Andrew Remillard

Andrew “Andy” Remillard, a 27-year-old White male, was remembered for his love of life and the joy he brought to his family. He was a husband and father whose life was tragically cut short in Phoenix, Arizona, during what would become a string of violent, random killings that terrorized the metropolitan area in late 2017.

On the evening of November 27, 2017, Andrew and another man, 21-year-old Parker Smith, were found inside a parked car in a lot near 16th Street and Indian School Road. Both men had been shot to death. Their deaths marked the beginning of a three-week killing spree that would ultimately claim nine lives and leave a community in fear. Phoenix police initially had few leads in the double homicide, launching an investigation into the brutal and seemingly motiveless crime.

The investigation into the murders of Andrew and Parker soon connected with other homicides in the Phoenix area. As detectives pieced together evidence from various crime scenes, a pattern began to emerge, suggesting a single individual was responsible for the escalating violence. The string of killings included the deaths of Salim Richards, Latorrie Beckford, Kristopher Cameron, Maria Villanueva, and Jesus Real, though charges were not filed in Real's death. The spree culminated on December 17, 2017, with the murders of the suspect's own mother and stepfather.

A major breakthrough came when police responded to a call of shots fired at a central Phoenix apartment and arrested Cleophus Cooksey Jr., then 35, at the scene. Inside the apartment, they discovered the bodies of his mother, Rene Cooksey, 56, and his stepfather, Edward Nunn, 54. Evidence found at the apartment and in Cooksey's possession began to link him to the other murders. Ballistics tests connected a 9mm Glock handgun, which had been stolen from victim Salim Richards, to several of the killings. Police also found victim Maria Villanueva’s car keys in Cooksey's apartment, and he was wearing Richards' stolen necklace at the time of his arrest.

The trial for Cleophus Cooksey Jr. began in the spring of 2025. Prosecutors presented a mountain of evidence connecting him to eight of the nine murders. On September 25, 2025, a jury found Cooksey guilty on all charges, including eight counts of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and kidnapping. Though Cooksey maintained his innocence, the evidence proved overwhelming. Authorities never established a clear motive for most of the killings, including the murders of Andrew Remillard and Parker Smith.

In December 2025, Cleophus Cooksey Jr. was sentenced to death for six of the murders. The jury could not reach a unanimous decision on the punishment for the murders of his mother and stepfather. Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell stated, “Anyone who questions why we need the death penalty needs to look no further than this case. It takes a special kind of evil to prey upon the vulnerable and needlessly take the lives of eight innocent people. Death is the only just punishment for him.” In addition to the death sentences, Cooksey received more than nine years in prison for the non-capital charges. The conviction and sentence brought a final, grim resolution to a case that had left a trail of devastation across the city.