Accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill her daughter’s drug-addicted boyfriend, a Cody woman could face life in prison.
Wendy Coe, 54, was arrested Dec. 21 after allegedly offering a man $10,000 to kill her daughter’s boyfriend, according to the evidentiary affidavit filed in Cody Circuit Court and the Park County Detention Center’s roster.
She told the would-be hitman that her daughter’s boyfriend is controlling, treats her daughter “like crap” and gets the young woman addicted to drugs every time he gets money, the affidavit says.
But what Coe didn’t know at the time was that the prospective hitman was an undercover agent for the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.
‘He’s Fully In Control Of Her’
For about two weeks leading up to her Dec. 21 arrest, Coe reached out to several people, trying to get someone to kill her daughter’s boyfriend, the affidavit relates from a confidential informant’s interview.
A DCI special agent posing as a hitman was introduced to Coe last week. He called her the morning of Dec. 20 saying he was headed to Cody and would meet with her.
He wore an audio recording device and other agents listened in, the affidavit says.
“Come into the store and we’ll walk out back,” Coe said during that phone call, according to the document.
The agent asked if there was surveillance. Coe said there were cameras within the store where she worked, but not behind it.
The agent arrived and went behind the store.
“First off,” he began, “how much are you willing … like 10 grand, is that fair?” the agent asked.
Parts of the audio were muffled and unintelligible, the affidavit says. The document renders a fragmented conversation.
“That’s fair, I just don’t have it. That’s the problem, I don’t have it,” Coe allegedly replied.
The agent asked if this job was time sensitive.
“No … I just want him gone … for the way he treats my daughter,” said Coe, according to the affidavit. “Every time he gets money he gets her back on drugs and he treats her like crap. I mean like literally he’s fully in control of her.”
The boyfriend’s name is redacted from the document but his initials are given: C.N.
Or He Could Overdose
The agent asked how long it would take Coe to come up with the money. Her response was unintelligible.
He asked where the target lived.
Coe said he lives “over at Big Bear” and works at an auto repair shop.
The agent asked if the boyfriend was using drugs again.
“Yep,” Coe reportedly answered.
“So, if it looked like a drug deal gone bad and he was shot or something like that, is that out of the ordinary?” asked the agent.
“That’s not out of the ordinary,” Coe answered, the affidavit says.
She then offered another plan, allegedly: “Or if he OD’d (overdosed). He OD’d up in the South Fork it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary.”
Getting toxic drugs to the boyfriend would be difficult and people who overdose can be revived, the agent reportedly said.
But the man is into “weird shit … even when he’s not on it, like he decides to get naked and howl at the moon,” Coe allegedly countered. “That’s why they can’t stay with us.”
Rather Shoot Him
The affidavit relates that the agent said he’d rather shoot the boyfriend, if that was fine with Coe.
“Works for me,” Coe reportedly said.
The agent said he’d need a gun and asked Coe if she had one.
She didn’t, the affidavit relates.
The agent said he’d need to go to Billings, Montana, to buy a stolen gun, and asked Coe if she had between $200-$300 for that.
“Not on me, but I can come up with it. I just need to know what you need first,” said Coe, the affidavit says.
The agent said he needed the cash, photographs of the boyfriend, the boyfriend’s address, vehicles he drives and where he works.
The agent said he’d be out of town after Christmas.
“It can be after the first of the year,” said Coe.
Until Tomorrow
The affidavit says Coe referenced “the phones” sitting elsewhere and not wanting “anything being traced.”
She said she’d have the money, photographs and vehicle descriptions for the would-be hitman at the same time the next day, Thursday Dec. 21, says the document.
The boyfriend drives a blue extended cab Chevrolet with Oregon license plates and would be working at the auto shop, she reportedly added.
Eventually, the agent said he could have his buddy front him the cost of the gun. Then he and Coe agreed to meet back behind the store the next day, says the affidavit.
“Sounds good,” Coe reportedly answered.
The agent asked if Coe could come up with the “rest of the money” — $9,700 — around the first of the year.
Her response was unintelligible.
A Raise In April
The next day, Dec. 21 at about 7:23 in the morning, the undercover agent passed along to another investigator a screenshot of a text exchange with Coe, in which Coe allegedly texted, “I’m sorry … but I can’t afford what we discussed earlier today. Wendy.”
The agent met Coe later that morning, again behind the store, says the affidavit.
The document relates that she said she wouldn’t have a chunk of money for the gun until January and wouldn’t have the rest of the bill until she got her raise in April.
The agent said he could perhaps do the job for less.
She refused that offer, reportedly saying there was “too much risk involved.”
Life With Or Without Parole
Police arrested Coe that day.
Park County Deputy Attorney Larry Eichele also charged Coe in Cody Circuit Court that day with soliciting first-degree murder. The crime is punishable by life in prison, with or without parole, and up to $10,000 in fines.
Her bond is set at $100,00, according to the Park County jail roster.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
