Maricopa County’s top prosecutor speaks on serial killer case

0 January 15, 2026 21:55

Less than one month after Cleophus Cooksey was sentenced to multiple death sentences in his eight-person murder spree, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell revealed new evidence and a new decision on what happens next.

This is not only a rare serial killer case in this day and age, but it’s also a bit unique.

It was a three-week spree, at least eight people dead, and there is still seemingly no known motive more than eight years later. Most of those victims did not know each other, or Cooksey, and the final two were his mother and stepfather.

After a seven-month-long trial, the jury stopped short of sentencing Cooksey to death for all eight murders, leaving one part of this case open-ended.

Rachel Mitchell is now able to talk about how it’s going to end and what we’ve learned about some of the victims.

True Crime Arizona’s Briana Whitney has more.

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