A Valley man was sentenced to death after he was convicted of killing eight people in 2017.

Cleophus Cooksey, 43, was sentenced on Thursday in the murders. He was convicted in September of eight murders, but the sentencing jury remained hung on whether to sentence him to death in two murders, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

Cooksey was convicted of the murders that took place over roughly three weeks in metro Phoenix, starting with the killing of Parker Smith and Andrew Remillard, who were sitting in a car, on Nov. 27, 2017. It included the deaths of Salim Richards, LaTorrie Beckford, Krisopher Cameron in Glendale, and Maria Villanueva.

The spree of shootings ended on Dec. 16 with the killings of Cooksey’s mother, Rene Cooksey, and his stepfather, Edward Nunn.

Investigators tied Cooksey to the murders using DNA evidence, firearms and casings. At the time of his arrest, he was found with a gold necklace stolen from Richards and car keys belonging to Villanueva, according to a press release.

A jury in September found Cooksey guilt of eight counts of first-degree murder, three counts of armed robbery, two counts of kidnapping and one count of attempted sexual assault.

“Anyone who questions why we need the death penalty needs to look no further than this case,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell in a press release. “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, and we will do everything in our power to see it carried through.”