PHOENIX — The breakthrough in solving a series of deadly shootings in the Phoenix area back in 2017 occurred when police responded to a blood-stained apartment, leading to the arrest of a man suspected of murdering his mother and stepfather.

Officials reported that evidence from the scene connected Cleophus Cooksey Jr. to four additional murders. Among the items discovered were a firearm linked to several killings, a necklace that belonged to a victim, and car keys of a woman whose partly unclothed body was discovered in an alley.

Cooksey’s trial commenced on Monday, more than seven years after the events, following numerous delays caused by the pandemic. The 43-year-old faces charges of murder and other offenses related to a total of eight killings that took place in Phoenix and nearby Glendale over a period of three weeks. Prosecutors intend to pursue the death penalty if he is found guilty. Cooksey has denied the accusations, maintaining his not guilty plea.

In opening statements to a jury of 22 — 10 of whom are alternates — prosecutor Josh Maxwell said the victims had in common that they were all vulnerable at the time they were killed.

“The focus of this trial is one of those classic whodunits, and the evidence will show the person whodunit, if you will, is this individual over here, the defendant, Cleophus Emmanuel Cooksey,” Maxwell said pointing to Cooksey.

Defense attorney Robert Reinhardt began his opening statement telling jurors of their duty to be fair and impartial and said the prosecution did not point out a motive, calling the offenses “random and unrelated.”

“You didn’t hear anything about premeditation either. The state made statements that in incident No. 1, Mr. Cooksey just went up and shot them, but there’s no rhyme or reason to any of that,” Reinhardt said.

In earlier years, two other serial shooting cases sparked fear in metro Phoenix, prompting some people to stay indoors after dark or stay off freeways where they occurred. Unlike those cases, the killings Cooksey is accused of did not occur over a matter of months and generated no publicity until his arrest.

Cooksey’s trial is expected to last more than eight months, said Vincent Funari, a Maricopa County Superior Court spokesperson.

The victims

The first of the eight killings happened Nov. 27, 2017. By that point Cooksey had been out of prison for four months after serving time for his role in a 2001 strip club robbery that turned deadly.

Cooksey knew some of the victims intimately, but others were strangers. Most of the shootings happened in the evening and overnight. Police never released a motive but said Cooksey was responsible.

Parker Smith and Andrew Remillard were the first victims, shot while sitting inside a vehicle in a parking lot. Five days later security guard Salim Richards was fatally shot on the way to his girlfriend’s apartment. Prosecutors say Cooksey and Richards fought physically and Cooksey walked away with Richards’ gun and necklace.

Latorrie Beckford and Kristopher Cameron were killed in separate shootings at apartment complexes in Glendale.

Maria Villanueva was expected at her boyfriend’s apartment in Glendale, but police say Cooksey drove away with her in her vehicle. The next day her body, naked from the waist down, was found in a Phoenix alley. Authorities say she had been sexually assaulted and Cooksey’s DNA was found on her body.

Finally, on Dec. 17, 2017, Cooksey answered the door when officers acting on a report of gunshots showed up at his mother’s apartment. Officers noticed a lot of blood. Cooksey said he had cut his hand and was the only one home, according to police. Cooksey’s mother, Rene Cooksey, and stepfather, Edward Nunn, were found dead. Before he was detained, police say, Cooksey threatened to slit an officer’s throat.

The evidence against Cooksey

On the sofa in the living room, investigators 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.

In a January 2020 handwritten letter to a judge over the impending postponement of his trial, Cooksey said he was in an “upmost hurry” to prove “my charges are no more than false accusations” and “what better way to do so than” a not-guilty verdict. An aspiring musician, he said he was not a rapist or murderer: “I am a music artist.”

Despite wanting to exercise his right to a speedy trial, Cooksey’s case encountered postponements due to the pandemic, which interfered with preparation including the ability of experts to evaluate Cooksey.

Earlier in the case, his lawyers raised questions about a claim police made around the time of his arrest that Cooksey was suspected of a ninth killing. But prosecutors ultimately declined to charge Cooksey in the December 2017 shooting death of Jesus Real at his home in Avondale.

According to police, Real’s sister and Cooksey had broken up the night before. Prosecutors said they had no reasonable likelihood of winning a conviction.

Serial shooting cases in the Phoenix area

Cooksey’s arrest came after two serial shooting cases in recent years.

From late August to early September 2015, a total of 11 shootings occurred on freeways. No one was seriously hurt when eight vehicles were hit with bullets and three others with projectiles such as BBs or pellets. But a 13-year-old was cut by glass.

Charges were later dismissed against the only person charged in the shootings, who went on to win a rare court order declaring him officially cleared of the allegations.

The next serial shooting case came over nearly a one-year period that ended in July 2016. Aaron Juan Saucedo, a bus driver, has been charged with first-degree murder and other charges in the attacks, which killed nine people. He was arrested in April 2017.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Saucedo, who has pleaded not guilty. His trial is scheduled for December.