A Cody woman accused of seeking out a hitman to kill her son-in-law has traded a potential life sentence for a no contest plea and agreement for no more than five to eight years in prison.
Wendy Coe pleaded no contest Monday to attempted aggravated assault and battery, a reduced felony from her original charge of soliciting first-degree murder.
Prosecutors agreed to seek no more than five to eight years in prison and Coe can argue for probation, though that is not guaranteed, said defense attorney Sam Krone.
The agreement brings the case toward sentencing nearly three years after Coe discussed having her daughter’s partner shot or making his death look like a drug overdose.
Investigators said the conversations she had with who she thought was with a potential hitman stalled over money because she could not afford the purported hitman’s $10,000 price.
Her no-contest plea is not an admittance of guilt, but for sentencing purposes Coe will be treated as if she had pleaded guilty.
Behind The Store
The investigation began after a concerned resident told Cody police that Coe wanted her son-in-law killed, wrote Deputy Park County Attorney Larry Eichele in an affidavit filed in the case.
Eichele alleged Coe also approached other people in hopes of finding someone to kill the man.
On Dec. 20, 2023, an undercover DCI agent posing as a hitman called Coe to say 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 over the phone.
She told the undercover agent that her daughter’s boyfriend is controlling, treats her daughter “like crap” and gets the young woman on drugs every time he gets money.
The agent raised a $10,000 price, which Coe said was fair, but she didn't have that much money.
Their discussion turned to how the man could die. The agent suggested making a shooting look like a drug deal gone wrong.
“Or if he OD’d (overdosed). He OD’d up in the South Fork it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary," reasoned Coe, per the affidavit.
When the agent indicated he would rather shoot the man, Coe reportedly said, “Works for me.”
Before leaving, the agent said he could cover the cost of the stolen gun needed, and they agreed to meet again the next day.
She promised to bring money, photographs, and vehicle descriptions for the would-be hitman.
When they met behind the store again on Dec. 21, Coe said she couldn’t come up with the money for the gun until January and wouldn’t have the rest until she received a raise in April, the affidavit says.
The agent offered to consider a lower price.
Coe turned it down, saying there was “too much risk involved.”
Who's Idea?
Police arrested Coe that day, and Eichele filed a charge of soliciting first-degree murder in Cody Circuit Court — the original charge prosecutors reduced under the plea agreement.
Coe’s defense later sought to have a jury consider whether she had been entrapped. Eichele opposed that request in a response filed July 25, 2025.
The distinction, Eichele wrote, was whether police persuaded someone to commit a crime she wasn’t otherwise inclined to commit or simply gave her an opportunity to carry out an idea she already had.
He argued Coe’s plan to have the man killed came before contact with the undercover agent.
A concerned citizen alerted Cody police after learning of Coe’s intentions toward her son-in-law, the filing says. Prosecutors alleged she had also approached several other people hoping to hire someone to kill him.
“It was through the Defendant’s own perseverance that she eventually met the State’s agent who acted undercover,” Eichele wrote.
The agent “merely followed her lead,” he argued.
Coe had acted of her own volition and suggested the killing herself, Eichele wrote, asking the judge to bar the defense and any jury instruction on entrapment.
“Any factual issues or questions suggesting entrapment are absent from this matter,” he wrote.
Heading Toward Sentencing
Coe waived her right to a speedy trial April 11, 2024. The case later included an examination of whether she was mentally competent to proceed.
A stipulated order filed May 15, 2025, found she could understand the proceedings, conduct a defense rationally, and cooperate with her attorney. It cited a May 2 evaluation by Wyoming State Hospital psychologist Amanda Turlington.
Coe spent about seven months in jail after her December 2023 arrest before posting a $50,000 surety bond.
Following Monday’s hearing, Judge Bill Simpson ordered a presentence investigation into Coe’s work history, criminal record, education and family circumstances.
Wyoming Probation and Parole conducts the investigation, which typically takes 40 to 60 days and helps the judge weigh whether probation in the community or incarceration is appropriate.
A sentencing date will be set once the report is complete.
“Ultimately, the judge can sentence her however he wants," Krone said.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
