Lauren Burke: The Auburn Student Murdered by Courtney Lockhart

A Horrific Discovery

On the night of March 4, 2008, two motorists driving on Highway 147 in Lee County, Alabama, came across a shocking scene.

A young woman was on the shoulder of the road—naked, bleeding, covered in road rash, and waving her arms frantically for help.

The motorists quickly turned around and blocked traffic. But by the time they reached her, the woman was lying in the middle of the road, gasping for air and slipping out of consciousness. Blood pooled around her.

Police arrived at 9:12 PM and attempted CPR, but the woman had no pulse. When paramedics rolled her onto a backboard, they discovered a devastating injury: she had been shot in her back, near her left shoulder.

The woman was rushed to East Alabama Medical Center, but she tragically died.

She was 18-year-old Lauren Burke, a student at Auburn University.

The Investigation

Minutes after the 911 call about Lauren, emergency services began receiving reports of a vehicle on fire near the Auburn University campus band practice field.

The burning car was registered to Jim Burke—Lauren's father. Jim immediately drove to Auburn, but his world shattered when Assistant Police Chief Tommy Dawson asked him to come to the hospital to identify a body.

When Jim arrived, he saw his daughter lying under a white sheet. He said she looked like she was sleeping like an angel. All he could say was, "Oh my God." He kissed her forehead and left.

The Killer: Courtney Lockhart

Investigators quickly identified a suspect: Courtney Lockhart, a man from Smith's Station, Alabama.

Lockhart had been spotted speeding through a construction zone in Phoenix City, Alabama, shortly after Lauren's murder. Police pursued him in a high-speed chase before he crashed and was arrested.

During the arrest, police found:

•Lauren's iPod

•A revolver (later confirmed to be the murder weapon)

•Evidence linking Lockhart to multiple armed robberies in the days before Lauren's murder

During interrogation, Lockhart confessed to a string of armed robberies, including one where he pointed a gun at a three-year-old child's head.

What Happened to Lauren

The evidence showed that Courtney Lockhart had forced Lauren into her own car at gunpoint. He robbed her, stripped her of her clothing, and shot her in the back.

He then pushed her out of the moving vehicle and set her car on fire to destroy evidence.

Lauren fought for her life on that highway, but her injuries were too severe.

Justice for Lauren

Courtney Lockhart was convicted of Lauren Burke's murder and sentenced to death.

Despite multiple appeals, his conviction and death sentence have been upheld by Alabama courts.

Lauren's father, Jim Burke, fought tirelessly for justice for his daughter. While nothing can bring Lauren back, her family found some measure of peace knowing her killer was held accountable.

Lauren Burke was a bright, beloved young woman with her whole life ahead of her. She deserved so much more than the violence that took her life.

TRANSCRIPT:

[00:00:00] Hey guys, and welcome to the Moms and Mysteries podcast, a True Crime podcast featuring myself, Mandy, and my dear friend Melissa. Hi, Melissa. Hi, Mandy. How are you? Thrilled that gray January is coming to a close. It is. We're just a few days away from January being over, few days away. Finally, yes, and hopefully also less than a few days away from me feeling like my normal self.

I don't know what's been going around. I don't know what crut I have, but. I've had it for a while and I'm ready for it to stop. I get that. My kids both got something new, but it's not like bad. It's just congestion and stuff like that. Nasty. Like my son, I could hear him snoring. I was like, what is going on?

That's pretty much what I have. It's very. Mild. Like I feel like, yeah, I have felt like I'm on the verge of getting sick for like a week, but that's just been the whole sickness, like just that feeling like you're about to get sick and, yeah. Yeah, just that's another January thing for sure. I feel like everyone [00:01:00] gets icky, icky stuff in January, so I welcome February.

I, I don't wanna aggressively welcome February because I. I'm sure I will regret it if I do that, but positively optimistically. Yes. Yes. Optimistically. I am. Okay. Thinking that February can get her a little better. Can roll right on in? Yes. Mm-hmm. Yes, I agree. Yes. So, Mandy, before we get started with this week's episode, just a reminder, we have bonus episodes here on Apple Podcast subscriptions.

