West Philly man is found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend and their unborn child in King of Prussia

Rafiq Thompson was found guilty Wednesday of murdering his ex-girlfriend and their unborn child in King of Prussia, and will now face another trial to decide whether he will receive the death penalty.

Thompson, 40, was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and related crimes in the deaths of Tamara Cornelius, 31, and their unborn child. Thompson shot Cornelius four times at close range at an Exxon station in King of Prussia last April, killing her while she was four months pregnant.

The jury took less than two hours to reach a verdict on Thompson’s guilt. A hearing on whether Thompson should face the death penalty began Wednesday and will continue Thursday.

In his closing arguments Wednesday morning, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele once again walked the jury through the timeline of events that led to Thompson killing Cornelius at the gas station.

Steele showed the jury the many texts and calls throughout the day before the two met at a Cheesecake Factory at the King of Prussia Mall and showed the jury surveillance footage of the shooting. The footage, Steele said, shows Thompson yelling at Cornelius while hiding a stolen Glock G19 handgun in his right hand before raising the gun and shooting her.

After she stumbled to get away, Cornelius tumbled to the ground in agony and Thompson stood over her.

“We suggest to you that he has the specific intent to kill,” Steele said.

Thompson’s attorney Frank Genovese argued that the evidence presented by prosecutors didn’t meet the criteria to justify a first-degree murder conviction. Genovese acknowledged it was clear his client had killed Cornelius.

According to police documents, Thompson had been texting Cornelius in the weeks prior to the killing after she told him that he was the father of her unborn child. In early 2022, Cornelius was trying to break up with Thompson while he accused her of cheating on him.

Thompson sent dozens of unanswered texts until April 8 when he asked Cornelius to meet him for dinner at Cheesecake Factory in the King of Prussia Mall. After the two had an argument at dinner, Thompson left ahead of Cornelius. But, Steele said, he did not leave the area, instead waiting for Cornelius to leave the restaurant, tailing her Toyota Avalon in a silver Nissan sedan.

“He doesn’t leave. He could. But he lies in wait,” Steele told the jury.

Steele once again played surveillance footage for the jury that showed Thompson pulling up in the silver Nissan behind Cornelius’ white Toyota. Thompson is seen arguing with Cornelius, who was pumping gas, before pulling out a gun and shooting her. As she tried to flee, stumbling to get to the other side of pumps, Thompson ran after her and continued shooting.

Steele said the last thing Cornelius saw was the barrel of the gun Thompson used to kill her.

After the guilty verdict, Steele declined to comment on the death penalty trial, but said the murder case was one of the most cut-and-dry cases he could recall.

“In my 30 years of doing this, this was the most straightforward irrefutable evidence that I have had in a murder case. And the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder of the victim, Tamara Cornelius, and their unborn child,“ he said.

Tanaya Dunlap, Cornelius’ sister, said the family was thankful and relieved that Thompson had been convicted of murdering their loved one.

“As a family, we’re just grateful that his actions are not going unpunished. Because for a while — I can’t speak for everyone — I know that I was worried that her death would be in vain and we wouldn’t get justice for her,” she said after the guilty verdict.

“We’re all still kind of shaken up about it even though it happened over a year ago,” Dunlap added. “It’s like a wound that will never completely heal. We’re just trying to take it one day at a time and get better and help each other, and knowing that we’re getting justice for her is a really big step in that process.”

If a death sentence is handed down, it is unlikely Thompson will be put to death.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has called on the state legislature to abolish the death penalty and has said he will refuse to sign any death warrants.

Ninety-nine people are on death row in Pennsylvania, according to a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections list. Three were convicted in Montgomery County, a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office said.

When Thompson was arrested, he was on probation for a 2018 aggravated-assault conviction in which he hit a different former girlfriend with his van and charged at her with a knife after she ended their relationship.

According to the records, Thompson had been harassing the woman, who had obtained a protection from abuse order against him before the attack. Thompson was in prison for three years for the assault and paroled in June 2019.