GUILTY PA - Rachel King, 35, shot and killed in car at Dunkin' drive-thru, son, 11, unhurt - Cheltenham Twp., 11 Apr 2023 *Arrests*

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Woman Shot and Killed in Front of Son in Drive-Thru of Cheltenham Dunkin'

An investigation is underway after a woman was shot to death in front of her son as they sat in a car in the drive-thru lane at a Dunkin' Donuts in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

Investigators said a light-colored sedan, possibly a Ford or Mercury, was seen driving directly behind King's vehicle prior to the shooting and then parking a short distance away. Investigators later released a surveillance photo of that vehicle.

Officials said a man got out of the sedan, walked to the driver's side of King's vehicle and shot multiple times into the driver's side window.

Police describe the gunman as a Black male with a thin build, who was wearing light-colored pants and a dark-colored, hooded sweatshirt with the hood up covering his head at the time of the shooting.

Investigators said the gunman didn't attempt to open the car door nor did he appear to communicate with her prior to opening fire.

"This appears to be a targeted murder of a mother," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement. “Anyone with information about this vehicle or the driver is asked to call police and help us find whoever committed this heinous murder.”

This is in the eponymous part of Cheltenham Township known as Cheltenham. Location, on the border between Montgomery County and Philadelphia:

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Press release from the Office of the District Attorney:

4/11/2023 DA Announces Investigation into Homicide in Cheltenham

www.montcopa.org

 

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Arrests have been made, presser imminent.

LIVE: DA Makes Announcement in Deadly Ambush of Montco Mom at Dunkin' Drive-Thru

Two weeks after a mother was shot and killed in front of her 11-year-old in a Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Dunkin' drive-thru, authorities are expected to announce arrests in the deadly ambush.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

 

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Live now. Montco DA Kevin Steele speaking.

Watch Now: NBC10 News Live

Your online home for all of our NBC10 newscasts and breaking news.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

 

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'Cold-blooded killing': 2 charged in murder of Montgomery County mother

Rachel King, a 35-year-old mother and teacher at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in Philadelphia, was shot dead on April 11.

6abc.com

CHELTENHAM TWP., Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Authorities in Montgomery County have announced the arrests of two people in connection with the killing of a Cheltenham Township mother.

Zakkee Steven Alhakim, 33, of Philadelphia, and Julie Jean, 34, of Elkins Park, are both charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Rachel King, a 35-year-old mother and teacher at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in Philadelphia.

 

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2 charged in murder of beloved Philadelphia teacher Rachel King

Julie Jean of Elkins Park and Zakkee Alhakim of Philadelphia are now facing murder charges in the death of Rachel King.

www.cbsnews.com

Authorities say Jean and Alhakim planned the murder for months after a man whom King was seeing broke off an affair with Jean.

"I've seen a lot of horrible and even horrific homicides, evil homicides in my nearly 30 years of doing this as a prosecutor," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said. "And suffice it to say, I am struggling with this one, where a truly innocent woman is targeted in a long, planned murder all because of an ended affair. It's hard to come to grips with."

Jean and Alhakim are charged with first and third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and other charges.

Both are behind bars, Steele said.

Alhakim has been in custody since April 11 and will be arraigned Thursday from Philadelphia.

 

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“Cellphone evidence and surveillance video showed that Alhakim had previously been outside of King’s residence in the days leading up to the murder and had watched her movements. On the morning of the murder, the investigation found that when King pulled her vehicle into a line of traffic in the Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru lane, defendant Alhakim parked the Mercury Sable a short distance away, then walked to the driver’s side window of King’s vehicle and shot her multiple times, killing her,” prosecutors said in a press release. “Alhakim returned to his vehicle and fled the scene. The day after the murder, detectives located additional surveillance video on the route from King’s residence to the Dunkin’ Donuts, which clearly showed the Mercury Sable’s license plate was PA #DYR-9012.”

Family calls for death penalty after Philly teacher's son witnesses mom's 'cold-blooded killing' at Dunkin'

Prosecutors believe one of the suspects had an affair with the "innocent" teacher's longtime boyfriend.

lawandcrime.com

 

[10ofRods]

This is so brutal and senseless. So glad arrests are made - but the story is horrific.

 

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Mastermind Julie Jean seeks competency evaluation

Elkins Park woman accused of being mastermind of murder-for-hire plot seeks competency evaluation

An Elkins Park woman accused of being the mastermind behind a murder-for-hire plot that ended with the fatal shooting of a woman as she sat in her vehicle at a Dunkin’ drive-thru in Cheltenham Town…

www.mainlinemedianews.com

Julie Jean, through her lawyer, filed papers in Montgomery County Court seeking the competency examination and that request led to the postponement on Thursday of the preliminary hearing for Jean and her alleged co-defendant Zakkee S. Alhakim.

In court papers, Jean’s lawyer, Shaka M. Johnson, said that in preparation for the preliminary hearing he had an opportunity “to spend an ample amount of time” with Jean, which left him wary of her competency.

“The defendant was incoherent,” leaving him with “no choice but to request this evaluation for competency and treatment,” Johnson wrote in the court petition seeking the evaluation. Johnson argued that under state law a judge can order a competency examination at any stage in the court proceedings.

