US EditionMan goes on trial accused of 8 killings in metro Phoenix in 2017
- Cleophus Cooksey Jr., aged 43, goes on trial in Phoenix in May 2025, accused of eight murders during a three-week spree in late 2017 across Phoenix and Glendale.
- His arrest followed police discovering a blood-spattered apartment on December 17, 2017, where Cooksey was found with evidence linking him to multiple killings, including his mother and stepfather’s deaths.
- Authorities tied Cooksey to the shootings through items such as a gun from victim Salim Richards, a necklace worn by Cooksey, and vehicle keys connected to victim Maria Villanueva, whose body was found sexually assaulted and partially nude.
- Cooksey claims the charges are false, pleads not guilty, and stated in a 2020 letter he is “a music artist” eager to prove his innocence with a not-guilty verdict, while police have not released a motive.
- If found guilty, the prosecution intends to pursue capital punishment; however, Cooksey's trial was postponed several times due to the pandemic, and he faces multiple felony charges in addition to the murder accusations.
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Winnipeg Free Press+14 Reposted by 14 other sources
Man goes on trial accused of 8 killings in metro Phoenix in 2017
Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada
·Winnipeg, Canada
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Man goes on trial accused of 8 killings in metro Phoenix in 2017 - Regional Media News
PHOENIX (AP) — The key to cracking a series of fatal shootings in the Phoenix area in 2017 came when police were called to a blood-spattered apartment where they arrested a man who was suspected of killing his mother and stepfather. Authorities say evidence found there linked Cleophus Cooksey Jr. to four other killings. Police found a gun used in several of them, a necklace belonging to a victim and the vehicle keys of a woman whose partially nu…
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