Mikhail Markhasev fatally shot Ennis Cosby during an attempted robbery when he pulled his car over to the side of a Los Angeles motorway to change a tire.
Ennis Cosby’s dyslexia was not formally diagnosed until he was a college student. He is determined to help other students with learning disabilities in the future.
Bill Cosby, untarnished by later scandals, was recognized as one of America’s funniest men by the 1990s. True tragedy befell the acclaimed comic when his only child, Ennis Cosby, was shot and killed in Los Angeles while changing a tire.
Ennis, who played Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show and provided endless material for his father’s quips, suffered a flat tire while on vacation in Los Angeles. Mikhail Markhasev, 18, intended to rob him as he changed it, but instead shot him.
The Cosby family blamed two people in the terrible aftermath of his death. They claimed that, while Markhasev fired the fatal shot that killed Ennis, the deadly attack was motivated by American hatred.
This is the heartbreaking story of Ennis Cosby, the only child of the disgraced former “America’s Dad.”
Ennis William Cosby, born on April 15, 1969, immediately drew his father’s attention. Bill Cosby and his wife Camille already had two daughters, and Bill desperately desired a male as their third child.
Bill was overjoyed to have a son and frequently used his interactions with Ennis in his comedy routines. When he co-created The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992, Bill modeled his son, Ennis Cosby, after Theo Huxtable.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Bill portrayed Theo Huxtable as a failing student who eventually overcame his learning disability by adding Ennis’ dyslexia troubles into the program.
That is exactly how Ennis Cosby’s life unfolded. After being diagnosed with dyslexia, Cosby began attending specialized programs. His academic achievement was remarkable, and he later transferred from Morehouse College in Atlanta to Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Bill Cosby’s kid aspired to get a doctorate in special education with a concentration on reading challenges.
Ennis Cosby claimed in an essay, “I believe in chances, so I do not give up on persons or children,” according to The Washington Post.
“I believe that if more teachers are aware of the symptoms of dyslexia and learning disabilities in the classroom, fewer students like myself will fall through the cracks,” the youngster added.
In addition to being beautiful and athletic, Cosby inherited his father’s sense of humor. Bill Cosby recently humorously recalled an instance where he promised Ennis his ideal Corvette for better grades. “Dad, what do you think about a Volkswagen?” Ennis asked, according to Bill.
Ennis Cosby’s life was brutally cut short at the age of 27.
Ennis Cosby flew to Los Angeles in January 1997 to visit friends. However, on January 16, at about one a.m., he got a flat tire while driving his mother’s Mercedes SL convertible on Interstate 405 in the Bel Air district.
According to OK! Cosby sought help from the lady he was dating, Stephanie Crane. The woman parked in front of Cosby urged him to contact a tow truck, but Ennis was adamant that he could change the tire himself. Then, while Crane was still in her car, a man approached the window.
His name was Mikhail Markhasev. Markhasev, an 18-year-old Ukrainian immigrant, and his friends loitered in a nearby park when they observed Ennis and Crane’s cars. Markhasev allegedly approached the cars while high to rob them.
He started by going to Crane’s car. She drove away, concerned. Following that, he confronted Ennis Cosby. Markhasev, on the other hand, shot him in the head when he delayed too long to give him his money.
The news crushed the Cosby family and the entire globe. “He was my hero,” an emotional Bill Cosby told television cameras. During this time, CNN came under fire for airing footage of Ennis Cosby’s body on the side of the road.
However, it took some time and a crucial lead for authorities to track Ennis Cosby’s killer. After the National Enquirer paid $100,000 for information about Ennis Cosby’s death, an old acquaintance of Markhasev named Christopher So contacted the police.
According to the Associated Press, he went in pursuit of the gun Markhasev used in Ennis’ death with another guy. Authorities claim Markhasev boasted, “I shot a nigger.” It’s all over the news.
When police caught the 18-year-old in March, they recovered the pistol he had thrown away wrapped in a hat with DNA evidence linking him to Markhasev. In July 1998, he was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Despite the fact that the Cosby family did not state Markhasev’s sentence, Ennis Cosby’s sister Erika talked to the media as they exited the courtroom. She was asked if she was relieved and answered, “Yeah, finally,” according to The Washington Post.
However, Ennis Cosby’s death would leave his family with an open wound in more ways than one in the years to come.
After Mikhail Markhasev murdered Ennis Cosby, Cosby’s family struggled to grasp the awful loss. Camille Ennis, Ennis’s mother, blamed racism in America for her son’s death in a touching opinion piece published in USA Today in July 1998.
“I think America made our son’s killer dislike black people,” she wrote. Markhasev certainly did not develop his hatred of black people in his native Ukraine, where the black population was nearly nonexistent.
Camille claims that all African-Americans in America have been and continue to be at risk because of their skin tones, regardless of their economic or academic achievements. Unfortunately, my family and I discovered this is a racial reality in America.
The fact that Mikhail Markhasev refused to accept responsibility for Ennis Cosby’s death added to the family’s agony. Until 2001, he denied firing the gun. In February of the same year, Markhasev finally admitted his guilt and said he would no longer be challenging his sentence.
He remarked, “Although my appeal is only getting started, I don’t want to go any farther since it’s predicated on falsehood and deceit,” according to ABC. I recognize my error and wish to make amends.
More than anything, Markhasev said, he wanted to apologize to the victim’s family. It is my task and the least I can do as a Christian in view of the vast immorality for which I am responsible.
Bill Cosby’s life has changed dramatically since Ennis Cosby’s death. Since the 1990s, when several women accused the comedian of sexual abuse, his star has plummeted. Bill was convicted of aggravated indecent assault in 2018 until his sentence was overturned in 2021.
However, he seemed to have been thinking about his son Ennis Cosby the entire time. Bill acknowledged all of his children in an Instagram picture as the comedian prepared to go on trial in 2017. He stated, “
“Ennis, Ensa, Erika, Erin, Camille, and Evin, I love you; keep fighting for Spirit.”
