Phoenix Police Say Serial Killer Arrested, Linked To 9 Murders

PHOENIX, AZ – It was December 17, 2017, and Phoenix Police responded to a report of shots being fired in an apartment on the 1300 block of East Highland Avenue. They were met at the door by Cleophus Cooksey, Jr.,

There's nothing going on, he told them.

Officers thought he was acting suspiciously.

There was also the fact that there appeared to be blood on the screen door, the patio, and in the apartment.

They arrested him and, while searching the apartment, they found a man and a woman in the living room. They had been shot to death.

They turned out to be 56-year-old Rene Cooksey, the mother of Cleophus, and 54-year-old Edwin Nunn, Rene's husband and Cleophus's stepfather.

"Our detectives didn't stop there," Chief of Police Jeri Williams said at a news conference on Thursday, announcing that Cooksey is now charged with nine murders. "They kept digging."

Williams, who read the names of the victims and ask that they be remembered, said that while some of the victims had clear connections, others appeared to be random murders.

"Nine deaths," she said. "Three weeks."

Phoenix Police Sergeant Jonathan Howard addressed criticism that the department didn't let people know that there was a serial killer in the area by pointing out that they didn't know there was a serial killer until after Cooksey was in custody.

He added: "To solve nine homicides in a period is outstanding."

The murders happened in Phoenix, Glendale, and Avondale. Police say they were able to link the murders through ballistics tests.

Cooksey is the second – and second-most prolific – alleged serial killer arrested in Phoenix in 2017.

In May, police charged Aaron Saucedo in 12 shootings that resulted in nine deaths.

Cooksey, 35, is the grandson of noted Tucson civil rights leader Roy Cooksey who started both the Pinal County branch of the NAACP and the Tucson-based Afro-American Coordination Committee, which worked to improve relations between the black community and police departments. He died in 2009.

Cleophus Cookey spent 16 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter. He was arrested in 2001 after he and four others tried to rob a topless club at gunpoint. The manager shot one of the other people, killing him.

Arizona law allowed prosecutors to charge Cooksey with first-degree murder. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and went to prison to November 2001.

While behind bars, he was found guilty of nearly two dozen crimes and infractions ranging from assaulting prison staff to drug possession.

After being released in November 2015, Cooksey started rapping under the name King Playbola, posting videos on YouTube.

He posted nine videos – all of which feature him sitting on a couch rapping about topics such as drugs, violence, and women.

One 90-second clip, titled "Azilla Hop" contains lyrics that seem more ominous than when the song was posted on January 13, 2016.

"I chopped at the rest of 'em

"Murdered all the best of 'em

"Nothing left of 'em."

Detectives spent Thursday morning with the families of victims to make sure that they heard the news of the charges from the police rather from the media. Other detectives then booked him on the new charges.

Police think that there might be more victims out there. They also want to hear from anyone who might have information connecting Cooksey to his alleged victims. People are urged to call the Phoenix, Glendale, or Avondale police departments or silent witness at 480-WITNESS.

Police say that these are Cooksey's victims:

• On November 27th, at approximately 10:45 p.m. Phoenix Police officers responded to a shooting near 1500 East Indian School Road. The suspect had fled the area but officers located two men with gunshot injuries dead inside a car. The victims were identified as Andrew Remillard and Parker Smith.
• On December 2nd, at approximately 7:45 p.m., Phoenix Police officers responded to a shooting near 4400 West Indian School Road. The suspect had fled the area but officers located an adult male with gunshot injuries dead near the roadway. The victim was identified as Salim Richards. Detectives discovered that property, including a handgun, had been stolen from the victim.
• On December 11th, at approximately 3:30 p.m., Avondale Police officers responded to a residence near 500 East Harrison Drive. The suspect had fled the area but officers located an adult male with gunshot injuries dead inside the home. The victim was identified as Jesus Real.
• On December 13th, at approximately 6:55 p.m., Glendale Police officers responded to an apartment complex near 5100 North 55th Avenue reference a shooting. The suspect had fled the area but officers located an adult male with gunshot injuries dead in the common area of the complex. The victim was identified as Latorrie Beckford.
• On December 15th, at approximately 7:20 p.m., Glendale Police officers responded to an apartment complex near 5100 North 58th Avenue reference a shooting. The suspect had fled the area but officers located an adult male with gunshot injuries dead in the common area of the complex. The victim was identified as Kristopher Cameron.
• On December 15th, at approximately 8:50 p.m., the victim, Maria Villanueva, was kidnapped from an apartment complex near 5100 North 58th Avenue in Glendale. The following day, Phoenix Police officers responded to a check welfare call and located the sexually assaulted body of Maria Villanueva in alley near 1700 South 3rd Street in Phoenix. She was deceased of apparent gunshot injuries.
• On December 17, Rene Cooksey and Edwin Nunn were found shot to death in an apartment.

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Photo courtesy Phoenix Police Department.