Wendy Coe

A Cody woman accused of trying to kill her son-in-law says she was entrapped by the undercover officer who posed as a potential hitman. 

Wendy D. Coe, who turns 56 this year, is set to go to trial next month on a felony charge of solicitation to commit first-degree murder, though her attorney is seeking a delay and a change of venue.

If a trial does go forward, Coe’s defense attorney says she plans to assert a defense of entrapment.

As the Wyoming Supreme Court has explained, the legal theory is meant to ensure “that a defendant is not punished who, but for government encouragement, would not have committed an offense.” In a Thursday filing, defense attorney Sam Krone argued that’s what happened here.

“The evidence in this case demonstrates that the Defendant was entrapped by law enforcement,” Krone wrote.

However, following a pretrial conference on Friday, he also expressed optimism that he might still be able to reach a deal with prosecutors.

“… further negotiations may result in a plea agreement,” Krone wrote.

Stemming from a 2023 report

The case dates back to late 2023, when Cody police received a report that Coe had approached “several” people about killing her adult daughter’s partner. Police subsequently put Coe in touch with a Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agent, who posed as a potential hitman.

Coe met with the agent behind her Cody workplace in December 2023, where they discussed potential methods of murder and potential prices, according to a police summary of the recorded conversation.

Coe reportedly told the officer that she wanted her son-in-law “gone,” saying the man had been using drugs and treating her daughter
“like crap.”

When the agent suggested a price of $10,000 for the hit, Coe said that was fair, but that she didn’t have the money; she also indicated there wasn’t any particular urgency, charging documents say.

The DCI agent suggested the son-in-law’s murder could be made to look like a “drug deal gone bad,” while Coe allegedly suggested it could be a drug overdose.

When the undercover officer indicated it would be difficult to provide the drugs for an overdose and that he’d prefer to shoot him, Coe allegedly replied, “Works for me.”

Charging documents say she gave the agent a description of the son-in-law’s vehicle and his workplace, but never struck a deal with the supposed hitman, indicating she couldn’t afford it.

The agent offered to carry out the hit for less, but Coe “said she would not ask him to do the job for less than [$10,000] as there was ‘too much risk involved’ for a less amount,” Cody Police Det. Sgt. Scott Burlingame wrote in an affidavit.

She was arrested shortly after her conversations with the agent.

Was she entrapped?

In determining whether a defendant was entrapped, two elements are considered.

“The threshold question is whether the police somehow induced the defendant to act illegally or merely provided an opportunity to commit the crime,” the Wyoming Supreme Court explained in a 2020 decision.

If the government only provided an opportunity, the next question becomes whether the defendant was “predisposed” to commit the crime — that is, how ready and willing were they to go forward?

Coe’s attorney contends that both elements are met: Krone wrote last week that “the government induced the commission of the alleged crime and the Defendant lacked predisposition to engage in the criminal conduct.”

Trial date

A trial is currently set to begin on Aug. 4 in Cody, and is expected to take between two and five days.

However, Krone asked last week that the trial be moved to another county due to “extensive and prejudicial media coverage,” including articles by the Cody Enterprise and the Powell Tribune.

“The nature of the alleged crime — solicitation to commit first-degree murder — is particularly sensational,” Krone wrote, “and the extensive details published about the Defendant’s alleged statements and actions have likely created a preconceived opinion of guilt in the minds of potential jurors in Park County.”

He said the publicity “has been so widespread and inflammatory that it would be impossible to select an impartial jury in Park County.”

During Friday’s pretrial conference, Park County Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Skoric said his office opposes a move.

As of Monday, District Court Judge Bill Simpson hadn’t formally ruled on Krone’s motions for a delay and change of venue.

Alleged target at large

One wrinkle in the case is that Coe’s son-in-law — the alleged target — is currently a wanted man in Park County. He was arrested for shoplifting, impaired driving and drug use the day after Coe’s arrest on the solicitation charge. He served a month in jail and was placed on supervised probation, but authorities say he ditched his probation agent in October, missed a court date in November and has failed to pay $747.93 worth of court-ordered fines, fees and assessments. As of Friday, he had four pending warrants for his arrest on the misdemeanor allegations.

The state had listed him as a “may call” witness, alongside a confidential informant, law enforcement officers and others, so it’s unclear what impact his absence would have on the case

As for Coe, she’s currently free on a $50,000 surety bond. She served nearly seven months in jail before making bail in July 2024.

Over the winter, Krone raised concerns about Coe’s mental fitness, but after a forensic evaluation by a state psychologist, the parties agreed in May that Coe was competent to proceed.