by Robert Scott
If the answers to the media questions couldn’t be put to rest, there were a couple of other matters that could be. The matter of Sung Koo Kim, who had looked so “good” as the abductor of Brooke Wilberger, finally came to a conclusion. At the height of the furor, Kim’s bail amount had exceeded $16 million in four counties. Even when he was no longer a suspect in Brooke’s case, DDA Haroldson stated, “The evidence in this case alone justifies it being taken very, very seriously. We’re not relying on the Wilberger stuff. We consider him to be a very dangerous person.”
It was such a tangled web by now—involving Benton, Multnomah, Yamhill, and Washington counties—Kim’s fifth lawyer, Clayton Lance, attempted to get all of the prosecutors at one table to discuss plea negotiations. Even Circuit Court Judge Janet Holcomb urged the prosecutors and defense to work toward some kind of plea deal.
Finally when the plea deals came, involving Sung Koo Kim, they came in a scattergun fashion. Kim pled guilty in Yamhill County to burglary and panty theft charges and was sentenced to four years of state prison and eighteen months of county jail time. He also had to read a statement in court.
Sung Koo Kim, in part, read, “‘I would like to sincerely apologize with all my heart to all the girls affected by my shortsighted, selfish, abnormal behavior. It was never my intention to scare or instill a sense of insecurity in them. I want to reassure them that I pose absolutely no threat or danger to them or the community.’”
Soon Kim was pleading to porn charges in Washington County. For that crime he was to receive four years of prison time, which would begin after he had served prison time for the Yamhill County charges. And quickly following the Washington County sentencing, Kim made a plea deal with Benton County. Judge Janet Holcomb gave Kim thirty-one months in prison on one count of first-degree burglary and thirteen months for second-degree burglary.
Speaking about his son, Joo Kim said that Sung Kim was mentally ill and had a hard time in prison. Joo added that Sung Kim spent most of his time in his cell with another inmate who was also mentally ill. Dr. Paul Leung, Sung’s psychiatrist, said that Sung suffered from a schizoaffective disorder.
Around that same time Aaron Evans, who had also once looked “good” for the kidnapping of Brooke Wilberger, was having his own new set of problems. Albany PD officer Chad Barr was dispatched to a home on SE Denver Street in Albany concerning a domestic dispute. When he got there, Michelle Evans told Officer Barr that she’d gone to her residence to see if “everything was all right.” Michelle and Aaron were now separated, and Michelle lived with a new boyfriend across town. Michelle added that she allowed Aaron to stay there “as long as he didn’t have tweakers over there with him.” (Tweakers meant people who used meth.)
Officer Barr noticed that Michelle Evans had a cut on her lower lip and bruising on her face, and she told Barr that Aaron had “beaten her up.” Asked to be more specific, Aaron’s ex said that she had arrived at her residence to find that Aaron had people there whom she suspected of using meth. An argument ensued, which turned to shoving back and forth on Michelle and Aaron’s part. Then according to Michelle he balled his hand into a fist and struck her in the face.
Officer Barr said to her, “On a scale of zero to ten, can you rate the pain? Zero being no pain and ten the worst pain you ever felt.”
Michelle replied that the injury on her lip was an eight, and she also had pain in her back, because he had pushed her to the floor at one point. She said that pain was also an eight.
Officer Barr asked Michelle more questions about her relationship with Aaron, and learned that Aaron was a convicted sex offender. Asked where Aaron was now, Michelle Evans said that he had fled on foot in a northerly direction. Officer Timothy Sousa directed Officer Fandrem, of the APD, to search for Aaron, and Fandrem soon located Aaron on a street. But as soon as Aaron spotted a police vehicle, he took off running and evaded capture. In fact, he was not going to make it easy for the Albany Police Department. One officer’s report noted: Suspect fled down the railroad tracks, wearing a green backpack, hooded sweatshirt, jeans. Running past Salvation Army store. Out on foot near railroad tracks going towards Geary Street. Suspect fled from me west down the tracks then south across them then north again. He had something on his head.
