years on parole. Police eventually linked Courtney, a native of Beaverton, Oregon, to Wilberger's disappearance. In August 2005, he was charged on 19 counts of aggravated murder, kidnapping, sexual abuse, rape and sodomy. Court documents released in 2008 revealed details showing that Courtney was in Corvallis when Wilberger disappeared and that a green van he was driving was spotted by several people, including an OSU employee who identified him from a photo lineup. Officials said that Wilberger's DNA was found inside the van, along with her hair. Courtney was extradited to Benton County, Oregon, on April 8, 2008. He was scheduled for his first appearance on April 9, 2008, at the Benton County Courthouse, facing 14 counts including aggravated murder, two counts of kidnapping and single counts of rape, sodomy and sexual abuse in connection with Wilberger's disappearance. Charges were filed despite the absence of the body of the alleged victim at the time; the prosecutor in the case announced that he would seek the death penalty. The FBI had briefly considered Courtney a suspect in two to three disappearances under investigation, but have since eliminated him as a suspect. It was revealed through court deposition and Courtney's confession that he had abducted Wilberger from the Oak Park Apartments parking lot on the morning of May 24, 2004. He then drove her into the woods outside of town. He returned to town to buy food while he still had Wilberger bound in his van. According to Courtney, he kept her alive throughout the night before raping her the next morning. He then bludgeoned her to death when she tried to fight off the rape. Conviction Courtney's attorneys worked towards a trial, as well as towards a speedier resolution. The trial was set for February 1, 2010. He was expected to be charged in connection with the unrelated kidnapping, attempted sexual assault and attempted murder of two Oregon State University students, the same day Wilberger went missing. On September 21, 2009, Courtney pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, the only crime subject to capital punishment in Oregon, and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The deal spared Courtney from the death penalty, in exchange for providing information about the location of Wilberger's body. In addition, the deal also called for Courtney to be imprisoned in his home state, New Mexico, instead of Oregon where the crime was committed.