Married WA medical worker forced abortion pills inside pregnant girlfriend, charges say
Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of an alleged sexual assault.
A married Gig Harbor nurse practitioner is accused of forcing abortion pills inside his girlfriend in late January after she told him she might be pregnant.
Pierce County prosecutors have charged David Benjamin Coots, 49, with second-degree assault with a domestic-violence emphasis, third-degree rape and witness tampering. He was arrested March 11 for five counts of violating a domestic-violence court order, records show.
Coots is an advanced registered nurse practitioner at MultiCare Gig Harbor Medical Park. As of March 14, his staff page had been removed from the MultiCare website.
“MultiCare has no higher priority that the safety of our patients. We take these allegations of inappropriate behavior by our provider very seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation. The provider in question is currently on leave. Due to patient privacy, we cannot disclose additional information,” the medical facility said in a statement to The News Tribune on March 14.
Coots’ wife, Melissa Coots, was charged March 13 with tampering with a witness. She and David Coots are accused of showing up at the girlfriend’s house and trying to pay her to not pursue legal and medical aid as “they did not want their lives ruined,” charging documents show.
A Pierce County Superior Court court commissioner set Coots’ bail at $500,000 on March 13. Court records show that the defendant submitted a bail bond receipt and was scheduled to be release from jail the afternoon of March 14.
Melissa Coots has not been arrested, records show.
Case Details
David Coots was the alleged victim’s primary-care provider, and they developed a romantic relationship in the fall. Coots told the woman mid-September he was married but that he and his wife were in the process of divorcing, according to court documents.
The woman told police that they had sex several times outside the hospital, and David Coots would sometimes make his patients wait while he was with her. During one instance on Dec. 1, the woman was at his office for an appointment, and they allegedly had sexual contact, documents show.
The woman told police on Feb. 2 that she believed she was pregnant after receiving five positive pregnancy tests and one inconclusive test. She told David Coots about the pregnancy on Jan. 20, and the woman said he acted supportive, at one point asking her what type of stroller they should get, documents show.
She said that she was going to keep the baby and raise it with Coots, which he did not object to. Documents show that David and Melissa Coots lived together at the time with their five children.
“He acted extremely supportive and thrilled for our future. I am shocked and disturbed by the planning and deception that went into his attack on me and our unborn child,” the woman wrote in a statement to the Court.
The woman and David Coots had consensual sex on Jan. 27. She told police that during intercourse, David Coots allegedly put his finger into her vagina farther and much harder than usual. He allegedly acted strange after the interaction and made sure she stayed home that night, charging documents show.
When he left her home, the woman noticed a pill fall from her vagina. She soon discovered three more pills and a foil inside of her. When she texted David Coots about the pills, he said they were Misoprostol/ Cytotec pills, which cause miscarriage. David Coots allegedly said he prescribed the pills to himself and tried to convince the woman to not seek medical aid, documents show.
That evening, the woman went to the St. Anthony emergency room and had a rape kit done. There was more medication found inside her. She told police that she suffered abnormal bleeding and stomach pain for three days. When she took a pregnancy test, it came out as negative. A doctor told her the bleeding could have been caused by a possible miscarriage, documents show.
The doctor could not confirm whether there was a pregnancy or miscarriage. The woman told police that she previously scheduled an appointment with her endocrinologist for Jan. 31 as it would a high-risk pregnancy due to her medical issues.
Court documents show that on Jan. 26, one day before the incident, David Coots made the woman coffee. He commented multiple times that she was not drinking it, and at one point made it a “big deal” that she spilled it when he hit a speed bump in the car. Following the Jan. 27 incident, the woman asked Coots if he put something in the coffee, and he just laughed and asked her if it tasted funny, according to court records.
David Coots later offered the woman money, and at one point sent her $2,000, which she sent back. On Jan. 31, Coots went to the woman’s house and allegedly asked how much money it would take for her not to report him to the police. She said she wanted to hold him accountable for his alleged actions, documents show.
Melissa Coots texted the woman on Feb. 1 and said she wanted to talk. They later spoke that day outside the woman’s house, and Melissa Coots said she wanted to see the hospital report. The woman said she was not going to share the report with her. Coots allegedly asked the woman how much money it would take for her not to say anything to the police.
Melissa Coots allegedly told the woman that she had been to her house several times that week and once with David Coots. The woman said she was scared because she did not know that Melissa Coots knew where she lived. The woman took her 7-year-old daughter to a hotel where they stayed, documents show.
A restraining order against David Coots was served on Feb. 5. The woman said she received an anonymous email, which she later learned was from Coots. Coots allegedly emailed the woman about five times. Coots allegedly violated the protection order again on March 11 when she showed up to the woman’s brother’s home with flowers, a letter and his copy of a key to her home, documents show.
Detectives searched David Coots’ residence two days later and found a cut key from Home Depot and a receipt that showed it was purchased on March 10. The key was able to unlock a doorknob previously installed at the woman’s residence, prosecutors wrote.
In her victim statement, the woman said that in a recent letter, Coots allegedly said he wanted to see her in person and have another baby. She is afraid that if he is released, he will find her.
“I’m just so afraid of how increasingly desperate he has become to have me agree to meet him in person and fear that he will stop at nothing to make that happen. When he brought gifts for me and my daughter it scared her so much she cried and thought he was going to pop out of the boxes to get us,” the statement said.
This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