If you're listening on Apple. Or you can find more at patreon.com/moms and Mysteries podcast. From there, you can listen to our bonus episodes. You can also get ad free early release episodes. There's a few different tiers where you could join us for Discord watch parties, which we have one This Sunday when we're recording, it'll already be over, but we'll be doing another one.

In February. Yeah. And it's a short month. We'll definitely get to hear one. Uh, and just a couple other things. We also have Zoom Hangouts, our chat episode, so there's a lot there. We would [00:02:00] love for you to check it out. Yeah. And um, also, I just wanted to say one thing because I actually have seen, um, some comments and messages and things around that.

Um. People are a little bit confused maybe about Patreon. Um, all that stuff is extra. You're not losing anything that we've always had on. No. The main feed, we're all, we're always gonna have our regular weekly episode, you know, full episode here for you guys and never put that behind a pay wall of any kind.

Anything on Patreon is optional and of course is just extra bonus content. Yeah. That we hope that you would like to check out. But of course it's just. Additional to the regular show, but I feel like I've seen some comments, um, with people that seem like they might be a little confused saying that they feel like we're moving everything to Patreon.

And, um, I just wanted to make sure everyone knew we're not moving everything to Patreon. We're just adding some new things on Patreon for you to check out if you so desire. I like that we're terrible salespeople. If you want, you don't have to. It's okay. It's not, please check it out, but if not, no big deal.

No [00:03:00] problem. Right. Okay. So we'll get into the story for this week. This episode is, to me, was an incredibly sad story to, uh, work on and one just to read about and hear about, but we'll get right into it. At around 9:00 PM on March 4th, 2008, two motorists driving on Highway 1 47 in Lee County, Alabama. Came across a shocking scene.

A young woman was on the shoulder of the road, naked, bleeding, and covered in road rash. She was crying and waving her arms frantically to flag down help. The two separate motorists quickly turned their vehicles around and blocked traffic from both directions. But by the time they got there, the woman was lying on her back in the middle of the road and fighting for her life.

She was gasping for air and visibly slipping out of consciousness as blood pooled around her. These good Samaritans called 9 1 1 and police arrived on the scene at 9:12 PM. [00:04:00] The young woman was now unresponsive and despite the officer's efforts to revive her with CPR, she had no pulse. Paramedics soon took over and rolled the woman onto a backboard, which is when they discovered a devastating injury.

She had been shot in her back, left shoulder. The woman was rushed to the East Alabama Medical Center, but she tragically passed away. Meanwhile, just minutes after the nine one one call about the young woman came in emergency services, started getting reports about a vehicle that was on fire near the Auburn University campus band practice field.

Investigators ran the license plate on the burning car and found that it was owned by a man named Jim Burke. When officers contacted Jim, he told them that the car was used by his daughter, 18-year-old Lauren Burke. Jim immediately got in his car and headed to Auburn, but his world was turned upside down when he got a call from Assistant Police Chief Tommy Dawson.

Officer Dawson asked Jim if he could [00:05:00] meet him at the hospital to see if he could identify the body of a young woman who had been found on the highway. When Jim arrived at the hospital, he was led to a room where Lauren's lifeless body lay under a white sheet. He said it looked like his daughter was sleeping like an angel, and Jim said he could only utter the words.

Oh my God. And then he kissed Lauren's forehead and he left. An autopsy revealed that Lauren had been shot one time. The bullet entered through her upper back, punctured both lungs and exited through her right upper arm. It was determined that the gun was fired from just a few inches away, and the trajectory suggested that she was leaning to the right when she was shot, which aligned with a theory that she was maybe attempting to escape from the passenger side of a moving vehicle.

Lauren had not been sexually assaulted, but the circumstances of her final moments left a mark on everyone involved and investigators were desperate to uncover the truth behind the tragic death of an 18-year-old [00:06:00] woman. Lauren Ashley Burke was born on December 30th, 1989 in Marietta, Georgia. She had a brother and a sister, and though her parents were divorced, they co-parented well, and Lauren had them both in her day-to-day life.

Lauren's dad described her as an angel and a happy girl who always looked on the bright side of things and wouldn't hurt a fly. She attended Walton High School where she stood out among her peers. She was very popular in school and had a reputation for being a leader and a very responsible student.

