On a snowy evening in Big Lake, Washington, on February 13, 2021, a dispute that began over a political sign escalated into a fatal encounter for 32-year-old Kamran Cohee, a Caucasian female. Cohee and her boyfriend, Joshua Tryon, were in their vehicle when they stopped near the home of Angela and John Conijn. The events that followed are subject to differing accounts, but they culminated in the tragic death of Cohee from a gunshot wound to the head.
According to Tryon, he had taken a "Loren Culp for Governor" sign from the Conijns' yard. This action led to a confrontation with John Conijn. An altercation ensued between the two men. Angela Conijn's husband reported that after the initial fight, he was chased back into his house, and that Cohee and Tryon began beating on their front door with a wheelbarrow. It was then that Angela Conijn, 55 at the time, emerged from the residence with a firearm.
Angela Conijn fired the weapon, striking Kamran Cohee. When Skagit County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene, they found Cohee deceased in the driveway. Angela Conijn was arrested and subsequently charged with second-degree murder. Her husband, John, was also charged with fourth-degree assault for his role in the physical altercation. Angela Conijn's defense attorney argued that her actions were in self-defense.
The case against Angela Conijn went to trial, but the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, resulting in a mistrial in March 2025. Subsequently, in October 2025, a Skagit County Superior Court judge dismissed the case against Angela Conijn. The dismissal came after it was revealed that the prosecution had presented false testimony during the trial regarding the presence of a weapon. While the judge noted the false testimony was not intentional, it was deemed a result of "innocent lapses" and negligence, leading to the exoneration of Conijn's bail and the conclusion of the criminal proceedings against her in the death of Kamran Cohee.
