Courtney Coco Cause Of Death, Killer Wikipedia Bio And Family

Courtney Coco

Courtney Coco Cause Of Death: In order to crack a 16-year cold case, POLICE had to untangle a complicated web of lies. Miles from the location of her last sighting, local officials found Courtney Coco’s lifeless body.

Courtney Coco, a 19-year-old college student, hailed from Rapides Parish in Louisiana. She was enrolled in Northwestern State University’s criminal justice program in 2004.

Coco, an Alexandria Senior High School graduate worked as a receptionist at a dental office while living alone in Alexandria, Louisiana, three miles from her parents’ house.

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Courtney Coco Cause Of Death

In 2004, a highly decomposed body was discovered in an abandoned structure in Willie, Texas. While her parents were away camping, Coco vanished from her home. Although the cause of death wasn’t found right away, authorities ultimately discovered that she had been suffocated to death with a pillow.

Coco’s case was finally solved more than 16 years after it occurred. On November 28, 2022, the murderer received a life sentence without the possibility of release.

Courtney Coco Cause Of Death
NBC’ ‘Dateline’ to feature Louisiana’s Courtney Coco case Friday (Source: Town Talk.)

This case from 2004, which made headlines once again last year, and her family’s struggle for justice is set to be featured on NBC Dateline’s all-new episode titled Who Killed Courtney Coco?

On Friday, April 14, 2023, at 9:00 p.m. ET, the two-hour episode was scheduled to premiere. The summary reads:

“When a young woman’s body is discovered in an abandoned building, it sparks an investigation that lasts nearly two decades and pushes one family’s own search for justice.”

Courtney Coco Killer Wikipedia Bio

The victim was brutally murdered when she was just 19 years old. The body of Coco, who was only half clothed, was reportedly discovered in an abandoned structure outside of Winnie, Texas, about three hours from her home in Alexandria, Louisiana, according to the Alexandria Police Department.

Courtney’s body was discovered by a construction worker driving a backhoe by the structure, who then dialed 911. Investigators estimated that she had been deceased for three to four days based on the body’s decomposition.

The following day’s autopsy, however, was unable to determine the precise cause of death because of the body’s severe decomposition. In any case, the teen’s death was ruled a homicide, sparking the beginning of a protracted investigation.

On October 12, the victim’s green 1999 Pontiac Bonneville was found in Houston, Texas. The people found in possession of the car were questioned.

Blood was in the trunk and all of her things were still inside the vehicle. Due to limits in DNA technology at the time, police could only establish that the DNA discovered was a combination of Coco’s and that of an unidentified male.

Until her family reached out to retired homicide detective and podcast broadcaster Woody Overton in 2019, the murder of Courtney Coco remained unsolved. Overton then presented his findings on his show Real Life Real Crime.

He claimed to have conducted innumerable interviews, gotten a new perspective on the issue, and had an overwhelmingly positive response.

Overton asserted that he thought she was killed by a strangulation on October 2, 2004, just after midnight. Her body was then discarded in the abandoned Winnie building after being placed in the trunk of her automobile.

2019 saw the arrest of 43-year-old David Anthony Burns, who was engaged to Coco’s sister at the time of the murder and was also allegedly involved with the victim, as a result of the new information.

Courtney Coco Killer
Louisiana man charged with murder in unsolved 2004 killing of college student Courtney Coco (Source: KIRO 7)

According to reports, Burns had been a suspect in the investigation since 2011. According to several witnesses, Burns admitted to suffocating the deceased with a pillow in her bedroom, putting the body in a comforter, and then leaving it where it was discovered. One of the things missing from the residence was the aforementioned comforter.

On October 31, 2022, David Anthony Burns—who had been charged with second-degree murder in the case—was found guilty of the crime. A month later, he was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Courtney Coco Family

The 19-year-old was over at her parents’ house to watch their dog while they went on a camping vacation, but she refused to attend since she wasn’t “really the camping type.” It happened on the first day of squirrel season, which is October 1 of that year. She chose, instead, to take care of their dog until their arrival two days later.

Sadly, she left the house at that very moment.

The distraught mother spoke to Dateline NBC: “It was opening day of squirrel season and we were going camping for the weekend.” Her mother last saw her on October 1, 2004.

An Alexandria Police officer called Coco’s mother Stephanie Belgard on October 4, 2004, informing her that “they found a body in Texas… wearing Courtney’s graduation ring.

Courtney Coco Family
Family, friends of Courtney Coco hold peaceful protest at Alexandria Courthouse (Source: NBC NEWS)

” According to reports, Belgard told Dateline that she thought she was hearing things and that it wasn’t her daughter since she was sure of it. She stated:

“Like maybe someone had stolen her ring. I just dropped the phone and fell to the floor.”

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