CORVALLIS, Ore. — Five years after college student Brooke Wilberger disappeared, a man has pleaded guilty to her murder and directed police to her remains.
The developments ended one of the most publicized murder investigations in Oregon history and put away a man who also was convicted of raping another student in New Mexico.
Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson made the surprise announcement today.
The Brigham Young University student vanished in May 2004 from an apartment building in Corvallis.
Defendant Joel Courtney avoided a possible death sentence by pleading guilty to aggravated murder and revealing the location of Wilberger's remains.
Courtney was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after entering the plea in Marion County Circuit Court in Salem.
