his innocence in court, occasionally addressing the panel and insisting police framed him, but the jury rejected those claims with eight murder convictions in September.
Arizona has confronted serial killings before. The Baseline Killer case led to the 2011 death sentence of Mark Goudeau for a string of attacks that terrorized Phoenix in 2005–06. The so-called Serial Shooter investigations targeted random pedestrians and motorists in 2005–06; Dale Hausner received a death sentence in 2009 and later died in prison, while accomplice Samuel Dieteman is serving life. More recently, in 2023, a judge sentenced Bryan Patrick Miller, known as the “Canal Killer,” to death for two 1990s murders along Phoenix waterways. Officials said the Cooksey case differed in speed and scope: eight people shot in three weeks, followed by an arrest that same night at a family crime scene, a forensic evidence trail, and then years of lab backlogs and hearings before the 2025 trial.
With Thursday’s decision, prosecutors secured death verdicts in six counts. For the two family murders where the jury split, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office may seek a new penalty phase before a different jury or allow a judge to impose life sentences. Under Arizona law, death sentences trigger automatic review by the state’s highest court, and defense attorneys typically pursue additional appeals and post-conviction petitions. Court records show Cooksey was convicted in September of eight counts of first-degree murder and related offenses, including kidnapping, armed robbery and attempted sexual assault. A formal sentencing order and scheduling of any retrial on punishment are expected in the coming weeks. Officials said victims’ families will be notified before any future hearings.
Outside the courthouse, Mitchell called the case “exactly the kind of extreme violence for which our law reserves the ultimate punishment,” adding that the jury “listened carefully for months.” Family members of the dead described years of grief and unanswered questions. One relative said the verdict was “a measure of accountability after eight years of waiting.” In brief remarks, Phoenix police leaders thanked witnesses who came forward in 2017 and neighbors who turned over camera footage during the early days of the investigation. Defense lawyers declined to comment at length after the verdict, saying only that further challenges would be filed as allowed by state law.
The case now moves into the appellate stage, with the first deadlines expected early next year. Prosecutors will decide whether to retry the penalty phase for the two undecided murders or accept life sentences, a decision that could come at a scheduling conference as early as January. For the six death counts, the Arizona Supreme Court’s automatic review will begin once the trial court enters its final judgment. For families, the next milestone is the court’s formal sentencing entry and notice of any rehearings. As of Sunday, the jury’s verdicts remain in place and Cooksey is housed on death row pending appellate review.
Author note: Last updated December 21, 2025.