Cleophus Cooksey Jr., accused of murdering 8 people in 21 days, awaits verdict

The trial of Cleophus Cooksey Jr. , charged with murdering eight individuals in a 21-day crime spree in 2017, has been handed to the jury for deliberation. Prosecutors connected Cooksey to the killings through forensic evidence, including two 9 mm guns and GPS data, while the defense claimed the evidence was unreliable and lacked eyewitness accounts. The proceedings concluded on September 18, following five months of testimony and two days of closing arguments. Maricopa County Deputy Attorney Christopher Sammons walked the jury through each murder, asserting that the victims were innocent.

Cooksey’s defense attorney, Robert Reinhardt, raised doubts about the investigation, questioning the absence of further leads and eyewitnesses. He argued that the prosecution could not definitively establish Cooksey's motives or actions during the killings. The jury must now weigh the evidence and decide Cooksey's fate. This case highlights issues of forensic reliability and the complexities of establishing guilt in violent crimes.