Family, friends express relief Wilberger's body is finally found

Brooke Wilberger's memory has faded on the BYU campus, but former roommates of the BYU sophomore who vanished five years ago in Corvallis, Ore., embraced with a sense of release Monday the news that her body had been found.

"It has felt like an eternity to every person involved in this," said Brittany Bennion, one of Wilberger's Deseret Towers roommates. "I'm happy that there is closure and I'm happy that they found her body. I know that this is what Brooke's family was hoping for."

The search for Wilberger, who disappeared from an apartment building near the Oregon State University campus in May 2004 shortly after finishing her freshman year at BYU, ended Monday when a man pleaded guilty to her murder after leading police to her body near the rugged Oregon coast.

Defendant Joel Courtney's confession concluded one of the most publicized murder investigations in Oregon history.

Courtney, who also was convicted of raping another student in New Mexico, avoided a possible death sentence by pleading guilty to aggravated murder and revealing the location of Wilberger's remains, said Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson.

Courtney, 43, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after entering the plea in Marion County Circuit Court in Salem. He will be returned to New Mexico to serve his prison term there as part of the plea arrangement before being returned to Oregon to serve the life sentence.

Wilberger's mother, Cammy, said the family met the news with mixed emotions.

"We are so grateful we could have her body recovered and we are grateful to everyone and to Mr. Courtney who told where she was left," she said. "We are grateful for everyone who has kept us in their prayers. It's just been an amazing, difficult 5 1/2 years."

Following directions from Courtney, police found Wilberger's remains Saturday morning in a wooded area several miles west of Corvallis, according to a source close to the investigation.

In a Monday afternoon press conference, Haroldson said police found human remains, as well as clothing and jewelry that belonged to Wilberger, at the site, and that dental records had confirmed the body as Wilberger's. Police are not announcing the exact location until the area has been thoroughly searched, he said.