Wilberger suspect to be tried for rape of student
01:48 PM PST on Monday, January 8, 2007
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) -- A man accused of murdering Brooke Wilberger in Oregon has been found competent to stand trial on charges of raping a foreign exchange student at the University of New Mexico.
kgw.com
Joel Patrick Courtney as shown in police mug shot.
May 14th has been set as the New Mexico trial date for Joel Patrick Courtney of Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
Courtney's attorney argued during a competency hearing Friday that he cannot defend Courtney because his client refuses to talk to him.
Prosecutor Theresa Watley says she believes Courtney is competent but manipulative.
Courtney was arrested on November 30th, 2004 in Albuquerque after being accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting the New Mexico student.
In the Wilberger case, Courtney was indicted in July 2005 on 19 counts of aggravated murder, kidnapping, rape and sodomy.
Wilberger, who was 19, disappeared from Corvallis in May 2004. Her body has not been found.
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