GUILTY OR - Brooke Wilberger, 19, Eugene, 24 May 2004 - #2

[SuziQ]

At the below link there is a picture of Brooke's sister and parents at the presser.

After five years, Wilberger case finally comes to a close

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/after_five_years_wilberger_cas.html

 

[capoly]

Mother Thanks Killer for Coming Forward
http://news.aol.com/article/brooke-wilbergers-remains-found/679777

I read that headline and even though she is not mentioned in it.....see only Brooke....a beautiful soul living in peace....... in the long run pure love transcends all other emotions.

Thank you,WSers, for being a source of fortitude.

 

[J. Brannagh]

I am so happy today... I have been following this case since it occurred.. my mother and father in-law lived in Corvalis, right next to the campus... and we were down there the weekend she went missing helping them get ready to move up here to Edmonds, Washington. I was floored that a girl went missing so close to where we were while we were there... I have watched the news regarding her ever since... I am so glad they will be able to recover her body... so glad her family will have this closure...

Rest in Peace Beautiful Girl

 

[J. Brannagh]

This speaker is making me cry! Yes, Corvallis is like a family. :-( My son is a manager at a store there and loves it.

Oh, I am soooooooooooo sad.

My heart goes out to you Kimster... You are such a WONDERFUL Loving Person.

Corvalis is such a wonderful town. My husband lived there many years and his family even longer.. we spent many wonderful weekends visiting his parents there before they moved up here to be closer to us.

The Beanery... The Book Bin... New Morning Bakery...

Such a Wonderful Town

 

[J. Brannagh]

Thank you so much SUZY Q, SCANDI, KIMSTER and all you fabulous sleuthers for all your up to the minute posts and contributions... I don't post as often as I should but I read ALOT (read Lurker :angel... and MUCH appreciate all the work and posting you all do to keep us informed.

THANK YOU! Big Hugs to All of you today! :blowkiss:

 

[Anngelique]

I also wonder if it's around the King's Valley Highway area. My husband and I just took that drive a few weeks ago. It's such a lovely drive with the top down but it's the long way to the beach from Salem. My hubby just graduated from OSU in June and we visited the spot Brooke was taken a couple of times. Very eerie. He now works in Corvallis and we are planning to move there if this new job turns out to be what he wants.

I was deeply saddened last night hearing the reports. Poor Brooke was alive for 24 hours? Tortured, raped, left alone in the woods tied up? Can you imagine? I wish it was fast and quick. As a mother I bet that just breaks her mother's heart to hear she suffered for that long. Joel Courtney doesn't deserve to live the rest of his life in prison. He deserves to die for his crimes.

He said he tried to pick up 2 other girls but failed and had noticed Brooke and said he'd go back if the others didn't work out. She didn't have a chance.

Oh, it just makes me sick!

But I am happy the parents got her remains back and don't have to spend the rest of their lives wondering.

 

[Kimster]

The discovery of Brooke's remains is on the front page of the paper today. I don't think they'll tell us where she was for a week, according to the DA in yesterday's presser. I think it is important to study where these POSs hide their victims in order to help think of how we can find those who are still missing.

Anyway, here's the link to The Register Guard, which is the local paper from Brooke's hometown.

http://www.registerguard.com/web/news/index.csp

 

[Beyond Belief]

Courtney's agreement to tell officials where he'd left Wilberger's body after kidnapping, raping and murdering her was part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty, he said.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/remains-brooke-wilberger-found-years-disappearance/story?id=8632233

 

[future criminologist]

anyone know if this guy has been linked to other possible missing/abducted cases? or if the police have tracked his whereabouts over the years to tie him with others? he has such a violent criminal history that I wouldn't think Brooke was the first victim he murdered.

 

[dreamweaver]

RIP Brooke.

I am so very glad your killer will never be free again.

 

[SuziQ]

After years of searching, the remains of Corvallis murder victim Brooke Wilberger have been found and her accused killer changed his plea to guilty in the case after revealing details of the crime to investigators. Background: Wilberger murder
The deal that led to Wilberger's remains was struck last Friday between Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. Joel Courtney was processed into New Mexico's corrections department on Tuesday.

More at link:
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_092109_news_wilberger_remains_found.1a1010414.html

 

[SuziQ]

Near-victim of Courtney grateful her life was spared

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_092209_news_thornton_courtney_escape.1a636488d.html

 

[SuziQ]

Statement from Joel Courtney's older sister

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_092209_courtney_sister_statement.1a74fcc51.html

 

[scandi]

Statement from Joel Courtney's older sister

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_092209_courtney_sister_statement.1a74fcc51.html

Thanks Suzie, I saw that on our late news tonight and it touched my heart. Imagine being in that position. xox

 

[curves]

Statement from Joel Courtney's older sister

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_092209_courtney_sister_statement.1a74fcc51.html

What an amazing family. I am glad that this animal is off the streets but heartbroken that a beautiful young woman with her life ahead of her, had to die first. Prayers to the Wilberger family and to the Courtney family :grouphug:

 

[Kimster]

Statement from Joel Courtney's older sister

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_092209_courtney_sister_statement.1a74fcc51.html

What an awesome letter! It begs the question, "How did such a come from a family that believes in justice and integrity?"

