The location where Ennis Cosby was shot dead

This is the location where Ennis Cosby was shot dead.

The shooting took place on the Skirball Center Drive exit on Interstate 405 in Los Angeles, California (Exit 61).

Ennis was the son of controversial entertainer Bill Cosby.

In the early hours of January 16th, 1997, the 27-year-old was driving north along Interstate 405 when he realized that he had a flat tire.

After taking the Skirball Center Drive exit, he eventually pulled his Mercedes Benz over to the side of this road near the Mulholland Bridge.

At the time, it was dark, rainy, and cold outside. To complicate matters even further, the lighting in the area was bad, and he didn't have a flashlight in his car.

Earlier that night, Cosby had gone on a date with an older woman named Stephanie Crane, whom he had recently met at a party.

Crane lived relatively close to where he had broken down. There was also a good chance she was still awake. Consequently, he decided to call her.

Crane agreed to drive over to Cosby and help him. When she arrived at Exit 61, she parked behind him and pointed her high beams at his vehicle.

After hugging him and talking to him for a couple of minutes, she decided to retreat to her car because of the cold. Meanwhile, Cosby got to work on his flat tire.

Sadly, like many victims, it appears as though the pair were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

That night, an 18-year-old gang associate named Mikhail Markhasev and two of his friends were hanging out beside a payphone in a nearby parking lot.

Although Markhasev was originally planning on holding up a local drug dealer, he decided to put those plans on hold after he noticed the headlights on the side of the dark road.

Sensing that he had the perfect opportunity to rob someone, he left his associates and moved in for a closer look.

After walking up to Crane's vehicle, he knocked on her window, waved a gun, and ordered her to get out. However, she was so panicked when she saw him that she immediately sped away.

Seconds later, she made a sharp turn and drove back around, hoping to scare the gunman off with her headlights.

However, when she arrived back at Cosby's Mercedes, she couldn't see anyone. Fearing that he might have been kidnapped, she began to scream, "Ennis! Ennis! Ennis!"

Moments later, she spotted Markhasev running away in the distance. At that point, she looked down and saw that Cosby was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.

The 27-year-old had been shot in the head at point-blank range. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.

In March 1997, Markhasev was arrested for Cosby's murder after one of his associates submitted a tip to the National Enquirer in exchange for a $100,000 reward. Although Markhasev pleaded not guilty to the crime, he was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In 2001, Markhasev decided to drop all of his appeals and confess to murdering Ennis Cosby. In his letter, he apologized to Cosby's family and stated that confessing to the crime was the least that he could do "as a Christian."

Photos

Photos of the exit and other related images.

Crime scene

This is a "then and now" image of the crime scene.

The Google Street View image at the bottom was captured in January 2021—roughly 24 years after Cosby was murdered during a botched robbery.

Cosby's murder

The aerial map above highlights the key places.

Cosby was shot close to Mulholland Drive, which is just off Interstate 405.

Mikhail Markhasev and his associates were hanging around in a nearby park-and-ride lot.

Park & Ride lot

That night, Markhasev was trying to call a drug dealer from a payphone in this park-and-ride lot.

According to a jailhouse letter that he wrote, he was planning on robbing the dealer. However, he was unable to get through to him.

Coordinates: 34.123634, -118.476970

Google Maps

Skirball Center Drive

This Google Street View image shows what Skirball Center Drive looks like from the parking lot.

The red circle highlights the general area where the murder occurred.

That night, Markhasev noticed the headlights and realized that a car was parked at the side of Skirball Center Drive. At that point, he left his associates and walked up the road to take a closer look.

Mikhail Markhasev

Mikhail Markhasev was born in Lvov, Ukraine. He emigrated to the United States with his mother when he was 10 years old.

In high school, he performed well and even attended classes for gifted children.

However, former friends say that he had an overwhelming urge to fit in. As he got older, he started hanging around with associates of Mexican street gangs, who nicknamed him "PWee".

From that point on, his grades suffered, and he began to act like a "wannabe gangster."

Although his mother attempted to give him a fresh start by moving to Encino, he continued to return to his old hangouts.

Memorial

There is a small memorial site for Cosby on the side of Skirball Center Drive.