Death Sentence In Rape, Slaying

TACOMA - A Pierce County Superior Court jury needed just 1 1/2 hours to agree on the death penalty for a man convicted in the rape and slaying of a 65-year-old woman.

Cecil Emile Davis, 38, showed no emotion as Judge Fred Fleming read the verdict yesterday. None of his relatives was present.

Davis was convicted last Friday of aggravated first-degree murder in the death of Yoshiko Couch. She was found dead at her home on Jan. 25, 1997, after being robbed, raped and suffocated with towels soaked in a solvent.

Allen Couch, one of her four children, expressed relief at the penalty verdict.

"I think he got what he deserved," Couch said. "Maybe Mom can now rest."

Fleming set formal sentencing of Davis for Feb. 23. A co-defendant, George Anthony Wilson, who was convicted of first-degree murder, faces sentencing March 30.