Kevin Coe, known as ‘South Hill rapist,’ dies at 78

The man known as the “South Hill rapist,” who stoked fear throughout Spokane starting in the late 1970s, has died, a spokesperson for the Federal Way mayor’s office confirmed Wednesday.

Fred “Kevin” Coe, 78, terrorized the city from 1978 to 1981 and was accused of raping dozens of teen girls and women on Spokane’s South Hill. Authorities believe he is responsible for the rapes of 30 to 40 people, according to court documents and previous reporting from The Spokesman-Review. Ultimately, only one conviction held up as courts rejected the use of hypnotism on some of the witnesses.

Coe died nearly two months after he was released from civil commitment on McNeil Island, where he had spent the past 19 years.

Kyle Buchanan, a spokesperson for the Federal Way Police Department, said officers re