In the annals of true crime, some cases stand out for their brutality and the twists of fate that finally bring perpetrators to justice years or even decades after their heinous acts. The story of William Cosden Jr. is one such case – a man who committed horrific rapes and murders in the 1970s but wasn’t definitively linked to some of his crimes until DNA evidence surfaced over 30 years later.
Who Is William Cosden Jr.?
William Cosden Jr. was born on March 3, 1954, which would make him 69 years old today[2]. He grew up in the Baltimore, Maryland area. Not much is publicly known about Cosden’s early life, family, or background prior to his crimes coming to light.
What is clear is that by his early 20s, Cosden had begun a reign of terror, committing rapes and murders that would not be fully uncovered for decades. His known crimes occurred in the mid-1970s, but it’s possible he committed other offenses that remain unsolved.
Early Life And Family Ties
Details of William Cosden Jr.’s childhood, upbringing, and family relationships are scarce in the public record. Cosden seems to have kept a low profile until he began committing serious crimes as a young adult.
Without access to personal records or accounts from friends and family, it’s difficult to construct a full picture of Cosden’s early life and what factors may have contributed to his criminal path. However, it’s clear that by his early 20s, Cosden was capable of great violence against women.
William Cosden Jr. Crimes And Convictions
William Cosden Jr.’s known crimes were committed in the 1970s, but the full extent of his offenses wouldn’t be realized until much later. In 1975, Cosden brutally raped a woman, a crime for which he was convicted and sentenced to a lengthy prison term. However, it would later be revealed that Cosden was also responsible for an unsolved murder in 1973. Katherine Devine was found raped and strangled to death that year, but her killer remained unidentified for decades.
Cosden was long suspected in Devine’s murder, but there was insufficient evidence to charge him at the time. He remained in prison for the 1975 rape but was not tried for Devine’s murder until over 30 years later, when DNA evidence finally linked him conclusively to the crime.
Connection To Katherine Devine’s Murder
On February 5, 1973, 20-year-old Katherine Devine was found dead in her Baltimore home. She had been raped and strangled. At the time, police were unable to identify her killer, and the case went cold for many years. Investigators long suspected that William Cosden Jr. may have been responsible for Devine’s murder, given the similarities to the 1975 rape he was convicted of. Both crimes involved a woman being sexually assaulted and strangled in the Baltimore area in the mid-1970s.
However, without physical evidence tying Cosden to the Devine crime scene, he was not charged for her murder – even as he served time for the subsequent 1975 rape. It would take over three decades and advances in DNA technology before Cosden was definitively linked to Devine’s death.
Investigation And DNA Evidence
For over 30 years after Katherine Devine’s 1973 murder, the case remained unsolved, even as William Cosden Jr. served a prison sentence for a later rape conviction. However, advances in DNA technology would ultimately lead to a breakthrough. In the early 2000s, Baltimore investigators began re-examining cold cases to see if modern DNA testing could uncover new leads. Katherine Devine’s murder was among those cases reopened.
Samples from the crime scene were re-tested using the latest techniques. The results showed that DNA from semen left by Devine’s killer matched William Cosden Jr, providing investigators the evidence they needed to finally charge him with her murder, decades after the fact.
Legal Proceedings And Sentencing
Armed with DNA evidence linking William Cosden Jr. to the 1973 rape and murder of Katherine Devine, Baltimore prosecutors brought charges against him in 2007, 34 years after the crime. Cosden was still in prison serving time for the 1975 rape conviction. He was brought to trial for Devine’s murder, with the new DNA findings presented to the court.
In November 2008, William Cosden Jr. was found guilty of first-degree murder for the death of Katherine Devine. At age 54, he was sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole. This sentence guaranteed that Cosden would spend the rest of his life behind bars, never to be freed. He was already serving a virtual life term for the 1975 rape, but the Devine conviction added a definitive life sentence on top of that.
Life In Prison
Since his conviction for the murder of Katherine Devine in 2008, William Cosden Jr. has been serving a life sentence in the Maryland state prison system. He had already been in prison for decades for his 1975 rape conviction prior to being charged in the Devine case. At age 69 now, Cosden will almost certainly spend the rest of his life behind bars. He is not eligible for parole, so barring a successful appeal or other extraordinary circumstances, he will die in prison.
Details of Cosden’s day-to-day life in prison are not publicly known, but he is likely living out his days in a maximum security facility given the severity of his crimes. For his victims and their loved ones, there may be some solace in knowing Cosden will never walk free again.
Legacy And Impact On Criminal Justice
The case of William Cosden Jr. is notable not only for the brutality of his crimes but for the pivotal role DNA evidence played in securing his conviction for Katherine Devine’s murder over three decades after the fact. Cosden’s case highlights how advances in forensic science and DNA testing have allowed investigators to re-examine cold cases and bring perpetrators to justice even after many years have passed.
It’s a testament to the dedication of detectives and prosecutors that they continued pursuing leads in the Devine case even when it seemed unlikely to ever be solved. Their perseverance combined with scientific progress ultimately led to a conviction. For the loved ones of Katherine Devine, Cosden’s life sentence for her murder is a long-delayed but important measure of justice. The outcome also likely brings some closure to the victim of Cosden’s 1975 rape.
More broadly, cases like this underscore the importance of preserving physical evidence, as samples that sat in storage for years ended up being key to the conviction. Cosden’s story is a reminder of how far forensic techniques have come and the power of DNA to solve even the coldest of cases.
Conclusion
The story of William Cosden Jr. is one of unspeakable crimes, delayed justice, and the long reach of the law. While nothing can undo the pain and trauma Cosden inflicted on his victims, his convictions and life sentences ensure he will never again pose a threat to society. Cosden’s case is also a powerful example of the role modern forensic science can play in solving cold cases. The same DNA technology that is used to exonerate the wrongfully convicted was leveraged to definitively link Cosden to a decades-old murder.
For the family and friends of Katherine Devine, Cosden’s conviction is a long-overdue measure of justice and closure. And for the public at large, the outcome is a reminder that even the most heinous criminals can be held accountable, even if it takes decades to finally build an unassailable case against them.
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