Two individuals are currently behind bars and facing murder charges for the heinous murder of Rachel King – a devoted 35-year-old teacher and mother who was brutally gunned down in front of her own child at a Dunkin’ drive-thru in the Philly area just a few weeks ago. Details about the cold-blooded “targeted” execution inside…
A man and a woman are behind bars and are facing murder charges for the gut-wrenching death of Rachel King, a 35-year-old teacher at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in Philadelphia and mother who was mercilessly shot in front of her 11-year-old child at a Dunkin’ drive-thru near Philadelphia on April 11th.
According to reports, the alleged masterminds behind this chilling homicide are Julie Jean, a 34-year-old from Elkins Park, and Zakkee Steven Alhakim, a 33-year-old Philadelphian. These two suspects reportedly hatched a diabolical plan over the course of two months, and officials are now saying that Rachel’s life was taken in what was essentially a targeted hit due to a romantic fling gone wrong.
They were charged with first- and third-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and other related charges in connection to the fatal shooting.
Furthermore, officials have revealed that the suspects were watching Rachel’s every move for days leading up to the shooting. Absolutely sickening.
“This cold-blooded killing of Rachel King was a targeted murder of an innocent person, planned by these two defendants and horrifically carried out in front of King’s son,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. “It is a tragic killing of a good person, all because of an ended affair.”
In the aftermath of the shooting, officers discovered six 9mm cartridge casings at the crime scene. Eleven 9mm fired cartridge casings were recovered at the scene.
Investigators have uncovered some disturbing details in this case.
According to them, Zakkee Steven Alhakim and Julie Jean were in cahoots to take down Rachel King, who was the significant other of William Hayes for quite some time.
Apparently, Julie Jean and William Hayes were involved in an affair last year. But when William decided to end things, Julie persisted in sending texts and making calls that amounted to harassment of both William and Rachel. This behavior ultimately led William to file a Protection From Abuse Order against Julie.
As for the day of the murder, sources claim that Zakkee parked a Mercury Sable a short distance from the scene before walking over to Rachel’s Ford Edge. That’s when he allegedly opened fire and struck Rachel multiple times. Rachel’s 11-year-old son, Jalen, was in the backseat and witnessed his mother get gunned down in cold blood.
Apparently, Zakkee followed Rachel from her home in Lynnewood Gardens apartments in a silver Mercury Sable. Reports suggest that Zakkee stalked Rachel and even waited outside her residence in the days before the murder.
Cell phone records have shed light on the twisted relationship between Zakkee and Julie, too. Apparently, Julie added Zakkee’s phone number under the name “Zah” in her contacts in mid-February. And get this: an affidavit of probable cause suggests that Zakkee is the cousin of the father of Julie’s children.
Investigators found a screenshot in Zakkee’s phone that showed a Google map of Rachel’s apartment complex. There was even a pin marking Rachel’s exact residence, along with a red arrow that provided a direct route to her front door.
Not only that, Zakkee had a photo of Rachel on his phone, and it was reportedly taken by his partner in crime, Julie, Feb. 25, 2023, at 2:17 p.m. According to reports, the photo was taken just minutes after Zakkee shared his real-time location with Julie for them to meet up. Moments later, authorities said a screen capture of a photo montage of Rachel King was saved on Zakkee’s phone.
After Rachel was gunned down, authorities say that both Zakkee and Julie attempted to delete information from their phones. In fact, Julie deleted a staggering 787 texts just minutes before her interview with detectives on April 12th. But despite their efforts, law enforcement was able to recover the deleted messages.
And if that wasn’t enough, authorities now say that on the day of the murder, Julie sent Zakkee a message on CashApp with a payment of $5, along with an ominous emoji message that essentially meant “let’s link up, no phones, that’s it.” So heartless.
Julie Jean was apprehended and is being detained without bail at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. Similarly, Zakkee Alhakim is presently being held at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia.
Zakkee Steven Alhakim was also hit with additional charges on Wednesday, in connection with a second fatal shooting that occurred on April 7th, four days before Rachel’s murder. The Montgomery County officials claim that Zakkee is responsible for the murder of 36-year-old James “Chris” Farrell Jr.
During the investigation, officials made a significant discovery, that the ballistics evidence from Farrell’s crime scene matches with the evidence found at the scene of Rachel King’s murder.
Watch Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele share all the details of the murder in a press conference below:
Rachel King’s family also spoke during the press conference, where they thanked everyone who had a hand in investigating their daughter’s murder.
“Our hearts are hurting,” said Rachel’s mother, Carol King. “But we also believe this, in time they will be healed and we will be moving forward with our grandson, Jalen.”
Watch their heartbreaking response below:
Allen King, Rachel’s brother, revealed he’s shocked that someone would go this far to kill his sister over a failed relationship, noting he was unaware of the alleged “ended affair” between Rachel’s longtime boyfriend and Julie. Allen said he knows Rachel’s longtime boyfriend, William, because they attended the same college.
“You just don’t take a mother away from her child. Over a relationship, over a guy,” Allen said. “There’s a million men in this city. Why?”
Allen shared Rachel’s 11-year-old son, Jalen, is in therapy and seeing a trauma counselor after witnessing his mother’s brutal mother. Unfortunately, Jalen was the one who called their family after the deadly shooting.
“He called from the car,” Allen said. “That’s how we found out, because [he] called.”
He wants the death penalty to be brought down on both suspects.
“It makes me feel like I truly sincerely hope that our governor signs off on the death penalty. They had multiple opportunities to turn around, to not do this,” he said. “They knew that my nephew was in the car. They made a very clear choice.”
Watch his interview below:
Rachel’s brother started a GoFundMe to cover any unexpected expenses, and to benefit her son Jalen in the future. So far, over $104,000 has been raise. You can donate HERE.
The details emerging in this case are absolutely horrifying, and it’s clear that Rachel King, an innocent teacher and mother, was tragically caught up in a web of jealousy and deceit that ultimately cost her life. Sending prayers to the King Family during this tragic time.
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Photo: Facebook/Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office