Lauren played on the school's lacrosse team and the principal of the school once said she was a great leader, a great kid, and a very, very good student. In 2006, Lauren started dating a fellow student named Sean, who absolutely adored her. He later described Lauren as someone who lived her life with radiance and joy, and whose happiness was infectious.

He also said that Lauren was the most [00:07:00] amazing person he'd ever met, and that she changed him in more ways than he could ever describe. After graduating in 2007, Lauren pursued her dreams at Auburn University where she hoped to combine her passions for photography and marketing into a future career. She lived in an off-campus residence hall and joined the Delta Gamma Sorority where her vibrant personality really shined.

The sorority president said Lauren's smile was contagious, and she touched everyone in the sorority in a special way. Lauren excelled in her classes and showed a lot of potential. On March 4th, 2008, Lauren's Day began like any other day. She had breakfast at a campus coffee shop with her boyfriend Sean, and then she went to her 11:00 AM class after class.

Lauren called her dad to talk about her plans for spring break and a dentist appointment she had coming up. Later that afternoon, she went over to Sean's dorm to hang out and watch tv, and at some point [00:08:00] Lauren fell asleep and took a nap by 8:00 PM Lauren left Sean's dorm and headed to her black 2001 Honda Civic, which was parked near the back of the lot.

She had plans to meet her friend named Michael at the library for a study session at eight 30, but Lauren never showed up. Michael tried calling Lauren several times before she finally answered the phone, and when she did, she sounded distracted. Lauren told Michael that she had forgotten about a birthday dinner for a friend that she was supposed to go to, and then she abruptly hung up the phone.

Michael said he could hear noise in the background that sounded like Lauren was in the car, but he didn't really think much of it at the time. But less than an hour later, at 9:00 PM Lauren was seen by two separate drivers traveling down Highway 1 47 as she stumbled and flailed her arms around to get help.

Moments later, she collapsed to the ground and went unresponsive. Despite performing life-saving [00:09:00] measures, Lauren was later pronounced dead. In the meantime, her car was found engulfed in flames near the Auburn University Band practice field. After the firefighters put out the flames engulfing Lauren's car investigators sifted through the charred remains of the vehicle.

They found scraps of burned clothing, a melted digital camera, and a floor mat. Under the driver's seat, though they found the most crucial piece of evidence, a 38 caliber bullet. Investigators theorize that Lauren May have been abducted, but they weren't sure if she was abducted from the university campus or from somewhere else, or even how she ended up on Highway 1 47.

They still had no idea what led up to the horrifying events that unfolded that night. The timeline was murky and there wasn't a lot to go on right away. Two days later, Auburn University released a statement assuring the students that there was nothing to worry about or fear, and that there was no indication that there was any threat to campus [00:10:00] safety.

But many students said that Lauren's murder shattered any illusion of safety that they might have had. The university's reassurance did really little to calm the fears that were spreading throughout the student body. Students rush out to buy mace and personal protection items and started really becoming paranoid about making sure their doors and their windows were locked.

They began traveling in groups whenever possible, and in general, they just became more aware of their surroundings. One student described it like discovering that you're not invincible like you think you are when you're younger. The university took the opportunity to implement some new security measures, including launching an alert system to notify students of emergencies and extending the hours of the campus security shuttle.

They also provided escorts to help students get to the parking lot safely at night. Investigators actually caught a big lead in the case when they learned that Lauren's credit card was used at 9:17 PM on March 4th, just minutes after she was [00:11:00] discovered on the highway. The card was used to buy about $15 of gas from a Chevron station on North College Street in Auburn.

Just a short time later, the carb was used again this time in Atlanta to buy more gas. And then even later, the same car was used at a Kroger in Lag Grange Georgia. Surveillance footage from the Chevron in Auburn showed a man using Lauren's card. Investigators were able to enhance the image with help from NASA and the search for the unidentified man intensified.

And we still have more to get into after a quick break to hear word from this week's sponsors. Before the break, we were talking about the murder of 18-year-old Lauren Burke, who was found running along the side of the highway, flailing her arms for help before she collapsed, and ultimately died shortly after the 9 1 1 calls came in about this young woman.

