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The disappearance of Katherine Devine led to the discovery of her decomposed remains at Washington's McKenny Park in December 1973. William Cosden Jr. had strangled and sodomized Devine after she had attempted to travel to Oregon by hitchhiking the entire way. Katherine had her throat slashed when found.
The Evil Lives Here episode titled "Sisters in Silence" showcases the details of Katherine "Kathy" Devine's murder as it airs on June 21, 2024, at 7 p.m. EST on Investigation Discovery. The official synopsis reads:
"William Cosden Jr. coerced his much younger sisters, Karen and Susan, into keeping secrets about what he did; now the girls are adults, and with one facing death, they reunite to try to repair the trauma keeping those secrets caused them."
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Five details of Katherine Devine's murder explored
1) Katherine Devine disappeared on November 25, 1973
Katherine "Kathy" Devine had taken off from her home in Seattle after an argument with her mother. She had broken up with her boyfriend earlier and was allegedly depressed when she was to travel to her cousins' place in Rockaway Beach, Oregon, per the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
The family reported her as a runaway case, but she was never to be seen again after November 25, 1973. Katherine was last seen by two of her girlfriends getting into an old truck at North 91st Street and Aurora Avenue North as she had planned to hitchhike all the way.
2) Human remains found at the McKenny Campground were identified as Devine's
The caretaker at Camp Margaret McKenny, Barbara Saling, and her husband, had been out collecting trash when they stumbled upon decomposed human remains at the edge of a clearing. According to the Everett Herald, the body was lying face-down and with the throat slashed.
According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Katherine's sister Sherrie Devine had been watching the news on the television when she identified the remains to belong to Katherine by a dragon patch on the back pocket of her jeans. A rope was found underneath her body, her pants were deliberately cut and she had knife wounds on her chest.
3) Katherine was assumed to be one of Ted Bundy's victims
The state of decomposition of Katherine's dead body made it difficult for the medical examiner to determine the exact time or cause of her death. The autopsy report mentioned her strangled before death and the cause of her death had been because of the cut to her throat.
The modus operandi of the murder made people believe that Kathy Devine had been a victim of Ted Bundy. Bundy had been living at Seattle’s University District at the time of Katherine's disappearance, which led to the belief.
4) The Thurston County authorities suspected William Cosden Jr of the murder
The Thurston County Sheriff's deputies suspected William Cosden Jr. to be involved based on witness statements and evidence. The Vietnam veteran was seen around the corner where Katherine was last seen. Witnesses also mentioned seeing bloodstains in his green 1971 Dodge International pickup truck and on his shirt while he was refilling gas at his father's gas station around 2 a.m. local time, per court documents.
He justified it by saying that he had been deer hunting. His truck had reportedly caught fire and was destroyed by the end of the night. Katherine Devine's murder case turned cold because of a lack of evidence to charge Cosden Jr.
5) William Cosden Jr was sentenced to life for the murder of Katherine Devine
According to Everett Herald, William Cosden Jr. was linked to the murder of Katherine through DNA evidence in 2002. Cosden had already been behind bars for 48 years for the first-degree r*pe of a woman. He was serving time at the McNeil Island Penitentiary when he was arrested and charged with Katherine's murder.
While William pled not guilty, he was found guilty of first-degree felony murder of Katherine Devine and sentenced to life in prison without parole, per court documents.
Watch all the details of Katherine Devine's murder on the Evil Lives Here episode airing on Investigation Discovery on Friday.
