Suspect in Brooke Wilberger Case Convicted in New Mexico on Similar Charges

Courtney was expected to go to court in Oregon in September of this year, and the conclusion of the New Mexico should allow it to remain on schedule.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The man Oregon prosecutors believe is responsible for the disappearance of Brooke Wilberger, Joel Patrick Courtney, has pleaded guilty to Rape and Kidnapping charges in New Mexico.

Utah college student Brooke Wilberger was visiting her sister in Oregon. She disappeared from a Corvallis apartment complex May 24th, 2004. Hundreds of searchers combed trails while investigators followed up all sorts of leads, but to this date Brooke Wilberger remains missing.

Courtney in 1991

The AP reports that Courtney admits to having assaulted a foreign exchange student at the University of New Mexico on Nov. 30th, 2004. That is only six months after the disappearance of Brooke Wilberger.

The original indictment in the New Mexico case charged two counts of Attempted Murder, four counts of Attempted Kidnapping, two counts of sex abuse, two counts of sodomy, and two counts of rape. Investigators say Courtney kidnapped the woman and forced her into a car, where he bound her with shoelaces. He reportedly raped and sodomized her.

Courtney was indicted by a Benton County, Oregon Grand Jury a year after Brooke's disappearance. To date, Brooke Wilberger’s body has not been found.

Courtney in 1985

Police linked Courtney to the Oregon case because he allegedly had a court date in Newport, Oregon that would have placed him in the area where Brooke Wilberger was cleaning light fixtures at the Oak Park Apartment complex in Corvallis. He reportedly had called the court, but then never arrived.

Brooke Wilberger's body has never been found, and Courtney is not the only suspect that police have looked at in relation to the case. He has been indicted on charges of kidnapping and aggravated murder in her case.

Courtney was expected to go to court in Oregon in September of this year, and the conclusion of the New Mexico should allow it to remain on schedule. New Mexico has an agreement with Oregon that allows one state to complete prosecution before sending the suspect/convict to another state where more charges await.