Her car was found on fire at the Auburn University campus, and the police were working really hard to try and figure out exactly what happened. On March 7th, three [00:12:00] days after Lauren's murder police in Noonan, Georgia got a call about a possible carjacking in the parking lot of a Walmart on Bulls boro drive witnesses.

Saw a man with a gun attacking an elderly woman named Marjorie as she was getting into her car. A bystander named Scott had actually noticed this man earlier and watched as he approached Marjorie struck her in the back of the head and pressed the gun to the side of her head while demanding her money in her car.

Then the man shoved Marjorie into the passenger side. Floorboard stole her wallet and attempted to flee in her car. But this bystander Scott followed the man in his own vehicle until the suspect stopped and abandoned Marjorie's car to flee in a silver Chrysler. Walmart's loss prevention team was able to provide surveillance footage from the store parking lot, including footage that showed the license plate number of the Chrysler, and this plate number led it to investigators identifying the suspect as Courtney Lockhart, a man whose [00:13:00] address was listed in Smith's Station, Alabama, not too far from Auburn.

Police issued a lookout for the Chrysler, and about 30 minutes later, officers in Phoenix City, Alabama spotted the car speeding through a construction zone on Highway 80. Officer Williams, who was riding a motorcycle pulled the Chrysler over and issued Courtney Lockhart, a speeding citation, plus one for a lack of insurance.

Then when he ran Lockhart's information, he saw that he was actually wanted for questioning in an ongoing investigation. So Williams returned to the Chrysler and asked Courtney to step out and wait at the back of the vehicle until the investigators arrived. When the other officers showed up, Courtney suddenly resisted arrest and he broke free and took off in his car, which initiated a high speed chase that reached 80 miles an hour.

And this pursuit was very chaotic. Courtney veered off the road multiple times as Officer Williams and another officer, officer Richards, who were [00:14:00] both on motorcycles, went chasing after him when they were near Glenwood school, Courtney suddenly stopped the Chrysler and opened the driver's side door, causing Officer Richards to crash into it, which sent him flying over the handlebars and onto the pavement.

Courtney then got outta the car and took off on foot. He ran behind a house and then off into the woods. Officer Richards tried to get up and chase after Courtney, but he was in significant pain after being thrown from his motorcycle and he had to stop after about 40 yards. But he was able to point other officers in the right direction.

I can't even imagine standing up after that, let alone running after somebody for 40 yards. That's incredible. Oh my goodness. I've actually seen. My husband and kids watch a lot of like dash cam videos and, uh, crash videos. Yeah. And I've seen some where some, a motorcyclist crashes into somebody because they opened their car door.

Oh yeah. And the, you know, psych motorcyclist doesn't see them in time and like. [00:15:00] Looks over. Yes. It's like very scary how fast those things can happen. So Officer Richards was able to point other officers in the right direction and they did end up finding Courtney and apprehending him without really any incident.

And he had a revolver and an iPod on him. Officer Richards had a cut on his forehead and some road rash, but ultimately he was okay. As he was being let out of the woods, Courtney said, I'm sorry. I tried to get help after coming back from Iraq. He didn't say exactly what he was sorry for, but these words hinted at some very deep personal struggles.

Courtney was born in 1984 and he grew up in Smith's Station, Alabama. He had virtually no relationship with his dad who struggled with drugs and alcohol when he was a kid. Courtney was outgoing and friendly, and one of his friends said that he was the kind of person you always wanted to be around, and he was really just funny.

But by [00:16:00] 2002 things had taken a turn and Courtney was sent to a juvenile facility for harassment. In 2003, 18-year-old Courtney enlisted in the Army, he had dreams of becoming a drill sergeant. Courtney went to basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and he was later stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado.

Ultimately, Courtney served with the second Brigade combat team in Iraq from August, 2004 to July, 2005. His team primarily performed escort missions where Courtney served as a gunner and maintain security at the base. Sergeant described the deployment as being in a constant state of alert and their brigade suffered three to four casualties per week as a result of attacks on the base.