 

[Prof]

Near-victim of Courtney grateful her life was spared

http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_092209_news_thornton_courtney_escape.1a636488d.html

.

The man mentioned as a hero in this article was one of the first people I met when I moved to this town. I have heard one-on-one his story of that day. I still get chills thinking of how he could immediately see that something was wrong. Courtney made a big mistake traversing my friend's OSU territory, and crossing the path of CPD and the BCDA. I know that that my friend will never forget staring Courtney down that day.

http://gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_4a92f38f-ff25-5750-b43c-a24863a81441.html

On one hand, this is the kind of town that makes one feel safe, and trusting enough to stop and give a stranger directions. At the same time, nobody better mess with us. This is the kind of town where the community takes action. One of our local businesses, a restaurant, caught on fire last Saturday; by Wednesday a fund had been set up in a local bank for donations to help get the business back on its feet again, and many of the wait staff had been given at least temporary shifts at other local eateries. This town has the biggest heart of any small town I know.

 

[Prof]

Thanks Kimster, I just looked at a map and see you go west from Corvallis to Philomath and the road bends up northwest to Kings Valley. It looks like that might be at the edge of a forest so I bet you are right. That wouldn't take that long then to drive back to town for food do you think, what, 1/2 hour? I wonder if he fed her, saying that as it looks like his intent was to use her and not initially to kill her.

http://gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_636b22fa-a7e6-11de-af0b-001cc4c03286.html

The article above mentions the Blodget Country Store which is about 15 miles from the part of Corvallis where Brooke was taken. It's probably about 10 miles to the nearest fast food restaurants in Philomath. If we believe his tale... I find this detail disturbing. I guess it's because he reportedly stated that Brooke stated she was hungry. If she did state that, I would imagine that it was a smart move on her part to try to get somewhere public. If he did take her back into town, it is heartbreaking that she did not have a chance to escape or call attention to the situation. As the DA stated, Courtney provided a romanticized version of the crime. It does not seem to me that he was planning on letting her live.

 

[scandi]

http://gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_636b22fa-a7e6-11de-af0b-001cc4c03286.html

The article above mentions the Blodget Country Store which is about 15 miles from the part of Corvallis where Brooke was taken. It's probably about 10 miles to the nearest fast food restaurants in Philomath. If we believe his tale... I find this detail disturbing. I guess it's because he reportedly stated that Brooke stated she was hungry. If she did state that, I would imagine that it was a smart move on her part to try to get somewhere public. If he did take her back into town, it is heartbreaking that she did not have a chance to escape or call attention to the situation. As the DA stated, Courtney provided a romanticized version of the crime. It does not seem to me that he was planning on letting her live.

Hi Prof, It is a delight to post along side you and I do appreciate the local 'flavor' you bring to our sleuthing of the case.

I just found this article which is filled with lots of info we have not read before. Mr Denson gives us an in depth look-see into the whole case, so well written it is almost like watching it unfold before our eyes:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/09/killer_recounts_brooke_wilberg.html

xox

ETA: Prof, The article alludes to Philomath, and am wondering if you think that is the area where she was put. A couple of miles west of Philomath. I wonder if he has family out there with acreage?

 

[scandi]

Detective in Brooke Wilberger case prayed daily for a tip, a lead -- and for the next victim
By Bryan Denson, The Oregonian
September 26, 2009, 12:00PM

" CORVALLIS -- Detective Shawn Houck heard his boss call for him at quitting time that late spring afternoon five years ago. He peered across the bullpen and saw there was no avoiding Lt. John Keefer, who dispatched him to the Oak Park Apartments to look for a missing college student named Brooke Wilberger.

Houck and Detective Cord Wood expected to blow a few hours on a routine runaway case. But they quickly learned that Wilberger, a 19-year-old Brigham Young University student working a summer job in the 101-unit complex, had vanished that morning while cleaning outdoor lamp globes.

Wilberger left them a wrenching bit of evidence. Askew on a sunny parking lot lay a pair of flip flops, one toe thong ripped out -- signs of a violent struggle.

"This wasn't normal -- this doesn't happen here," Houck recalls thinking. "This is real. . . . ." {More @ link in above post}