As of Thursday, a judge had not issued an order approving the competency evaluation.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Authorities say Jean and Alhakim planned the murder for months after a man whom King was seeing broke off an affair with Jean.

"I've seen a lot of horrible and even horrific homicides, evil homicides in my nearly 30 years of doing this as a prosecutor," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said. "And suffice it to say, I am struggling with this one, where a truly innocent woman is targeted in a long, planned murder all because of an ended affair. It's hard to come to grips with."

Jean and Alhakim are charged with first and third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and other charges.

Both are behind bars, Steele said.

Alhakim has been in custody since April 11 and will be arraigned Thursday from Philadelphia.

I hope that anyone who assisted in the planning of the murder is charged also. Hoping it was just these 2. It's just so senseless. The victim did nothing wrong.

 

[Melisende10]

I wonder if the victim knew she was being stalked. The boyfriend apparently had a restraining order against the woman who arranged the hit.But I wonder if the victim knew that? Maybe the victim thought the woman had stopped stalking them, since ultimately she hired that man to do the hit.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

I wonder if the victim knew she was being stalked. The boyfriend apparently had a restraining order against the woman who arranged the hit.But I wonder if the victim knew that? Maybe the victim thought the woman had stopped stalking them, since ultimately she hired that man to do the hit.

I wonder if the victim ever knew about the woman? If they had a long-term relationship and he had a fling, could he have covered it up or spun it? It's odd to me that he had an order of protection, but his gf didn't apply for one. Weren't they living together? Just some thoughts....

 

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2 accused of killing teacher in Dunkin drive-thru to stand trial for murder

JENKINTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — The two people accused of killing a woman in a Cheltenham Dunkin drive-thru in April are ordered to stand trial on murder and conspiracy charges.

Zakkee Alhakim, 34, of Philadelphia and Julie Jean, 34, of Elkins Park are accused of shooting and killing 35-year-old Rachel King in her car in the drive-thru, while her 11-year-old son sat in the backseat.

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Both defendants have a formal arraignment scheduled for Oct. 11.

Parents of slain Philly teacher face duo charged in murder-for-hire ambush

The parents of a slain Philadelphia teacher faced the two people accused of killing their daughter in a murder-for-hire ambush that prosecutors say was fueled by jealousy.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

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Alleged motive behind the murder​

Steele said that King's longtime boyfriend had an affair with Jean last year, but later broke it off and reconciled with King. Jean continued to harass both King and the man by text messages and calls, prompting the man to get a protection from abuse order against Jean, Steele said.

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Police said Alhakim, who's from Philadelphia, and Jean, who's from Elkins Park, had mapped out the murder and shared a photo of the victim in the days leading up to the killing.

A search into the suspects' cellphones showed that contact between the two had been deleted. Jean deleted 787 texts just 13 minutes before detectives interviewed her on April 12, the [Montgomery County] DA's office said.

 

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Trial underway.

Murder trial begins for 2 accused in drive-thru shooting death of Philly school teacher

The murder trial of two people prosecutors say were part of a murder-for-hire outside of a Cheltenham Dunkin Drive-Thru last April is underway

www.audacy.com

In opening statements, prosecutor Caroline Goldstein told jurors there are two defendants in the case of 35-year-old school teacher Rachel King’s murder: 34-year-old Zakkee Alhakim, who she says pulled the trigger, and 35-year-old Julie Jean, who she said pulled the strings.

Goldstein says Jean seduced William Hayes, King’s longtime, on-and-off boyfriend. And when Hayes broke off the affair to return to King, Jean devised a plan to kill King and set it in motion.

A man who dated an Elkins Park woman - and her alleged killer - described the love triangle behind her death

William Hayes said Rachel King was his "rock." Prosecutors say Hayes had an affair with another woman, Julie Jean, who plotted to have King killed when Hayes ended that relationship.

www.inquirer.com

The man at the center of a love triangle that prosecutors say led to the death of Rachel King testified Tuesday that she was the love of his life, his “rock,” and that he had planned to marry her before she was fatally shot in front of her son at a Dunkin’ drive-thru in Cheltenham last year.

“She basically made me a better me,” William Hayes said of King during the murder trial of her alleged killers. “I learned a lot from her. She was my rock, and I didn’t realize how much she was there at the time.”

But Hayes was also forthcoming about the casual sexual relationship he had with another woman, Julie Jean, during a break in his relationship with King.

And when Hayes ended that relationship and got engaged to King, prosecutors say a scorned Jean set in motion a murder-for-hire plot.

 

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March 21, 2024

Zakkee Steven Alhakim, 34, and Julie Jean, 35, were both found guilty of first-degree murder on Thursday in the death of Rachel King. They were each sentenced to life in prison.

It only took 52 minutes for the 12-person jury to decide if the two people plotted to kill King.

Man, woman found guilty in murder-for-hire slaying of beloved teacher

A man and woman were both found guilty of murder in the ambush killing of a Philadelphia teacher that prosecutors say was fueled by jealousy.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

2 found guilty in murder-for-hire killing of Philadelphia teacher at Dunkin' drive-thru

A man and a woman have been found guilty in the murder-for-hire killing of a Philadelphia teacher.

6abc.com