Courtney was affected by the deaths of several of his fellow soldiers and had to endure some truly horrific things like cleaning the interior of a vehicle that contained the remains of a fellow gunner that was killed in action. And he also discovered the body of an officer [00:17:00] who was killed by a mortar round while using a bathroom.

Courtney also witnessed the explosion of a tank containing four to five soldiers after being hit by enemy fire. They had to constantly be on guard. Courtney later said that there were nights that he would lay in bed not knowing whether the ceiling was gonna fall in on them from an attack. While in Iraq, Courtney became close with his Sergeant, Sergeant Prince, and he really thought of Sergeant Prince like a father figure, which was something Courtney never really had as a kid.

On June 11th, 2005, Sergeant Prince was killed in action when his vehicle struck an IED device in Iraq. His death came right on the heels of another incident where Lockhart and his fellow soldiers were attacked by their own forces. This combination of events devastated Courtney and left him traumatized and numb.

His battalion commander later gave sworn testimony that Courtney was a superb soldier who had earned an army commendation medal in the Combat Action badge. [00:18:00] In 2005, Lockhart's Brigade returned to Fort Carson, Colorado where he got engaged to his long-term girlfriend Nicole. But shortly after his return, Nicole began noticing changes in his behavior and personality.

She said that he was often angry and indifferent, but the couple welcomed a daughter in 2006. Unfortunately that didn't stop Courtney's downward spiral. He began drinking heavily using marijuana, and he even went AWOL. At one point. He ended up being court marshaled for threatening and pushing an officer, following an argument in the mess hall among a small group of soldiers.

Courtney actually left the area to wait for the other soldiers outside, but the argument escalated and a female officer attempted to intervene. But Courtney pulled out what appeared to be a pistol, according to witnesses, and told this female officer to back off, or he'd blow her head off. Whoa. Yeah. He ended up getting convicted of [00:19:00] communicating a threat, marijuana use and assault, and was dishonorably discharged and sentenced to seven months behind bars a mental health evaluation before his discharge found that his mental health was within normal limits, but an army major later criticized those evaluations as being superficial and said that they lacked proper testing.

When Courtney returned home to Smith Station, Alabama, he struggled immensely. Family and friends said he was like a totally different person. He was anxious, withdrawn, and really unwilling to discuss his time in Iraq. He kept himself isolated whenever possible and would lock himself in his room or hide under his bed.

His wife, Nicole said he was not in his right mind and he was mostly unresponsive. He was very paranoid and he would lash out in his sleep, or occasionally he would even go hide in closets at night. In April of 2007, Courtney got a [00:20:00] job as a foreman for war grading. At first, he was known as being a very punctual and reliable worker.

But loud noises on the job sites like nail guns, really distressed him to the point that there was one occasion that he hid behind a truck due to the noise, and by the spring of 2008, things only got more intense for him. He moved out of his mom's house and isolated himself from his family. He started living in his car and neglecting his personal hygiene and nutrition.

At this point, he was really just surviving on candy bars and soda. During one visit with Nicole and his daughter, he held a gun to his head and threatened suicide. Courtney's performance at his job declined even further When the company worked near Fort Benning, where the artillery exercises really triggered his PTSD symptoms.

His work performance deteriorated substantially, and this period in time also [00:21:00] coincided with the timing of Lauren Burke's murder. And this is the man that police would later identify as her killer. After being taken into custody, Courtney was questioned about the carjacking in the Walmart parking lot.

During the interview, he admitted to intimidating the elderly Marjorie with a gun getting into her car and stealing her purse. He admitted that Marjorie's Id could still be in his vehicle. Courtney also admitted that during the high-speed chase, he threw a handgun out of his car window near a Publix and Phoenix City investigators searched the area and were able to recover the gun, which was then taken into evidence.

As the interrogation continued, Courtney confessed to three additional armed robberies in the days leading up to his arrest. The first of these occurred on February 25th at a convenience store in Smith Station, Alabama. He actually went into the store, brandishing a gun and demanded money from the clerk.

Once he had the cash, he demanded a bag and the clerk [00:22:00] said there were no bags available. So Courtney fired a shot into the cigarette counter before fleeing the store. The next robbery was on March 5th at around 10:20 PM in the parking lot of the Florence Hand nursing home in La Grange, Georgia. Courtney approached a woman walking to her car, pointed a gun at her face, and ordered the woman to hand over her purse.

