Man who murdered stepmother and friend’s mother in San Juan Capistrano, Mira Loma deemed eligible for parole

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has voiced its disapproval of a recent decision to grant parole eligibility to a man convicted in the 1975 rape and killing of his stepmother and another woman in San Juan Capistrano and Mira Loma.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that they’ve sent a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown’s office urging that Gregory Coates remains a threat to public safety more than four decades after committing the brutal crimes.

The final decision about whether parole will be granted will come after a 120-day review, followed by another 30-day period in which the governor makes a final decision.

Prosecutors say Coates, now 61, has not taken responsibility for his actions and allege that the parole board violated the law by limiting what the victims’ families could say during the parole hearing.

Coates was 17 when he committed the crimes, and has been serving concurrent life terms at San Quentin State Prison. On May 2, the Board of Parole Hearings determined Coates was suitable for release, said Luis Patino, spokesman for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

What follows is a months-long review period and ultimately Brown’s decision to uphold the decision, modify it, reverse it, send it back to the board or take no action at all. Patino said that if no action is taken, the board can move forward with their own decision.

Coates had unsuccessfully attempted for be paroled multiple times over the years. Among the reasons he had been previously denied was for his failure to accept responsibility. Prosecutors said in a statement that Coates “designed” his acceptance of responsibility to win a parole date.

“The murders were of a particularly callous and cruel nature in that the inmate raped, tortured and mutilated his stepmother and friend’s mother,” states a letter to the governor written by Deputy District Attorney Susan Laird. The letter, dated July 25, predates the governor’s office receiving the board’s decision. Patino said Coates’ case will probably reach Brown’s office in September or October.

On May 4, 1975, Coates raped, bludgeoned and suffocated his 48-year-old stepmother Betty Coates in her San Juan Capistrano home. He wrapped her body in a towel, doused her in gasoline and set her on fire.

After his arrest, he confessed to having killed his friend’s mother months earlier. Coates burglarized 37-year-old Jean Marie Stephens’ home looking for guns to steal and sell. When she found him in her home, Coates knocked her down with a dumbbell, raped her and bit her stomach as she screamed for help. He shot her twice in the head with one of the stolen guns. Stephens’ 11-year-old daughter discovered her naked, bloody body when she arrived from school.

Coates has confessed to the murders and rapes then later recanted. In the letter sent to the governor, Laird says Coates has given at least seven different versions of the crimes and manipulated his evaluators by saying what he thinks was needed to be paroled.

Prosecutors further request the decision be reversed because the board violated Marsy’s Law — formally the California Victim’s Bill of Rights Act of 2008 — stating crime victims and their families have the right to be heard upon their request at court hearings including sentencings.

Patino said he could not speak on prosecutors’ allegations that Marsy’s Law was violated stating the case was still under review.

When it came time for the May 2 hearing, family members who were speaking were told by a commissioner to limit their comments “in the interest of time” to how Coates’ actions affected them personally. Also at least three family members were denied access to the parole hearing room and couldn’t face Coates when giving their impact statements, prosecutors say.

Because of the size of the room many of the family members were in another room and participating through a conference call. Prosecutors say not being able to give the statements in person “diminished” their impact because Coates couldn’t see their emotions.

“By posing inappropriate time and subject matter limitations, the panel violated the vast majority of the victim’s family members’ rights,” Laird states in the letter. “Consequently, the victim’s familiy members and next of kind are entitled to a new parole eligibility hearing where they can ‘adequately and reasonably’ express their views as permitted by law.”