The police in Phoenix say that they have linked a suspect to nine killings that shook the area over a three week span last year - the second suspected serial killer to shake the area in recent years.
Cleophus Cooksey Jr. has been in custody since his arrest by the police in December for the fatal shooting of his mother and her husband. And on Thursday, police said that they had linked the 35-year-old to seven other killings that had occurred during the weeks leading up to his arrest.
All the victims had been shot in Phoenix, or nearby Avondale and Glendale.
One victim was the brother of an ex-girlfriend, the Arizona Republic reported; others were set up as meetings online or through text messages. Police described one as the result of a purported drug deal.
The first murder occurred on November 27, when Andrew Remillard, 27 and Parker Smith, 21 were fatally shot in parking lot in Phoenix.
A chart with the names of the victims released by the police. Picture: Handout courtesy of Phoenix Police Department
On December 2, Salim Richards, 35, a security guard was shot and killed about 6 miles away, police said. A little more than a week later, Jesus Real, 25 was shot and killed; police said that Cooksey had a connection to Real's sister. On Dec. 13, Latorrie Beckford, 29 was shot and killed. On Dec. 15, Kristopher Cameron, 21 was shot and killed after police said he showed up to make a drug transaction with the suspect.
A few hours later, Maria Villanueva, 43, was kidnapped after leaving her car near her home, police said. Her body was found with gunshot wounds and "evidence of sexual assault," the next day, police said.
It is not clear how the killings were linked in motive. Ballistic evidence linked Cooksey to the cases, news reports said.
Police in Phoenix and two suburbs say they have evidence linking Cleophus Cooksey, already charged with two killings to seven additional homicides that occurred in a three-week span late last year. Picture: Maricopa County Sheriff via AP
The alleged serial killings finally unraveled on Dec. 17, when police were called to a disturbance at the house where Rene Cooksey, 56 and husband Edward Nunn, 54, lived. A patrol officer arrived to find Cooksey bloodied and "concealing things," officials said at a news conference on Thursday. His mother and husband were discovered dead in the house, having been shot, the police said.
"Nine deaths, three weeks, nine people shot in our communities," Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said the news conference.
Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams speaks at a news conference about the linking of nine homicides to convicted felon Cleophus Cooksey Jr. Picture: Terry Tang/AP
Cooksey was arrested that day and charged with two counts of murder.
According to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Cooksey was just released from prison in July after serving nearly 16 years for armed robbery and manslaughter from 2000 and 2001.
According to the Arizona Republic, the charges resulted from an armed robbery of a strip club which resulted in one person being killed. Cooksey's role in the crime was not immediately clear; as the Republic notes, people can be found guilty in Arizona even if they weren't the actual killer.
A sparse parking lot is seen in Phoenix, where police say a double homicide previously took place that is linked to Cleophus Cooksey. Picture: Ross D. Franklin/AP
He was convicted at the age of 18; during his years in prison, he racked up a lengthy disciplinary record in prison, records show. During a brief release in 2015 to a community supervision program, he was charged with a DUI, the Republic reported, and later "absconded" from his supervision, according to the Corrections Department, before being arrested again and returned to custody in 2016.
During his time out he had started posting rap videos on YouTube, according to the Republic. The low-quality videos show the rapper at his couch, singing over a track in the background.
Vehicles sit in a parking lot of an apartment complex that police say is linked to two of nine homicides by Cleophus Cooksey. Picture: Ross D. Franklin/AP
The Republic reported that Cooksey is the grandson of a Tucson, Arizona-based civil rights leader, Roy Cooksey.
Another alleged serial murderer killed nine people in Phoenix 2015 and 2016, leaving the city on edge. Aaron Juan Saucedo was charged with the murders in May 2017.
Officials on Thursday credited cooperation between ATF, FBI and local police departments as well as new technology initiatives with the shorter time it took to find a suspect for the cases.