So, I got curious about this William Cosden Jr. guy and what kind of sentence he ended up with. I mean, it’s all over the news, right? The oldest murder case in the state where they used DNA evidence. Figured I’d dig in and see what’s what.
First, I gathered all the info I could find online about the case. News articles, court documents, the whole nine yards. It’s wild, this guy, William E. Cosden Jr., was already locked up in Washington for rape, and now they’re trying him for a murder that happened way back in 1973. A teenager, no less. It’s pretty messed up.
Then, I dove into the trial details. It took place in Thurston County Superior Court. The jury was out for, like, a day and a half, which is a pretty long time if you ask me. Must have been some heavy discussions in that jury room.
After that, I tracked down the verdict. Turns out, they convicted him. Yep, William Cosden Jr., 55 years old at the time, found guilty of first-degree murder. I mean, it was all over the news in 2002, so I’m not the first to discover this information, but, still it’s like, a big deal.
I also requested some case files from the Thurston County Sheriff’s Department. Just out of pure curiosity. Wanted to see if there was anything about those other cases, the murders of Katherine Merry Devine and Brenda Joy Baker. Don’t know what I’ll find, but you know, gotta satisfy that curiosity.
My Findings
- Found: William Cosden Jr. was convicted of first-degree murder.
- Noted: He was already serving time for rape.
- Realized: This was a super old case, dating back to 1973.
- Confirmed: The jury took a day and a half to deliberate.
- Discovered: DNA evidence played a role in this case, which is pretty unusual for a case this old.
- Sent a request to the Thurston County Sherrif’s Department for more case files. I just got to know.
So yeah, that’s my little investigation into the William Cosden Jr. sentence. It’s a pretty wild story, and kind of sad when you think about the victim and their family. I just, you know, wanted to piece it all together for myself, I guess, that’s why I shared my finding here.