Michelle’s interview took place around seven in the evening. Later that night, around eleven-thirty, an APD officer got a call about a prowler in the Third Avenue area. A resident there said that a young man wearing a baseball cap and red jacket was trying to break into a blue sports utility vehicle. Officer Timothy Sousa drove to the area and noticed a male wearing a red jacket walking south on Baker Street. Sousa pulled over and detained the suspect, making him sit down on the curb. And then Sousa noted: I recognized the suspect as being Aaron Evans. I had dealt with Evans a few times in the past.
Officer Sousa read Evans his Miranda rights and noted: Aaron was very nervous. Based on training and experience, I believed Aaron to have been under the influence of a controlled substance. Aaron could not sit still and he continually moved his hands and feet. I thought Aaron might take off running. I placed Aaron in handcuffs and already knew that Officer Barr had probable cause for an arrest.
Asked about prowling around cars and trying to break into them, Aaron said that he might have walked past some cars and looked at them, but he didn’t try to break into any of them. Asked if Aaron knew any reason why he might be the subject of being arrested for a domestic dispute, Aaron replied, “Yeah, probably.” Then a short time later, he stated, “Of course, I’m the man.”
Once in the interview room, Aaron had a story that was different from Michelle’s. Aaron said, “She attacked me! I have a witness that pulled her off of me. All I wanted to do was leave, when she attacked me.”
Officer Sousa read the report that Officer Barr had taken from what Michelle told him about the incident.
Aaron’s response was “It didn’t happen that way! I did not pull the phone from her hands. I never hit her and she was never calling the cops.” Asked why Michelle had a swollen lip, Aaron said that he didn’t know.
Despite what Aaron claimed now, he was booked into the Linn County Jail on the charges of an “Assault IV” and “Interference with Making a Police Report.” The latest charges against Aaron were the least of his problems. What made it so damaging for him was his new interviews by his parole officer. The officer contacted Aaron at the Linn County Jail and, at first, Aaron denied using any illegal drugs. After a while, however, Aaron admitted to smoking marijuana. Asked if he used any meth, Aaron at first denied this as well, before admitting, “I smoked a couple of bowls of meth.”
A few days later the parole officer wrote: This is Mr. Evans’ fourth known time that he has violated his condition of supervision. He has been sanctioned to two days of work crew for failing to report as directed and from alcohol and drug treatment non-compliance. He has been sanctioned to six days jail time for committing the crime of Theft II and failing to cooperate with a polygraph examination.
Mr. Evans was sanctioned to twenty-two days jail time for committing the crime of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.
With new charges on top of all of that, the parole officer wrote in another report: It is recommended that Mr. Evans appear before the Benton County Circuit Court to show cause why his probation should not be revoked. It is further recommended if Mr. Evans is found in violation, that his probation be revoked and he be placed on Post Prison Supervision.
While all of this was going on with Sung Koo Kim and Aaron Evans, and Joel Courtney fighting his extradition in New Mexico, Brooke Wilberger’s parents were fighting a new battle of their own. They decided to sue Creative Building Maintenance, the company that Courtney had been working for when he allegedly kidnapped Brooke. According to KATU television, the Wilbergers sought at least $75,000 in a federal case against the maintenance company for hiring someone with a violent felony past without doing a thorough background check. In the lawsuit the Wilbergers claimed that the company provided Joe
l with a vehicle, which allowed him the opportunity to commit crimes no matter where he was assigned. Not only that, much of the time Joel was not even supervised as he went into neighborhoods all around the West.
The $75,000 amount was the absolute low side in the lawsuit. Before long the Wilbergers were seeking $26.5 million from CBM. The Wilbergers’ lawyer in the federal lawsuit told reporters, “We’re not going to get there. We’re limited to the amount covered by the insurance carrier for CBM.”
There was one big problem with this lawsuit, however. Eleven days before the new amount was posted, Creative Building Maintenance filed for bankruptcy after it lost several large accounts. CBM was a Canadian company, with a United States subsidiary, and Joel Courtney had worked for that entity. And just how convoluted this all was, by now, could be ascertained by a comment made by the Wilbergers’ lawyer. Gerald Doblie related, “There are a lot of things we haven’t found out about the workings of the company. They say they have the files in about one thousand banker boxes in Canada.”
