Trial begins for West Philly man facing death penalty for allegedly killing ex-girlfriend and unborn child in King of Prussia

The trial of a West Philadelphia man who is facing the death penalty for allegedly murdering his ex-girlfriend and their unborn child in King of Prussia began Monday, with prosecutors painting Rafiq Thompson as a cold-blooded killer who had hatched a plan to gun down the pregnant woman.

In Monday’s opening statements, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele and Assistant District Attorney Samantha Arena said Thompson, 40, shot Tamara Cornelius four times at close range at an Exxon station in King of Prussia last April, while she was four months pregnant with his child.

Thompson is facing multiple counts of first- and third-degree murder in Montgomery County’s first capital case since 2014.

On April 8, 2022, while hiding a stolen Glock G19 handgun in his right hand, Steele said, Thompson began yelling at Cornelius, 31, before raising the gun and shooting her.

“And then he fires again. Tamara is trying to get away. And then he fires again. She’s trying to get away. And then he fires again,” Steele said to the jury.

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

Thompson’s lawyer Frank Genovese argued that the evidence presented by prosecutors would not meet the criteria to justify a first-degree murder conviction, while acknowledging that it was clear that his client had killed Cornelius.

“Not every killing is a murder. And not every murder is a murder of the first degree,” Genovese told the jury.

According to police documents, Thompson had been texting Cornelius in the weeks before 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 Thompson 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 the Cheesecake Factory at the King of Prussia Mall, according to the documents. According to witnesses cited in the documents, the two were arguing at dinner and Thompson left ahead of Cornelius.

Several witnesses who saw Cornelius and Thompson at points throughout the night, from the heated dinner at Cheesecake Factory to Cornelius’ dying moments, testified Monday.

A server recalled seeing them argue, but could not say what they had been fighting about.

One witness, who had been pumping gas at the Exxon station where the shooting occurred, said he heard multiple gunshots before seeing a woman pass the front of his car, closely followed by a man. The witness said he was “frozen,” trying to become invisible so as not to be seen by the gunman.

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

Another witness said she had just pulled away from the gas station when she heard gunshots and called 911 before returning to the scene. Once there, she saw Cornelius lying on the ground and got out of the car to console her, holding her hand and telling her to stay with her.

Genovese said that a single moment in time did not encompass all of the couple’s tumultuous relationship.

For most of Monday’s proceedings, Thompson, clad in a blue shirt and red tie, did not react. Occasionally, he would clasp his hands together and shake and lower his head to the table where he sat alongside his lawyers.

Pennsylvania has had a moratorium on executions since 2015, under which defendants can be sentenced to death. Despite the moratorium, Steele has said the case was egregious enough to warrant pushing for capital punishment.

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 for hitting another former girlfriend with his van and charging 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.