(The Center Square) Twenty days from Friday, Spokane’s most notorious criminal is likely to be released from the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island, and The Center Square has learned that Kevin Coe is expected to move into an adult family home in Federal Way, Wash.
As reported by The Center Square, the Washington Department of Social and Health Services has informed lawmakers that Coe, 78, is scheduled for an unconditional release hearing on Oct. 2.
Coe, dubbed the “South Hill Rapist,” was accused of a string of violent rapes that terrorized Spokane in the 1970s and 1980s.
He was initially convicted of four rapes, but in 1984, the state Supreme Court overturned Coe’s rape convictions partly because three of the four victims were hypnotized before identifying Coe as the rapist.
Coe served 25 years at the state penitentiary in Walla Walla, and after his release, the state petitioned to have him declared a sexually violent predator, and a jury agreed. Coe was then sent to the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island – located southwest of Tacoma in Pierce County, Wash. – where he has been ever since.
“The SCC forensic evaluator, as well as the State’s expert [has] concluded to a reasonable degree of psychological certainty that Mr. Coe no longer meets civil commitment criteria as a sexually violent predator,” Emma Palumbo, government and community affairs manager at the Behavioral Health Administration at DSHS, said in an email. “The parties are in agreement that the case should be dismissed, so it is highly likely that it will be.
“Upon an order for unconditional release, Mr. Coe will be released as soon as within 24 hours and will be going to a licensed adult family home in the 30th Legislative District.”
According to the office of Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell, Coe has been accepted residence upon his release to an adult family home in Federal Way.
“Coe will reside at the Win Win Adult Family Home in Federal Way and be a registered sex offender,” Ferrell’s Communication Manager Ben Miller emailed The Center Square.
Initially, Miller said the city planned to send a community notice out about Coe’s pending release, but was then informed it is prevented from providing community notice, unless Coe is released under a threat status of “highly likely to reoffend,” a Level 3 status for sex offenders.
“His only punishment for what he did should have been life without possibility [of parole]. That is the only punishment. What he did was impossibly terrible. We cannot risk further injury in society by allowing somebody that has earned life without possibility out at all,” said Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, who is the assistant ranking member of the House Community Safety Committee that oversees the Special Commitment Center. “He has to register as a Level 3 if he is released.”
Griffey said failing to notify the surrounding community that Coe could soon be a neighbor is unthinkable.
“We must always weigh in on the side of the innocent. The people who have not been violated and heavy restrictions have to be placed upon those who have violated in such a despicable and awful way as Kevin Coe did,” he continued. “No sexually violent predators should ever be released with less than 30 days’ notice, and we believe it should be 180 day notice, and that’s what we’re working for.”
The lawmaker said he has been working with a bipartisan group on legislation regarding community notice that they intend to introduce in the 2026 session.
Rep. Jenny Graham, R-Spokane Valley, whose sister was murdered by Green River killer Gary Ridgway told The Center Square that Coe does not deserve to be released back into society.
“It’s unconditional release with no supervision, and he can leave anytime he feels like it and go anywhere he chooses. And they talk about these people that they release, because of their age, being less likely to reoffend,” she said. “They don’t talk about their ability for him to victimize a child, a disabled person, or an elderly person, because that’s not who he originally attacked. Just because somebody’s older does not mean that they don’t sexually offend.”
The Center Square reached out to DSHS for clarification on community notification about Coe’s potential release and received the following email from DSHS Media Relations Manger Cynthia Shipley: “Notifications about the hearing have gone out to all legislative members and law enforcement. Victim/witness notifications also were sent out to people who are enrolled under Coe’s list.
This matter is pending litigation before the Spokane County Superior Court, where a Spokane County judge will hear the evidence and potentially decide Coe’s future at a hearing Oct. 2. If he is released, Coe will go to a care facility due to his physical condition. He will still be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.”
