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Friday, February 4, 2011
‘Dateline’ has new revelations in Brooke Wilberger murder The family of Brooke Wilberger's killer is breaking their silence for the first time, opening up, about how they pieced together that their brother, Joel Courtney, was a murderer.
Courtney raped and killed the 19-year-old Oregon girl in May 2004. The most publicized murder in Oregon history was the focus of the latest Dateline.
Courtney's sister Dina recalled when her brother disappeared, during which time he abducted and killed Wilberger. He came back with a wild story.
"He walked through the door and announced kind of loudly, you'll never believe where I've been, " said sister Dina Courtney McBride. "I said okay, where were you? I was kidnapped, (he said). There were these guys. They had guns and knives and we were in the woods. It was rainy and cold and there was a girl there and we were hiding. And y'know there was blood and it was awful."
Meanwhile, Brooke Wilberger's family was frantic, trying to find her. "I said, where's Brooke?." said Cammy Wilberger, Brooke's mother.
"And he (her son) said what do you mean? You don't know? He goes, 'we don't know where she is.' I said 'Spence, don't tease me. What are you talking about?' And he said, 'no seriously mom. We can't find her and right then I had a chill go through my whole body.'"
Joel Courtney refused to speak with investigators, regarding the Wilberger disappearance. But Dina remembered when her mother visited him in jail and asked him, once and for all.
"Joel, did you do this?, " said Courtney McBride's mother, "and he said 'It's not really like it seems like and I'll never be held accountable.'"
