Brooke Wilberger Murder Suspect Faces Oregon Judge

Joel Courtney is currently serving 18-years in a New Mexico prison for sexually assaulting and kidnapping a college co-ed.

Joel Courtney Photo courtesy: Benton County Sheriff's Office

(CORVALLIS, Ore.) - The man accused of killing former BYU co-ed Brooke Wilberger made his first court appearance in Oregon on Wednesday.

With Wilberger's family watching the proceedings, the judge entered a “not guilty” plea for the defendant, 41-year-old Joel Patrick Courtney, who was indicted in Wilberger’s disappearance in 2005. He is charged with aggravated murder, rape and kidnapping. Courtney faces the prospect of a life sentence in an Oregon prison if he’s convicted of Wilberger’s crime. Her body has never been found.

Courtney is currently serving 18-years in a New Mexico prison for sexually assaulting and kidnapping a college co-ed.

The former BYU student disappeared during a break from school in 2004. She was in Corvallis helping her sister manage the apartment complex when she vanished in 2004.

Courtney also faces charges for attempting to kidnap, rape and kill two other women in Oregon.