SPOKANE, Wash – She was one of the first victims attacked by the so-called South Hill Rapist. 46 years later, Shelly Monahan-Cain says she’s forgiven Kevin Coe, as he now walks free.
Monahan-Cain was known for decades as “Sunshine Shelly” starting with her work on KJRB radio in the 1970s.
On the night of September 9, 1979, the then-20-year-old walked out of her night shift at the station on 57th Avenue – and, into the arms of the South Hill Rapist.
“He just took his fist and started beating me – right off the bat,” she recalled. “I fought pretty hard to try and get away. The excessive beating and the rape and leaving me for dead – all I wanted to do was get out of there alive.”
Monahan-Cain would go on to become a popular television anchor at stations across the country and in Spokane.
Kevin Coe would go on to rape other women. He wasn’t arrested until 1981.
Recalling that night, Monahan-Cain remembers a promise she made.
“I looked at a star and I just started praying to God. And I said – he’s done the worst he can do to me, please just don’t let me die. I promise you, that I will turn this into a positive.”
In the years since, Monahan-Cain has found herself in several courtrooms, fighting Coe’s release.
Thursday, she was again in court and shared part of her story, but she could knew the outcome: at the end of the hearing, Coe would go free.
That’s because the state says they no longer have enough evidence that he’s a sexually violent predator and therefor, can’t hold him at the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.
After 25 years in prison and 17 years at the SCC, Coe left state custody Thursday and moved to an adult care facility in Pierce County.
While Monahan-Cain has heard from victims’ advocates and attorneys that he is too old and frail to pose a threat, she was hoping to see that for herself.
Coe was not a the hearing and did not appear on Zoom.
“We really did want him there today,” she said. “We wanted him to be in the courtroom today or at least on Zoom, so we could see him. All we’ve been told is about his physical condition, he apparently had a stroke, he has heart conditions, he can barely walk, he’s been called the ‘walking dead.’ And that’s all well and good, but we sure would like to see it, because he is a con artist, he is narcissistic… we know how good he is at Coe being Coe.”
Monahan-Cain said she forgave Coe years ago and hasn’t let this assault define her life.
She says her faith and family carried her through.
“I believe I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. And it is going to be okay – because ultimately, everybody, he’s in charge. And when it’s good versus evil, good’s going to win every time.”
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