Man held in wife’s murder taken to Eastern
A Stevens County man accused of killing his wife is undergoing mental evaluations at Eastern State Hospital.
Craig R. Cosby, 68, called 911 Oct. 3 after killing his wife and was arrested in the front yard of his home in the 1200 block of Overlook Boulevard in Marcus, a small town along the Columbia River in northern Stevens County.
Susan May Cosby, 53, was found dead of gunshot wounds in the home, and her husband was held on $500,000 after his first court appearance. He was to be arraigned on a first-degree murder charge last week in Stevens County Superior Court, but the hearing was continued after his lawyer requested he be evaluated for competency, which will take weeks.
Stevens County Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen wrote about this in a weekly column he sends to media.
Click the link below to read the entire column.
By Stevens County Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen:
"Our County Commissioners are struggling with the financial issues brought on by the economic situation. There will not be as much money coming into the county next year as is expected to have to go out. The Commissioners have to decide which departments will have cuts and how much. The departments will have to decide which services will be reduced. All of us will have to cope with the changes that have to be made. Services we have come to expect will not be same. Because the public benefits from every service that the county provides, this will take some adjustment. But we are in this problem together and we must be patient and work our way through this hard time.
On Monday, October 12, a jury was chosen to try the case of Roy Welsh of Chewelah. He was charged with five felony counts of forgery and one felony count of theft related to losses suffered by a business in Chewelah. He had been employed as a bookkeeper there for about two years. The jury heard the evidence and on Wednesday returned a verdict of guilty on three of the counts of forgery and on the theft charge. The jury also found an aggravating circumstance was present; the use of a position of trust to accomplish the crime. He was taken into custody at the end of the trial and an appearance bond was set. Sentencing will be on November 18. The state was represented by deputy prosecutor Matt Enzler and the defendant by Doug Phelps of Spokane.
Tuesday October 13, was to be the arraignment of Craig Cosby on charges of First Degree Murder (premeditated) in the death of his wife Susan. Instead of the arraignment proceeding as scheduled, his attorney requested that he be evaluated for competency at Eastern State Hospital. An order was signed to permit the evaluation and the arraignment was continued until after the evaluation is completed. This is likely to take several weeks. The investigation of this case continues. He will remain in custody at Eastern."