Offender Record · OFF-2026-035
Jill Lonita Coit
Also known as Jill Lonita Billiot, Jill Ihnen, Jill Moore, Jill Brodie, Jill Dirosa, Jill Metzger, Jill Steeley, Jill Boggs, Jill Johansen-Coit, Jill Carroll, Jill Kisla
Sex
Female
Race
White
Height
5'5"
Born
1943
Custody
Incarcerated
States
LA, CO, MS, IN, CA, NV, TX, OH
Distinguishing featuresHeight 5'5" to 5'6" as documented in Wikipedia and the Radford University document; described as physically attractive; of Native American descent
Custody
Incarcerated at Denver Women's Correctional Facility · #86530
Custody record at the facility
Sentenced May 24, 1995 to life without parole plus 48 years; housed at Denver Women's Correctional Facility as of 2026.
This record documents arrests, charges and convictions reported by courts, law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Every statement is tied to a cited source with an archived copy. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt; a person charged is presumed innocent unless convicted. Solve the Case does not allege that this person committed any offense beyond what the cited records state, and this record is not a suggestion that the person is connected to any unsolved case. How records are built, corrected and removed.
Summary of the record
Jill Lonita Coit, born June 11, 1943 or 1944, was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the October 1993 death of Gerald Boggs in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Coit was sentenced to life without parole plus 48 years on May 24, 1995. She is also suspected of killing her third husband, William Clark Coit Jr., in Houston, Texas in 1972, but was never charged. Coit is currently incarcerated at Denver Women's Correctional Facility.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Jun 1993, Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Conspiracy to commit first-degree murder
Hot Sulphur Springs District Court, Colorado · Hot Sulphur Springs District Court · Docket Unknown · Unknown · Arrested Dec 23, 1993 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 48 years (concurrent with life sentence)
Coit began planning the murder of Gerald Boggs as early as summer 1993 and solicited multiple people to kill him before she and Michael Backus carried out the murder themselves. The civil trial over the bed-and-breakfast ownership was scheduled one week after Boggs' death.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Coit, Jill - 2005; Jill Coit
Offense date Oct 22, 1993, Steamboat Springs, Colorado
First-degree murder
Hot Sulphur Springs District Court, Colorado · Hot Sulphur Springs District Court · Docket Unknown · Unknown · Arrested Dec 23, 1993 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life without parole plus 48 years and $1,000,000 fine
Gerald Boggs, age 52, was beaten with a shovel, shocked with a stun gun, and shot with a .22 caliber pistol in his Steamboat Springs home on October 22, 1993. Jill Coit and her accomplice Michael Backus disguised themselves, with Coit wearing a false mustache and bulky clothing to appear male. Coit had asked her son Seth for help covering up the murder; he reported her to police instead. Coit claimed to be camping with Backus in Fort Collins when Boggs was killed.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Coit, Jill - 2005; Jill Coit; 'Black Widow Murders': Bigamist Killer Jill Coit Case; Jill Coit; Jill Coit
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
1
Victims convicted
0
Victims confessed
1
Victims suspected
Active years
1972–1993
Victim profile
Partners or spouses, Men
Stated motive
Financial gain, Power or control
Range from home
interstate
Accomplice
Yes
Education
some high school
Marital history
Married, Divorced
Children
3
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
CA
California
approx. 1972 – 1973 · Moved to California following William Coit Jr.'s death; convinced elderly man to 'adopt' her
Orange, California
approx. 1973 – 1975 · Married to Donald Charles Brodie, U.S. Marine Corps Major
CO
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
approx. 1991 – 1993 · Owned and operated bed-and-breakfast; married to Gerald Boggs April 1991; marriage annulled December 1991
Greeley, Colorado
approx. 1993 – 1993 · Lived with Michael Backus before and after Boggs murder; fled to Mexico after October 22, 1993 murder
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Dec 23, 1993 – present · Initially arrested December 23, 1993; transferred to Denver Women's Correctional Facility after conviction May 24, 1995; DOC #86530
IN
Wabash, Indiana
1961 – 1962 · Married to Larry Ihnen; dropped out of high school in Spring 1961 to pursue relationship
Culver, Indiana
approx. 1983 – 1983 · Married to Carl V. Steeley, prep-school teacher, January 1983
LA
Lafitte, Louisiana
