2 found guilty in murder-for-hire killing of Philadelphia teacher at Dunkin' drive-thru

NORRISTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A man and a woman have been found guilty in the murder-for-hire killing of a Philadelphia teacher.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said the jury took less than an hour to convict 35-year-old Julie Jean and 34-year-old Zakkee Alhakim of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Rachel King, 35, was shot in front of her 11-year-old son while waiting in a Dunkin' drive-thru in Cheltenham, Pa. last April.

Jean and Alhakim were accused of orchestrating and carrying out King's murder.

"We're thankful to God for giving us the strength to go through this, and today is a day of victory for Rachel," said King's mother, Carol.

It had been a very emotional trial, and King's family and friends had been in court daily.

"I am relieved, grateful. I'm saddened. Honestly, they're really were no winners today, this is not a winning situation at all," said King's father, Allan.

Kings sister, Ahyana, said she couldn't wait to get home to her nephew - King's son.

"My God, I cannot wait to hold that little boy and tell him that the people who murdered his mother have been held accountable," she said.

Prosecutors say Alhakim was hired by Jean to commit the murder because she was jealous of King and having an affair with King's boyfriend.

According to investigators, Alhakim parked a short distance away from the drive-thru, walked up to the driver's side of King's vehicle, and fired multiple shots through the window.

King was a well-known teacher at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in the Mastery Charter School system in Philadelphia's Tioga-Nicetown.

READ MORE: Family of teacher shot, killed in Dunkin' drive-thru speaks to Action News