Even while this financial nightmare was making its way through the courts, friends of Greg and Cammy Wilberger set up a scholarship in Brooke’s name. The scholarship grants would go to high-school students who shared Brooke’s ideals about community service.
This idea came about when one of Brooke’s friends, Jessica Marks, was at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Jessica sent out letters to hundreds of potential donors, writing: Brooke blessed the world with her selfless kindness. She shared her time and energy unquestioningly. Each day that passes without her is a little darker, lacking the care that Brooke so readily gave. The life stolen from my friend will never be returned—but we can carry her spirit through us.
The scholarship fund was to be administered by the Oregon Community Foundation (OCF). When it reached $50,000, the minimum for a permanently endowed fund, it would generate $2,250 annually to help in sending a high-school student to college. OCF’s Sara Brandt noted, “This fund is different than many we manage. The unique part is it will be created by multiple donors—some who never knew her.”
Cammy Wilberger, for her part, called the fund “a wonderful idea.” And Cammy was on her own crusade to have her daughter’s memory stay in the public arena. At an annual women’s conference at the Philomath Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Cammy spoke of Brooke’s funny and reflective sides.
Cammy told the audience, “I’m so happy to talk to you, sister to sister. I’ve never really had the opportunity to thank you. You did everything for us.”
The conference theme that year was “My Heart Delighteth in Righteousness,” and Cammy told the gathering, “Delight in the good around us.” Cammy said that her hour of prayer each morning helped her cope with the loss of her daughter. “Some days are so hard, and yet there’s always tomorrow.”
Then Cammy related, “I know that I will see Brooke again. I’m not worried about that. I know where she is. If they find her body, that’s great. But I can live without that. I know where she is.” Cammy was sure her family would be reunited in heaven.
Then on September 13, 2006, it appeared that Brooke’s remains might have indeed been found. Loggers who were clear-cutting at a site near Lincoln City on the Oregon coast discovered a human skull and some bones. The bones were found in a heavily wooded area about a quarter mile from the nearest road. The only way to get into the spot was by walking.
It was recalled by many that Joel Courtney had been scheduled to attend a hearing at court in Newport on May 24, 2004. What if he had kidnapped Brooke in Corvallis on that day and then took off for this isolated spot? A spot he very well may have known. Even Sergeant Ralph Turre, of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, agreed that the debris covering the bones probably placed the time of death in the two-year range or more.
A forensic anthropologist was called in to help the local medical examiner (ME). Statistics on Brooke Wilberger were looked at once again. She was noted to have been five-four and weighed between 105 and 110 pounds. She had been wearing hoop earrings and an engraved ring with the letters CTR at the time of her abduction. She also had a metal plate in her right forearm because of a gymnastics accident.
Newsmen were clamoring for information about the remains in Lincoln County and speculating if they really were those of Brooke Wilberger’s. On September 26, 2006, they got their answer. The bones and skull were those of a young man. An examination by deputy state ME Larry Lewman, as well as items found at the scene, pointed to a young man who had committed suicide by hanging himself. No foul play was suspected. One more “possible sighting” of Brooke had once again come up empty.
There was one thing that was for certain by the late autumn of 2006, however. Whoever the district attorney was in Benton County who would prosecute Joel Courtney—it wouldn’t be Scott Heiser. Six months into his third term as DA, Heiser resigned, stating that he could no longer work with Circuit Court Judge Janet Holcomb.
As an example, Heiser recounted Holcomb’s actions in a recently completed trial concerning Shawn Field. In that trial Heiser said that Holcomb’s rulings were “arbitrary and capricious.” Members of the victim’s family were particularly upset by Holcomb’s actions during pretrial hearings. They told Heiser that Holcomb often rolled her eyes or sighed when listening to arguments put forth by the assistant district attorney (ADA). The family went so far as to tell Heiser that they thought the judge personally disliked them and didn’t seriously take into account the brutal murder of a three-year-old child.