This woman complied and Courtney took off. Then on March 6th, Courtney was in Columbus, Georgia when he targeted a woman named Rachel, as well as her three-year-old child in a Sam's Club parking lot. He actually pointed a gun at the child's head and threatened to shoot if Rachel didn't hand over her purse.

So of course. Rachel gave him what he wanted handed over the purse, but the brazen nature of this robbery really emphasized just how dangerous Courtney was. Meanwhile, as Courtney was confessing to his string of robberies, the police were examining the items that they found during his arrest. It was actually determined that this iPod that he was [00:23:00] carrying belonged to Lauren Burke, and the revolver was confirmed to be the weapon used in her murder.

This crucial evidence prompted the Auburn Police Department to start questioning Courtney specifically about Lauren's murder. As soon as he was confronted about what happened to Lauren, Courtney became physically sick and he started vomiting, but he then ended up giving a full confession. Courtney broke down and said that he never intended to kill or sexually assault Lauren.

His goal was simply another robbery. He described what actually happened in great detail. Courtney said that on March 4th, he found himself in need of gas money, knowing that he wasn't scheduled to work. The next day, he decided he just robbed someone and get money to fill his tank. He drove through the Auburn area for.

Hours looking for a potential victim, which also, by the way, probably eats up your gas if you're looking for gas and you're searching for victims. But as the evening set in, he decided to head to the Auburn University campus where he [00:24:00] drove around observing the students. Courtney parked his car in a lot on a hill and backed into a space to keep his plate hidden from view.

And he just sat and watched students coming and going. At one point a police car drove by and that actually scared him. So he left the area, but he still decided to return later that night. Determined to carry out his plan. When Courtney returned to the campus, he parked in the same parking lot where Lauren was parked While she was visiting her boyfriend's dorm, Courtney watched as Lauren walked to her car and opened the driver's side door.

Then he got out of his vehicle, approached Lauren from behind, and pointed his gun at her. He demanded that she get in the car and he shoved her inside. Lauren scrambled into the passenger seat of her own vehicle while Courtney got behind the wheel. According to Courtney, Lauren was hysterical and screaming uncontrollably at first, but he said he just sat there and said nothing until she quieted [00:25:00] down.

Eventually Lauren gave Courtney $200 in cash and begged him to let her go, but instead he took off with Lauren in the car keeping his gun pointed at her the entire time. Courtney said he told Lauren to take off her clothes, not for any sexual purpose, but because he believed that she would be less likely to try and escape if she was naked.

Lauren refused to remove her clothing at first, but after Courtney persistently demanded that she do so she eventually complied. Lauren tried to reason with Courtney and asked repeatedly if he was going to shoot her, and she told Courtney that she could help him find a job if it was money that he needed.

But he told her that he had a job and he didn't need one. Courtney then started saying how he felt his life was over and that Lauren was just doing her best to remain calm in the moment, and she was really just trying to figure out a way to survive the situation. While Courtney drove around aimlessly while driving down [00:26:00] Highway one forty seven, Lauren's phone started to ring, and at first it was her friend, Michael that she was supposed to meet for a study session.

By that time, he was concerned because Lauren hadn't shown up, and then Lauren's boyfriend, Sean started calling. So Courtney finally agreed to let Lauren answer the phone, but told her to come up with an excuse for where she was and to get these people to stop calling. So when Michael called again, Lauren Shakily answered and told him that she'd forgotten about this birthday dinner for a friend.

But before Michael could respond, Lauren hung up the phone. Courtney then drove around for the next 30 minutes with Lauren in the car as they circled back toward the Auburn campus. And Lauren tried to reason with him and continue to suggest ways that she could be able to help him. But Courtney said that it felt hopeless and felt like his life was already ruined.

Sure. So why ruin someone else's? Right. Right. That makes no sense. No, I know. I never understand that. The thought [00:27:00] process while driving between Lee Road 72 and Highway two 80, Courtney said the gun just went off and that both he and Lauren were shocked by the sound of it. Lauren immediately started screaming and opened the passenger door of the moving vehicle before jumping out in a desperate attempt to escape.

