On the night of May 25, 1995, a 28-year-old woman, who had fallen asleep while watching television in her apartment on Iris Street in Lake Charles, Louisiana, was awakened by a man holding a knife. The man put the knife to her throat and raped her. At some point, as the woman was struggling, the man dropped the knife and attempted to leave through a window. When he became momentarily entangled in the blinds, the woman stabbed him in the buttocks. The man then managed to escape, leaving bloodstains on the blinds.
The victim was taken to the hospital, where a rape kit was collected. She worked with a police artist to create a composite sketch of her attacker. She said the man was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
Several days later, the police said an informant said that 27-year-old Allen Coco resembled the composite sketch. The police created a photographic lineup that included a photograph of Coco, who had a prior conviction for robbery. The woman viewed two photographic lineups. She made no identification after seeing the first lineup. On June 20, 1995, she identified Coco from the second lineup.
Coco was charged with aggravated rape and aggravated burglary.
On April 4, 1996, GeneTest Laboratories, a private DNA company, performed a preliminary DNA screening of the rape kit. But at the request of the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office, the company halted its analysis after screening only one out of the four available swabs in the kit. The defense was told the cost to perform complete testing would be $5,000, which the defense could not afford.
In November 1997, Coco went to trial in Calcasieu Parish District Court. He chose to have his case decided by the judge without a jury.
The victim identified Coco as her attacker. She said he had armed himself with a knife from her kitchen. She said Coco attempted to hold a pillow over her head as he raped her vaginally and anally. When he dropped the knife, she said she picked it up and stabbed him in the buttocks as he tried to climb out of the window.
The defense noted that Coco did not have any wound in his buttocks and that his arms were heavily tattooed, including a 3½-inch tattoo of his name.
An analyst from the Southwest Louisiana Regional Crime Laboratory testified that serology testing on the blood stains revealed the same blood type as Coco’s blood type. The analyst said that the blood type was shared by 5.8 percent of all Black people. The serology testing consumed the stains. No testing was performed on the rape kit.
Coco testified and denied committing the crime.
On November 7, 1997, Judge Greg Lyons convicted Coco of aggravated rape and aggravated burglary. Judge Lyon sentenced Coco to life in prison without parole.
In October 1998, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Coco’s conviction and sentence.
In 2003, the Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO) took on Coco’s case. In October 2004, IPNO filed a motion for DNA testing. In February 2005, the motion was denied because Coco’s affidavit asserting his innocence had not been notarized.
In April 2005, IPNO filed a motion for a rehearing and ultimately, on August 10, 2005, the motion for DNA testing was granted.
The knife and the swabs from the rape kit were ReliaGene Technologies, Inc., a private DNA laboratory. On March 24, 2006, Reliagene reported that Coco’s DNA was not present.
On July 26, 2006, IPNO’s motion to vacate Coco’s conviction was granted. At the request of the prosecution, the evidence was retested at the North Louisiana Crime Lab, and ReliaGene’s results were confirmed.
On October 12, 2006, the prosecution dismissed the case, and Coco was freed from prison.
While in prison, Coco had begun to experience excruciating headaches. By the time he was able to obtain a medical examination, physicians discovered a tumor growing at the base of his skull. The cancer had spread throughout his body.
In March 2008, the state of Louisiana passed a law awarding Coco $150,000 in compensation. He died from cancer five months later, on August 6, 2008.
– Maurice Possley
Posting Date: 08-29-2011
Last Update Date: 07-22-2026