approx. 1943 – 1960 · Birthplace; raised by both parents until age 15
Louisiana
approx. 1960 – 1961 · Lived with grandparents
Louisiana
approx. 1972 – 1972 · Found in New Orleans with attorney Louis DiRosa after William Coit Jr.'s death; admitted to psychiatric hospital
MS
Mississippi
approx. 1964 – 1966 · Married to Steven Moore in May 1964
Wilkinson, Mississippi
approx. 1976 – 1978 · Married to Louis A. DiRosa, lawyer and judge, October 1976
NV
Las Vegas, Nevada
approx. 1992 – 1992 · Married to Roy Carroll, retired U.S. Navy chief petty officer, February 7, 1992
OH
Lima, Ohio
approx. 1978 – 1978 · Married to Eldon Duane Metzger in March 1978
TX
Orange, Texas
approx. 1966 – 1970 · Married to William Clark Coit Jr. in January 1966; relocated to Texas for his job
Houston, Texas
approx. 1970 – 1972 · Continued residence with William Clark Coit Jr. until his death on March 29, 1972
Photographs by Year
Photo from www.oxygen.com
Photo from www.steamboatradio.com
gerald-boggs-jill-coit-slider
Timeline
Jun 11, 1943
Jill Lonita Billiot born in Louisiana; exact year uncertain (1943 or 1944)
Jul 24, 1961
Jill married Larry Ihnen in Wabash, Indiana, at age 19
Jun 12, 1962
Jill divorced Larry Ihnen and emptied their joint bank account
May 05, 1964
Jill married Steven Moore in Mississippi and gave birth to son Steven Seth Moore
Jan 29, 1966
Jill married William Clark Coit Jr. in Orange County, Texas, while still legally married to Steven Moore
Mar 08, 1972
Jill filed for divorce from William Clark Coit Jr.
Mar 29, 1972
William Clark Coit Jr., age 42, found shot to death in Houston, Texas; Jill was suspected but never charged
Nov 03, 1973
Jill married Donald Charles Brodie, U.S. Marine Corps major, in Orange, California
Jul 07, 1975
Jill divorced Donald Brodie
Oct 11, 1976
Jill married Louis A. DiRosa, lawyer and judge, in Wilkinson County, Mississippi
Mar 27, 1978
Jill married Eldon Duane Metzger in Lima, Ohio, while still legally married to Louis A. DiRosa
Jan 06, 1983
Jill married Carl V. Steeley in Culver, Indiana, while still legally married to Louis A. DiRosa
Apr 04, 1991
Jill married Gerald Boggs in Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Dec 03, 1991
Jill's marriage to Gerald Boggs annulled because she was still legally married to Carl Steeley
Feb 07, 1992
Jill married Roy Carroll, retired U.S. Navy chief petty officer, in Las Vegas, Nevada
Jun 1993
Jill Coit began planning to murder Gerald Boggs; contacted multiple people attempting to solicit the murder
Oct 22, 1993
Gerald Boggs, age 52, found beaten and shot to death in his Steamboat Springs, Colorado home; Jill Coit and Michael Backus were responsible
Dec 23, 1993
Jill Coit arrested for the murder of Gerald Boggs; Michael Backus also arrested
Mar 17, 1995
Jill Coit and Michael Backus convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in Hot Sulphur Springs District Court
May 24, 1995
Jill Coit sentenced to life without parole plus 48 years and fined $1,000,000
Nov 29, 1997
Jill Coit appealed her life sentence; appeal denied by Colorado Court of Appeals
May 09, 2002
Jill Coit filed motion for post-conviction relief in Routt County District Court; motion denied
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
News report · Steamboat Radio ·
Jill Coit has asked the governor for clemency in the murder of Gerald Boggs“She was sentenced in Routt County Court in May of 1995 to Life without Parole plus 48 years for the murder of Gerald Boggs.”
News report · Forensic Files Now ·
Jill Coit: Update on the Black Widow Killer“As of 2026, the Colorado Department of Corrections still lists her sentence as life without parole.”
Other government record · Colorado Department of Corrections ·
Find an Inmate“Search for an inmate in the Colorado Department of Corrections' database.”
Other government record · Wikipedia ·
Jill Coit“Coit was convicted of killing her eighth husband in 1993 and is also suspected of killing her third husband in 1972.”
News report · Crime Museum ·
Jill Coit“On March 8, 1972 she filed for divorce and on March 29, 1972, Jill reported that William had been murdered.”
Other · Murderpedia ·
Jill Coit“Convicted of torturing and killing her ninth husband, Gerald Boggs, 52, in Colorado in October 1993, Jill Coit was sentenced to life in prison in 1995.”
News report · Oxygen ·
'Black Widow Murders': Bigamist Killer Jill Coit Case“On December 23, 1993, they were arrested. They were both charged with first-degree murder, and the trial began in 1995.”
Other · Radford University, Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Coit, Jill - 2005“Jill Coit and Michael Backus are convicted of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges brought by the Hot Sulphur Springs district court.”
Discussion
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