Two suspects charged with plotting Cheltenham woman’s murder will face a county judge

A Philadelphia man and Cheltenham woman who prosecutors say conspired to “assassinate” a woman in front of her son were ordered to stand trial after a marathon preliminary hearing Tuesday.

Julie Jean has been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy alongside Zakkee Alhakim, the man, prosecutors say, who killed Rachel King in April 11 in an ambush as she was parked in a drive-thru with her son.

Jean, 35, had an affair with King’s fiancé, prosecutors said Tuesday. Jean, whose children attended the school where King’s fiancé worked, lived in the same apartment complex as the couple. When King found out about the infidelity, her fiancé ended his relationship with Jean, according to prosecutors.

Jean attempted to resume the relationship through incessant phone calls and messages, at one point even reaching out to King, authorities said, adding that the man was granted a temporary restraining order against her in December.

» READ MORE: Rachel King was killed in a Dunkin’ drive-thru by a hitman hired by a woman who had dated her boyfriend, DA says

Alhakim’s lawyer, Benjamin Cooper, urged Magisterial District Judge Juanita Price to withdraw the charges. The prosecutors’ case, he said, was made up of circumstantial evidence, with nothing directly connecting his client to the killing.

Cooper’s argument was echoed by Jean’s lawyer, Shaka Johnson, who said that although prosecutors had established that a “tragedy” had taken place, they had failed to connect Jean to it.

“What did Ms. Jean do, if anything, to create what we saw? I submit nothing,” Johnson said. “She wasn’t present in the car, and she wasn’t present for the shooting.”

But District Attorney Kevin Steele disputed their contentions, saying his office had presented an unusually large swath of evidence at the preliminary hearing: Not only had they proven the charges were appropriate, but, he said, they already proved the defendants’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. That is a more advanced standard for a preliminary hearing.

“Any action in furtherance of this crime makes Julie Jean culpable of the same crimes,” Steele said. “[Alhakim] doesn’t even know Rachel King; his only knowledge of her comes from his codefendant.”

In February, Jean contacted Alhakim, 34, meeting up with him several times in West Philadelphia, according to testimony during Tuesday’s hearing. During those meetings, Jean provided Alhakim with multiple photos of King and her son, as well as instructions on how to enter King’s apartment complex without being noticed.

A photo taken by detectives from Alhakim’s cell phone, displayed in court, depicted Jean holding up her cell phone to the camera, displaying a recent picture of King.

Weeks before King, 35, was killed in the drive-thru, Jean also bought Alhakim a used Mercury sedan to use in the killing, prosecutors said.

Alhakim, whom Jean met through the father of her children, closely followed her instructions, according to prosecutors. He arrived at King’s apartment complex early in the morning, parked nearby, and followed her as she pulled away with her son, as depicted in surveillance video played in court.

Detectives pieced together dozens of surveillance clips from nearby businesses, traffic cameras, and even a school bus to track Alhakim as he tailed King through Cheltenham en route to her son’s violin practice.

When King pulled into a Dunkin’ at Melrose Shopping Center on East Cheltenham Avenue, Alhakim parked a few yards away, the video showed. He then approached the driver’s side of King’s Ford Edge SUV, raised his arm, and fired six times into the window.

King was struck multiple times, and was later pronounced dead at the scene. Her son, Jalen, was uninjured, though King’s father, the Rev. Allen King, said the 11-year-old was still recovering from the loss of his mother, relying on his faith and family to do so.

“We have every confidence that justice will, in fact, prevail,” the victim’s father King said after the hearing. “I wanted to be able to hate these defendants, but in seeing them, I don’t hate them, because I know justice will prevail.”

Hours after Rachel King’s death, Philadelphia Police spotted a sedan matching the description of the one used in the shooting, and tried to pull it over. Alhakim crashed the car while trying to flee and was taken into custody.

Prosecutors said this wasn’t the first time Alhakim killed someone: He allegedly used the same sedan, and the same gun, to kill James Farrell, 35, in Philadelphia, just four days before King’s slaying. Alhakim also faces murder charges in the city in connection with Farrell’s death.

After his arrest, Alhakim denied being involved in the death of King, and initially lied about how he had received the Mercury, prosecutors said.

Jean told police that she had no idea King had been killed, and denied buying the sedan altogether, until being presented with evidence of the sale. Detectives later found that she had deleted nearly 800 text messages on her phone between her and Alhakim right before she gave her statement to police.