All Dog's Fault, Says Murder Defendant -- Ex-Cop Accused Of Killing Wife

SEATTLE - A former Kirkland police officer on trial for murder heard two sharply divergent accounts yesterday of the February shooting that left his wife of nine years dead.

In opening statements in King County Superior Court, the defense and prosecution agreed the shot that killed Cindy Coston on Feb. 20 came from her husband's .45-caliber pistol, which he stored under a pile of underwear in the bedroom.

But the agreement ended there.

Deputy Prosecutor Regina Cahan told jurors that Michael Coston, 37, who is charged with felony murder and manslaughter, was a controlling, abusive husband who used his gun as a threat.

"She expressed time and time again that she feared the defendant," Cahan said. "She was afraid he was going to kill her."

Coston's attorney, Clay Terry, acknowledged the two had a rocky marriage but told jurors his client was the victim of an accident caused by the family dog.

"This is a very tragic case," Terry began. "I want to make it clear that everyone is very sorry that Cindy Coston died. Cindy Coston was the wife, the lover and the best friend Michael Coston ever had."

Cindy Coston, 35, was shot just above the eye while she was in bed. She died in a hospital three hours later.

Michael Coston does not deny holding the gun, his attorney said.

He had retrieved it from his bedroom to clean it after his wife went to lie down. The couple's 160-pound Rottweiler "Rocky" lunged at the gun as if it were a toy, Terry said.

"He moved the gun away and said, `Rocky get off of me,' " said Terry, using his forefinger and thumb as a mock gun as he re-enacted the sideways motion. "The gun exploded."

Coston, a burly and balding former forklift operator at Price/Costco in Kirkland who was wearing a plastic neck brace because of a lingering neck injury, sobbed as Terry recounted the incident.

But Cahan challenged the accident theory.

"You will hear all about the gun," the prosecutor said. "You will hear all about the safety devices. . . . The defendant used to be a police officer. He received specialized training so he would not have any accidents with a firearm."

Coston worked for the Kirkland Police Department from 1982 to 1986 before he was fired for what the department said were "an accumulation" of violations of rules and regulations.

Prosecutors will not have to prove that Coston planned the shooting. Rather, Cahan told jurors, they must find he committed assault with a deadly weapon, which caused his wife's death. That assault, she explained, would include pointing a gun at her head.

First-degree manslaughter, Cahan explained, requires that jurors find Coston's conduct was reckless and that his wife died as a result of his acts.

The credibility of the first witness could prove pivotal in the prosecution's case. Marie Willers testified that she was Cindy Coston's best friend for 22 years. Her description of the couple's marriage and Cindy Coston's fear of her husband was consistent with the prosecution's allegations.

Willers said she spoke with Cindy Coston less than a half-hour before she was killed, when the two made plans to get together for a beer.

"She was crying, she was angry," said Willers, explaining that Coston called her collect from a pay phone at a store near her Bothell house.

In what will likely prove a key issue in the case, Willers described a scam the two were involved in about a week before the shooting. Willers said Cindy Coston had forged a prescription for pain pills for her husband because he was calmer when he took them. She asked Willers to pick up the prescription for her.

"Cindy's life at home was so miserable," Willers said. "I'd do anything for her - if it meant I'd have to pick up a forged prescription, I would."

Willers was arrested while picking up the prescription at a Bothell pharmacy.

According to the prosecution, Willers' arrest contributed to the fight between the Costons the evening of the shooting.

But defense attorney Terry picked apart Willers' testimony, questioning why Michael Coston couldn't get the prescription from his doctor.

Terry also described the day of the shooting very differently than Willers.

"They had a very nice morning," he said. "Throughout the entire day, they had not had one argument."

The trial is expected to last several weeks. Coston faces a standard sentence of 10 to 14 1/2 years in prison if convicted.