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A heartbreaking incident unfolded in Pennsylvania when a dedicated teacher was fatally shot while waiting in a Dunkin’ drive-thru line with her 11-year-old son in the backseat. Authorities have described the attack as a premeditated act of violence.
“This was not a carjacking, nor do we believe it was a robbery,” clarified retired Montgomery County Detective Gregory Henry during a May 9 episode of Oxygen’s “Philly Homicide.” He emphasized, “Someone actually meant to kill Rachel King.”
On the morning of April 11, 2023, Rachel King found herself in the drive-thru lane of a bustling shopping center when a man approached her vehicle. Without warning, the assailant fired multiple shots into her black Ford Edge, tragically ending her life on the spot. The shooter then fled the scene in a silver sedan, leaving behind a community in shock and mourning.
On April 11, 2023, Rachel was waiting in a Dunkin’ drive-thru lane at a busy shopping center when a man approached her black Ford Edge.
He fired at least six times into the driver’s side, killing Rachel instantly before fleeing in a silver sedan.
Cheltenham police officers pulled Rachel’s son—unharmed but hysterical—from the car while the family was notified and rushed to the police station.
“I wasn’t even allowing myself to believe she was gone,” recounted Rachel’s father Allen King Jr. “You couldn’t know Rachel and do that.”
Surveillance footage showed a man park a silver Mercury approximately 70 yards behind Rachel’s car before approaching her on foot.
“There was no argument, no attempt to get in the car,” said Cheltenham Township Police Detective Ryan Murray. “He just walked right up and fired and then ran back to his car.”
Bank records also showed that Julie had withdrawn $500, which prosecutors alleged was used to purchase the murder weapon.
“Zakkee had no motive to directly kill Rachel King—Julie Jean did,” said Henry. “She decided, if she couldn’t have William Hayes, somebody had to pay for this. That somebody was Rachel King.”
Thirteen days after the murder, Zakkee and Julie were arrested and charged with murder. They both pleaded not guilty.
On March 21, 2024, a jury convicted both of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. They were each sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“When that verdict came, I began to weep,” said Allen. “It felt like they had lifted the courthouse off of me.”
Today, Rachel’s family keeps her memory alive through the Rachel E. King Scholarship Fundraiser Soiree, something Allen believes his daughter has “a hand in.”