In fact, before resigning, Heiser filed motions to disqualify Judge Holcomb in nine important future cases, including the case concerning Brooke Wilberger. A district attorney in Oregon could do this in relation to a particular judge before a trial had begun. Once a trial was occurring, such as the Field trial had been, the district attorney’s hands were tied.
It wasn’t the first time Heiser had been at logger-heads with Judge Holcomb. Heiser told a reporter, “Several years ago I was in a similar situation with this same judge.” In fact, it didn’t take much in Oregon to disqualify a judge from presiding over certain cases. An attorney could submit a motion to disqualify a judge simply by asserting that he believed he couldn’t get a fair trial before that judge. In 2006, attorneys had asked for disqualification of judges 187 times in Benton County. Most of the time the disqualification motions came from defense attorneys. That was until the blowup between Scott Heiser and Judge Holcomb. After the blowup, DA Heiser attempted to have no major cases in Janet Holcomb’s courtroom. Once again Heiser stated that he believed Holcomb had a pronounced bias against the Benton County DA’s Office.
Before he left his office, Heiser made a recommendation who should succeed him as DA of Benton County. The person he picked was John Haroldson, the man who was scheduled to prosecute Joel Courtney, once Courtney was extradited from New Mexico.
Haroldson had begun his career in law as an ADA in Linn County, starting in 1990. During that time he had prosecuted everything from traffic cases to aggravated murder. In 2002, Haroldson joined the Benton County DA’s Office. He had his share of important cases before the various judges there. Once the Brooke Wilberger case came across his desk, however, the glare of media attention and public awareness was intense. Every step he would now take, every motion he filed and document he signed, came under the spotlight of analysis. For the newspapers and television stations in Oregon, the Brooke Wilberger case was the case.
And yet, as 2007 rolled along, there were two more crimes for which Joel Courtney was just about to be charged. Details on these crimes had not yet made their way into the local newspapers, but all that was about to change.
PART III
CHAPTER 21
AS IF BY MAGIC
Ever since Joel Courtney had been arrested concerning the Brooke Wilberger case, the investigators had been looking into what other crimes he may have committed. In May 2007, there was strong evidence against Courtney, and John Haroldson indicted Joel on tw
o more serious charges. The charges were that on the day Courtney abducted Brooke, he also “attempted to kidnap and murder two other women.” It was important that the charges included the word “murder,” because it was now assumed by the prosecution that he had done just that to Brooke Wilberger.
Haroldson told reporters about these latest charges, “These are two victims approached by Courtney very shortly before he abducted and murdered Brooke Wilberger. The evidence will show Courtney attempted to abduct them with the same method, but because of the way they reacted, they got away. They are very important witnesses in identifying Courtney and the van he was driving.”
Even though the two women were not named, they were obviously Diane Mason and Jade Bateman. Haroldson went on to tell reporters, “I consider it to be a very significant piece of evidence. It shows exactly what Courtney was doing—coming to our community to prey on young females.”
The next step for Haroldson was to extradite Joel Courtney from New Mexico, and Courtney was still fighting that every step of the way. Once Joel was sentenced by Judge Martinez on the Natalie Kirov case, that eventuality was much closer than it had ever been. On December 12, 2007, Haroldson submitted a formal request for a governor’s warrant to Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski. Governor Kulongoski then would send on his request to New Mexico’s governor Bill Richardson. The swift extradition of Joel Courtney from New Mexico to Oregon, however, was not a foregone conclusion.
As always, Courtney himself caused as many legal disruptions as possible. He refused to cooperate with his attorney in the New Mexico case, and in frustration that attorney filed a motion with Judge Martinez not only to reverse Courtney’s plea deal, but to resign from being Joel’s attorney. Both motions were denied.
Haroldson knew that things would probably not go smoothly with the extradition, and he told reporters, “The Wilbergers and the state of Oregon have waited a long time for Courtney to face these charges. The main challenge I’d anticipate would be on the governor’s warrant, where Courtney could challenge and fight it all the way. Provisions in the statute can create issues, with regard to prosecution in death penalty cases. And in this case I will be seeking the death penalty.”