A series of killings that occurred across Phoenix and neighboring Glendale in late 2017 remained largely unknown to the public until a dramatic discovery inside a blood-stained apartment led investigators to a suspect. Prosecutors allege that Cleophus Cooksey Jr. is responsible for eight murders committed over a three-week period, making the case one of the most significant multiple-homicide prosecutions in Arizona in recent years. Cooksey has pleaded not guilty and denies the allegations against him.
The investigation reached a turning point on December 17, 2017, when officers responded to an apartment after reports of a disturbance. Inside, police found Cooksey’s mother, Rose Cooksey, and his stepfather, Parker Smith, dead from gunshot wounds. Authorities arrested Cooksey at the scene. What initially appeared to be a double-homicide investigation soon expanded after detectives began examining evidence recovered from the apartment and comparing it to several unsolved killings that had occurred across the metropolitan area.
According to prosecutors, investigators recovered a firearm that ballistic testing later linked to multiple homicide scenes. Detectives also found personal property allegedly connected to other victims, including a necklace belonging to one victim and keys connected to another. Those discoveries prompted a broader review of unsolved shootings and suspicious deaths that had occurred during the previous weeks. As forensic evidence was analyzed, authorities concluded that several cases previously thought to be unrelated might have been committed by the same person.
The victims included men and women from different backgrounds and circumstances. Prosecutors have argued that many were particularly vulnerable when they were attacked. Some were found in vehicles, others in residences, and one victim was discovered partially unclothed in an alley. Investigators spent months reconstructing timelines, reviewing surveillance footage, analyzing cell phone records, and comparing forensic evidence from each crime scene to determine whether the killings were connected.
Authorities eventually charged Cooksey with eight murders and numerous related offenses. During opening statements, prosecutors told jurors that the evidence would demonstrate Cooksey was responsible for all of the killings. The defense countered that the alleged crimes were random, lacked a clear motive, and that prosecutors had failed to establish a coherent explanation for why the murders occurred. Defense attorneys have maintained that the state’s case relies heavily on circumstantial connections and that Cooksey is not responsible for the crimes.
The case experienced years of delays before reaching trial. Court proceedings were repeatedly postponed because of pandemic-related disruptions and the complexity of preparing a capital murder prosecution involving numerous victims, crime scenes, forensic experts, and witnesses. By the time opening statements began, more than seven years had passed since the killings. Prosecutors have indicated that they intend to seek the death penalty if Cooksey is convicted.
Today, the trial represents the culmination of one of the largest homicide investigations in the Phoenix area in recent memory. Jurors are expected to hear months of testimony from detectives, forensic specialists, medical examiners, and witnesses as prosecutors attempt to prove that a series of seemingly unrelated killings were in fact connected through evidence discovered in a single apartment. The outcome will determine whether investigators successfully established the link between eight deaths and one defendant, or whether the defense can create reasonable doubt about the state’s theory of the case.
