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In the blood-soaked corridors of The Outlast Trials, no Prime Asset carries authority (real or imagined) quite like Sergeant Leland Coyle. A decorated officer on paper and a monster behind the badge, Coyle is Murkoff’s vision of order: violent, twisted, and unrepentant.
Leland Coyle Had A Life Built on Brutality
Born in 1923 in Blackwell, Oklahoma, Coyle’s early life was a cocktail of trauma, hatred, and cruelty. He abused animals, displayed deeply racist tendencies, and was implicated in multiple sexual assaults. But instead of intervention, Coyle found validation from early affiliations with the Ku Klux Klan, which helped him avoid prosecution and launch a career soaked in violence.
“The system didn’t fail with Coyle, it enabled him.”
His marriages ended in “accidents” and “suicides,” including one wife who reportedly shot herself in the head – multiple times. Investigations into these cases? All quietly closed. Murkoff wouldn’t need to fabricate his backstory. He came pre-packaged for horror.
From Soldier to Sadist
Coyle briefly joined the U.S. Marines, a move that doubled as an escape from law enforcement scrutiny. He served in the Pacific Theater, racking up three confirmed kills… and two suspicious American deaths. Back in the States, he rejoined the Klan and seamlessly transitioned into a career as a police officer, where his brutality went unchecked.
Feared and respected, Coyle rose through the ranks by exploiting prison labor, extorting civilians, and gaming civil forfeiture laws. He was the law, and made sure no one forgot it.
Leland Coyle Recruited by Murkoff
In 1956, Coyle was approached by Murkoff agent Clyde Perry, who lured him under the guise of a bribe. The meeting turned violent; Coyle beat Perry nearly to death but stopped just short. Perry wasn’t angry. He was impressed.
“It was like being toyed with by a predator,” Perry later wrote.
“There was power in it. Control. Discipline.”
Coyle was fast-tracked into Project LATHE, skipping the usual evaluations. Why? Because Murkoff saw what the world refused to: a killer who believed in his own righteousness.
In the Trials
As a Prime Asset, Coyle is an unrelenting force. He sees the Reagents (you) as guilty criminals – regardless of their actual crimes. He’s judge, jury, and very much executioner.
Armed with a shock baton and a creepy, charismatic voice, Coyle doesn’t just chase victims. He stalks them. He lectures. He punishes. And he enjoys every second.
“You don’t just survive Coyle… You endure him.”
Coyle’s twisted sense of justice makes him one of the most terrifying threats in the Trials. He doesn’t see you as a person. You’re a case file. A conviction. A walking sin that needs sentencing.
Final Thoughts
Sergeant Leland Coyle isn’t just a villain, he’s a reflection of institutional rot. He’s the man who slipped through every crack in the system, and then helped widen them.
In the world of The Outlast Trials, he’s exactly who Murkoff wants in charge.
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