The trial of a Phoenix man who police say is a serial killer who murdered eight people in a three-week span in 2017 begins this week.
Cleophus Cooksey, 42, faces the death penalty if convicted in the string of homicides. The victims included Cooksey's mother and her husband, but also included people who were total strangers to Cooksey, azcentral.com reported.
Prosecutors allege that the crime spree began Nov. 27 with the murders of Andrew Remillard and Parker Smith, who were shot to death in a parking lot near Indian School Road.
The killings ended on Dec. 17 when officers responded to a report of gunshots and found Cooksey at the home of his mother, Rene Cooksey, and her husband, Edward Nunn. Inside, police found their dead bodies and the walls of their residence splattered with blood, azcentral.com reported.
Fox News reported that Cooksey answered the door when officers showed up and that he had a cut on his hand. Before police arrested him on the murder of his mother and her husband, Cooksey reportedly told an officer that he was going to slit the officer's throat.
The station reported that police say they were able to link Cooksey to the other killings through ballistics. Also, in one of the cases, the victim, Maria Villanueva, was also sexually assaulted, and police found Cooksey's DNA on the victim. Fox reported that police believe Cooksey was responsible for a ninth murder, but he has not been charged in that case.
Opening statements were scheduled to begin Monday in Cooksey's trial. Police have not released a motive in the slayings.
