NORRISTOWN — A jury decided that an Elkins Park woman planned the killing of her romantic rival as part of a murder-for-hire scheme and that a Philadelphia man carried out the deadly shooting of the rival as she sat in her car at a Dunkin’ drive-thru in Cheltenham Township.
Julie Jean, 35, of the 7600 block of Washington Lane, Elkins Park, the mastermind of the plot, and Zakkee S. Alhakim, 34, of Philadelphia, the shooter, showed no emotion on Thursday as a Montgomery County jury found them guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the 7:39 a.m. April 11, 2023, fatal shooting of Rachel Elizabeth King.
The jury of nine women and three men deliberated only 50 minutes before announcing the verdicts. Members of King’s family wept as the verdict was announced and hugged and thanked prosecutors and detectives afterward.
Judge William R. Carpenter immediately sentenced Jean and Alhakim to mandatory life prison terms.
During emotional victim impact testimony, relatives of King confronted Jean and Alhakim in the courtroom.
“You stole from me. I will never forget that you took something you didn’t have a right to take. More importantly, you stole and robbed from God,” the Rev. Allen King Jr., Rachel’s father, addressed the defendants. “Rachel was my laughing buddy. She had a tremendous sense of humor and laughed out loud from the belly. She was a teacher extraordinaire. She had a love for kids, and kids loved her.”
Carol King, Rachel’s mother, said she will never forget the moment she learned about the death of “my baby girl” and how it turned her life “completely upside down.”
“If you knew Rachel you would love Rachel. She was full of life. We are left to mourn. We are left to grieve,” Carol King testified.
In memory of his daughter, the Rev. Allen King Jr., father of Rachel Elizabeth King, wore orange, Rachel’s favorite color, on March 20, 2024, during the trial of two people accused of killing Rachel King. (Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)
Carol King recalled having to tell Rachel’s 11-year-old son, Jalen, that his mother had died.
“He too let out a horrific scream and cry. He said, ‘Mommie didn’t deserve to die like that,’” Carol King recalled.
Relatives said they are caring for Jalen and supporting him, trying to keep his life as “stable and normal as possible,” but that their lives have forever been changed.
The Kings expressed that while they will never forget what Jean and Alhakim did, it is their deep Christian faith that prompts them to offer forgiveness.
“I want to assure you both I will continue to pray for you,” Carol King addressed Jean and Alhakim directly.
During the trial, prosecutors argued Jean had an affair in 2022 with King’s long-time boyfriend, William Hayes, and when Hayes broke it off with Jean and chose to reconcile with King, Jean wanted to get back at Hayes so she conspired with Alhakim to kill King.
The district attorney, Kevin R. Steele, argued to the jury that seeking revenge can be terrible, and in this case, it was deadly as it took the life of an innocent person.
King, a 35-year-old teacher from Cheltenham, was shot multiple times while sitting in her car at the Dunkin’ store in the Melrose Shopping Center on West Cheltenham Avenue in Cheltenham.
King had stopped at the Dunkin’ store on her way to take her 11-year-old son, Jalen, to a violin practice. Jalen was in the back seat of the car and was not hurt during the attack.
The district attorney argued that this was a planned killing of a young woman taking her child to school. He believed the intent was very clear.
The prosecutors aimed to convict Jean and Alhakim of first-degree murder, which is an intentional killing, under accomplice liability theories.
However, defense lawyer Shaka M. Johnson, representing Jean, suggested that the prosecution's case was based on unproven ideas and theories. Johnson implied that the prosecutors tried to portray Jean in a negative light.
During his closing statement to the jurors, Johnson argued that the motive behind the murder was unknown and that the evidence and proof needed were not present.
Defense lawyer Benjamin Cooper stated that prosecutors lacked identification or physical evidence, such as DNA or a gun, to link Alhakim to the murder.
The investigation began when Cheltenham police were called to the shopping center at 81 W. Cheltenham Ave. for a report of a shooting. King was discovered dead in the driver’s seat of her Ford Edge vehicle near the Dunkin’ drive-thru.
Six 9mm fired cartridge casings were found in the area where Alhakim had been standing when he allegedly fired gunshots into King’s vehicle.
According to the criminal complaint, detectives found that King’s vehicle was followed from her residence by a silver Mercury Sable operated by Alhakim. As King pulled into the Dunkin’ drive-thru, Alhakim walked to her vehicle and shot her multiple times before fleeing.
Cellphone analysis and surveillance video revealed that Alhakim had been outside King’s residence in the days leading up to the murder, observing her movements.
After the shooting, investigators shared surveillance images of the silver Mercury Sable and asked the public for help identifying the vehicle's owner. Soon after, Philadelphia detectives stated that they believed the same vehicle was involved in a shooting and homicide in Philadelphia on April 7, 2023, and that Alhakim was a suspect in that alleged crime, according to court documents.
Philadelphia police found 11 fired 9mm cartridge casings at the April 7 murder scene.
On April 13, investigators received information that a comparison of the 9mm fired cartridge casings from the Cheltenham and Philadelphia homicide scenes determined the same firearm was used in both incidents, according to the criminal complaint.
Alhakim also is facing homicide charges in connection with the April 7 incident in Philadelphia.
Alhakim was apprehended by Philadelphia police on April 11 just hours after King’s fatal shooting while he was operating the Mercury Sable.
The investigation found that Alhakim and Jean knew each other through a mutual acquaintance and had communicated and met multiple times since February leading up to the murder. The Mercury Sable was obtained by Alhakim on March 30 and was bought in Jean’s name, as stated in court papers.
When police analyzed the contents of Alhakim’s cellphone they determined data showed he was in the area of King’s residence in the early morning hours of April 11 and near the Dunkin’ store at the time of the fatal shooting.
Further inspection of Alhakim’s cellphone revealed a screen capture of a map showing the exact location of King’s residence and an overlay in red marker drawing showing a route of travel directly to the victim’s house, detectives alleged.
Detectives also found a screen capture on Alhakim’s cellphone containing a collage of photographs of King and another screen capture of a photograph of King that was displayed on the screen of what is believed to be Jean’s cellphone, as per court documents.
A photo showing a Polymer P80 ghost gun, which matches the firearm authorities believe was used to kill King, was also discovered on Alhakim’s cellphone, according to testimony.
The ghost gun was never found, authorities said.
