Coe: Inside the courtroom
Time to move on
In case you didn't catch her comment below earlier today, let's let Shelly Monahan have the final word here:
To all of the jurors,
Please know that the entire community knows how difficult your decision was in this case. For all of the victims and their families, thank you. Thank you also for wanting to spend time with me and others after the trial concluded. You will never know how much it meant. I was overwhelmed by each and every one of you.
From the time this rape happened to me, I promised God I would help other sexual assault survivors in any way I could. It was my way of making it out of the rape alive, to give back to other victims, to let them know they would be okay.
My husband and I have prayed about this for a long time. Our God tells us to be forgiving and compassionate. I will pray for Kevin Coe each day. I hope that he seeks treatment and in doing so will some day no longer be a lost soul.
I would also like to thank all of you who have been so very supportive through this process; a process that I never imagined I nor the other victims would go through.
To my family, friends, the management at KHQ, my co-workers, Rick and Karen at the Spokesman, and all of you who have prayed with me and sent your love and support, your kind emails, cards, letters, and phone calls ... thank you.
It is time to move on .... time to finally be able to heal and close this chapter.
Most sincerely, Shelly Monahan
There is 1 comment on this post.
Well said, Shelly! I too, thank the jury and the prosecutors for their hard work in this case. No one wanted to bring back memories of those frightening days in Spokane. I was one of the rape victims, now I don't feel like a victim at all. I feel proud that I was part of the legal system that finally brought justice. I feel empowered by this process and now can go forward with a sense of accomplishment. I realized early on that it wasn't my fault, but being involved in such a personal crime always involves some sort of guilt. I was treated with respect by everyone in this trial and am so happy about the verdict. Thanks! Joanne
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Kevin Coe, labeled the "South Hill rapist" in a community frightened by dozens of attacks on women in the Spokane area in the late 1970s and early 1980s, has been in prison since 1981. He was slated for release in September 2006 when the Washington state attorney general's office moved to have Coe spend the rest of his life in prison through the civil commitment program. In this trial, the state seeks to convince jurors that Coe represents too much of a threat to ever be released.
Karen Dorn Steele has been a Spokesman-Review reporter since 1982,
covering the courts, environment, enterprise and investigative beat. She
lived in Spokane in 1980 when a series of unsolved rapes terrorized the
city. 
Rick Bonino has worked at The Spokesman-Review in various positions
since 1977. He covered both of Kevin Coe's previous trials, in 1981 and
1985, and also Ruth Coe's trial in 1982. 
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