In 2021, the Washington Supreme Court’s Blake decision ruled that the state’s felony drug possession law was unconstitutional and allowed the retroactive vacation of thousands of drug convictions.
minute read
A Seattle man with a violent criminal past, who previously had eight years shaved off his prison sentence due to a controversial decision by the Washington State Supreme Court, is now facing first-degree murder charges in the gruesome killing and dismemberment of his girlfriend.
According to court documents obtained by The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, Willie James McCoo Jr., 55, was arrested July 7 and is accused of killing 31-year-old Kiara Sewell inside an apartment at the Aries at Bitter Lake complex in North Seattle between June 9 and June 15. Prosecutors allege McCoo murdered Sewell with premeditated intent using a knife and then attempted to clean the scene and dispose of her remains in duffel bags and garbage sacks.
At a hearing Wednesday, King County Superior Court Judge Jill Klinge set McCoo’s bail at $4 million, citing his danger to the community and a prior record of extreme violence. McCoo is also being prohibited from contacting Sewell’s family or any witnesses.
Sewell's dismembered body was discovered on June 15 after police responded to reports of a possible corpse inside a 7th-floor apartment. According to court documents, investigators found multiple deep lacerations on Sewell's body, including one that amputated her left hand. The King County Medical Examiner concluded that the wounds were consistent with blows from a machete.
Detectives reviewed surveillance footage showing McCoo and Sewell entering the building together on June 8 and 9. After June 10, the day Sewell is believed to have been murdered, McCoo was seen repeatedly leaving the building with duffel bags and changing clothes. Authorities later recovered a matching bag, a machete, and a hunting knife from his work locker at a local tow yard.
Seattle Police arrested McCoo on June 27 on a Department of Corrections warrant. He was officially charged with first-degree murder on July 9. Prosecutors also allege the crime qualifies as domestic violence, given the intimate relationship between McCoo and Sewell.
McCoo’s violent history stretches back decades. In 2005, he was convicted of stabbing another romantic partner multiple times while she was sleeping. She survived but suffered critical injuries, including a cut to her carotid artery and permanent damage to her vocal cords. McCoo was sentenced in 2008 to 28.5 years in prison for that assault.
However, in 2021, the Washington Supreme Court’s Blake decision ruled that the state’s felony drug possession law was unconstitutional because it did not require prosecutors to prove intent. This ruling allowed for the retroactive vacation of thousands of drug convictions.
In 2023, McCoo successfully petitioned the court to have his sentence reduced, citing the Blake decision, which eliminated nine prior drug convictions from his record. His new sentence was reduced to 20 years, and he was released from custody in August 2024, a full 8 years early.
At the time of Sewell’s death, McCoo was under community custody supervision by the Department of Corrections. He had been arrested as recently as May 20, 2025, for escaping custody but was released again on May 29.
Following the Blake decision, Washington Democrats opted not to restore felony penalties for drug possession. Instead, in the 2022 legislative session, they downgraded simple possession to a misdemeanor, a charge that is rarely prosecuted, effectively decriminalizing drug use across the state.
In 2023, following the Blake decision and the moves to decriminalize drugs by the Washington Democrats in the state legislature, King County saw a record number of fentanyl-related deaths, pushing the medical examiner’s storage capacity for bodies to its limit.
Prosecutors noted that McCoo is also a person of interest in another murder investigation, though no further details have been released about that case. McCoo’s long criminal history includes prior convictions for first-degree assault, assault with a deadly weapon, attempting to elude law enforcement, and third-degree assault.
He remains in custody pending trial. His next court date is his arraignment, where an initial plea is entered, which is scheduled for 8:30 am July 23 in the King County Courthouse.
According to court documents obtained by The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, Willie James McCoo Jr., 55, was arrested July 7 and is accused of killing 31-year-old Kiara Sewell inside an apartment at the Aries at Bitter Lake complex in North Seattle between June 9 and June 15. Prosecutors allege McCoo murdered Sewell with premeditated intent using a knife and then attempted to clean the scene and dispose of her remains in duffel bags and garbage sacks.
At a hearing Wednesday, King County Superior Court Judge Jill Klinge set McCoo’s bail at $4 million, citing his danger to the community and a prior record of extreme violence. McCoo is also being prohibited from contacting Sewell’s family or any witnesses.
Sewell's dismembered body was discovered on June 15 after police responded to reports of a possible corpse inside a 7th-floor apartment. According to court documents, investigators found multiple deep lacerations on Sewell's body, including one that amputated her left hand. The King County Medical Examiner concluded that the wounds were consistent with blows from a machete.
Detectives reviewed surveillance footage showing McCoo and Sewell entering the building together on June 8 and 9. After June 10, the day Sewell is believed to have been murdered, McCoo was seen repeatedly leaving the building with duffel bags and changing clothes. Authorities later recovered a matching bag, a machete, and a hunting knife from his work locker at a local tow yard.
Seattle Police arrested McCoo on June 27 on a Department of Corrections warrant. He was officially charged with first-degree murder on July 9. Prosecutors also allege the crime qualifies as domestic violence, given the intimate relationship between McCoo and Sewell.
McCoo’s violent history stretches back decades. In 2005, he was convicted of stabbing another romantic partner multiple times while she was sleeping. She survived but suffered critical injuries, including a cut to her carotid artery and permanent damage to her vocal cords. McCoo was sentenced in 2008 to 28.5 years in prison for that assault.
However, in 2021, the Washington Supreme Court’s Blake decision ruled that the state’s felony drug possession law was unconstitutional because it did not require prosecutors to prove intent. This ruling allowed for the retroactive vacation of thousands of drug convictions.
In 2023, McCoo successfully petitioned the court to have his sentence reduced, citing the Blake decision, which eliminated nine prior drug convictions from his record. His new sentence was reduced to 20 years, and he was released from custody in August 2024, a full 8 years early.
At the time of Sewell’s death, McCoo was under community custody supervision by the Department of Corrections. He had been arrested as recently as May 20, 2025, for escaping custody but was released again on May 29.
Following the Blake decision, Washington Democrats opted not to restore felony penalties for drug possession. Instead, in the 2022 legislative session, they downgraded simple possession to a misdemeanor, a charge that is rarely prosecuted, effectively decriminalizing drug use across the state.
In 2023, following the Blake decision and the moves to decriminalize drugs by the Washington Democrats in the state legislature, King County saw a record number of fentanyl-related deaths, pushing the medical examiner’s storage capacity for bodies to its limit.
Prosecutors noted that McCoo is also a person of interest in another murder investigation, though no further details have been released about that case. McCoo’s long criminal history includes prior convictions for first-degree assault, assault with a deadly weapon, attempting to elude law enforcement, and third-degree assault.
He remains in custody pending trial. His next court date is his arraignment, where an initial plea is entered, which is scheduled for 8:30 am July 23 in the King County Courthouse.
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