In the late hours of May 9, 2016, a grim discovery was made in a quiet residential neighborhood in Federal Way, Washington. Frank Cohens Jr., a 27-year-old Black / African American male from Tacoma, was found deceased, slumped over the steering wheel of a car near the Weyerhaeuser campus. He had been shot multiple times. His death marked the second homicide in Federal Way in just 48 hours, a fact that deeply unsettled the local community and spurred a significant police investigation.
The investigation into Cohens' death soon revealed it was not an isolated incident but part of a string of violent crimes that had plagued the city. In the spring of 2016, three other men were also killed in Federal Way. Investigators determined that robbery was the motive behind Cohens' murder. While the other killings in the spree were considered random acts of violence, Cohens was specifically targeted for a robbery that tragically ended his life. The investigation also uncovered that Cohens was likely involved in drug activity prior to his death, a detail that provided a lead for law enforcement.
After an extensive two-year investigation, the Federal Way Police Department announced a major breakthrough. They identified three suspects connected to the series of homicides. The primary suspect, identified as Justice Henderson, was only 17 years old at the time of the killings. He was already in custody, serving a 12-year sentence for an attempted murder in Pierce County that occurred just days before Cohens was killed. Police recommended that Henderson be charged with first-degree murder in all four homicides, including Cohens', and two counts of first-degree robbery.
Another suspect, Kamajah "K.J." Skannal, who was 20 at the time of the crimes, was specifically implicated in the death of Frank Cohens Jr. and was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in connection with the case. A third individual was also identified and faced charges related to another of the four killings. All three suspects were reported to have ties to a small local gang. The arrests brought a sense of resolution to a community that had been on edge and provided long-awaited answers for the families of the victims.
