Where is William Cosden Jr. Now? Explained

By Louie Fecou
Published: May 10, 2023 (Last updated: September 16, 2024)
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Where is William Cosden Jr. Now

Where is William Cosden Jr. Now? We discuss the criminal and the crimes he committed. It contains subject matter that some people may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.

There is a true crime drama from Investigation Discovery.

Evil Lives Here: Sisters in Silence,” tells the story of a particularly horrific attack and murder on a fourteen-year-old teenage girl in Seattle. The disturbing event would transpire in November 1973, and despite extensive investigation, it seemed the killer would not be found.

In a twist of fate, authorities began to believe that the young girl was another victim of the notorious Ted Bundy.

However, with the advances in investigation techniques, a shocking cold case has finally been solved.

DNA evidence would give the case a new lease of life, leading to a conviction, and this article will bring you details of the case, as well as provide you with an answer to the question, where is William Cosden Jr. now?

Who is William Cosden Jr.?

William Cosden Jr was born in 1947 in Seattle, Washington. At the time of writing in 2023, he is 76 years old. Cosden would have a history of abusive behavior, as documented in later years by his two younger sisters, Karen and Susan.

It would be Cosden’s other heinous crimes that would lead investigators in his direction.

What did William Cosden Jr. do?

Cosden was the main suspect in killing fourteen-year-old Katherine Devine in 1973. At the time of the attack, Cosden lived in the area, and some witnesses would state they had seen William in bloodstained clothes.

William was spotted at the Restover Truck Stop in Tumwater, a well-known location for hitch-hikers at the time, in clothing that appeared covered in blood.

Other sources would state that the inside of his truck also had blood inside it on the same day as Katherine Devine’s murder.

Other people would also say that they saw Kathy getting into a pick-up truck shortly before her death, and William’s truck would be destroyed by fire shortly after the news of Kathy’s disappearance broke.

At the time, he worked at a truck shop his father owned. Suspicion would fall on Williams due to another crime that had happened in 1967. Police reports stated William had been found guilty of the murder of a woman in 1967.

He pleaded not guilty, using an insanity plea, and was released in 1973. He would only serve four years of court-mandated stay in a mental institution before his release due to the lack of evidence when the crime happened.

Ted Bundy was forty-two years old when he was electrocuted to death at the Florida State Prison in Raiford on January 24, 1989. He refused to reveal anything about young Kathy’s death, and the Thurston County Sheriff’s Department would have doubts about the case and keep it open even after Bundy’s execution.

It was only with the incredible advancement of forensic technology that, nearly three decades later, DNA evidence would help to find the truth of Kathy’s murder.

Where is William Cosden Jr. Now? Is He Still Alive?

In  March 2002, William was charged with Kathy’s murder. He had been incarcerated at McNeil Island Penitentiary near Tacoma since 1976, serving a 48-year sentence for rape in a case unrelated to Kathy’s.

The Washington Crime Lab was able to link DNA evidence to William in the 29-year-old homicide case. His bail was set at $500,000, and his trial was scheduled in May of the same year.

William is now in his seventies and is still serving his sentence.

How long is William Cosden Jr.’s prison sentence?

William was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole in June 2002.


You can watch Investigation Discovery’s Evil Lives Here: Sisters in Silence on Hulu.

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