Courtney said that he didn't immediately stop when Lauren jumped from the car, but instead he drove a short distance and then he thought about turning around, but there was another vehicle that was blocking the turnaround point. So he ultimately decided to just keep driving and focus on erasing any evidence that could link him to the crime.

Along the way, he stopped to fill Lauren's car up with gas and splashed gas inside the vehicle. Then he decided to drive with the windows down to avoid passing out from the fumes. Along the way, he could hear comments from people saying it smelled like a car was leaking gas. When Courtney realized that people could notice a smell, he rolled the windows back up [00:28:00] and went straight to the Auburn campus where he parked Lauren's car near the band practice field.

Courtney planned to light the car on fire, but his lighter wouldn't spark, so he went to his own car and got a Burger King bag to use as a makeshift fire starter, and he succeeded in setting Lauren's car on fire. Before leaving the area. Courtney took $46 from the 200 that Lauren had given him earlier. I do not understand that part at all.

If the whole thing is for money and you don't even take all of the money, I don't get it. I don't get it at all. Makes no sense. He also stole her iPod and credit card. Then Courtney left the scene in his own car, stopping to fill up his own tank with a gas using Lauren's credit card. After a few minutes, he got worried that his plan to set Lauren's car on fire didn't work.

So he drives back to make sure that it's truly on fire and it was, it was fully engulfed in flames at that point. So Courtney felt satisfied and he headed [00:29:00] off towards Atlanta. In his Chrysler, he threw Lauren's debit card out the window on I 85 South. A search of Courtney's vehicle revealed three spent 38 special shell casings and a green T-shirt that was found to have DNA from both Lauren and Courtney.

Ballistics testing confirmed that the bullet found in Lauren's car and the shell casings in Courtney's vehicle were fired from his revolver. This left little doubt that the 38 special was the same weapon that Courtney had been using in his crime spree. However, despite his insistence that the gun had gone off accidentally, firearms experts debunked the idea with testing that proved that the revolver was functioning properly and that it required significant pressure on the trigger to fire.

Not to mention, Courtney had been trained to handle firearms in the military. He was literally a gunner, so it's not like he didn't know what he was doing. We still have more to get into, including the trial after one last break to hear war from this week's sponsors. Before the break, we have been talking about [00:30:00] the very tragic murder of 18-year-old Lauren Burke, who was abducted from the Auburn University campus and robbed before she was then shot and left on the side of the road to die.

They have now arrested a man named Courtney Lockhart, who confessed to not just Lauren's murder, but also a string of robberies in the days leading up to it. Courtney's trial began on November 8th, 2010 in Lee County over two years after Lauren's murder. Right from the outset, prosecutors made their position clear this was not an accident in any way.

They explained that Courtney had set out with the intent to rob and possibly assault an innocent person, and when his victim, Lauren Burke tried to escape, he shot her and left her to die. Prosecutors focused on Courtney's actions and not so much on his past. They actually decided not to introduce evidence of his dishonorable discharge from the military or the string of [00:31:00] robberies he had committed before his arrest.

The jury was told that Lockhart had been incarcerated prior to his discharge from the Army, but they weren't told why. This meant the case would be judged solely on the facts surrounding Lauren's murder without any unrelated crimes clouding the jury's perception. The prosecutors heavily relied on Courtney's own detailed confession, as well as forensic evidence and the ballistics reports.

They argued that Courtney had carefully planned his actions by staking out a location, making an effort to conceal his license plate, and later attempting to destroy evidence by setting Lauren's car on fire. These steps showed proof that Courtney knew exactly what he was doing and that he took steps to do them.

The defense countered with claims of insanity. They explained that Courtney had some very debilitating mental health issues, including PTSD from his time serving in Iraq and that these conditions played a [00:32:00] significant role in his actions. They said he was not fully in control of himself when he kidnapped and killed Lauren.

But a forensic psychologist named Dr. Glenn King took the stand and completely rejected the notion that Courtney was suffering from a mental illness or any condition that would impair his ability to make decisions. The testimony of Dr. King directly contradicted the defense's argument. He explained that the actions Courtney took were deliberate and carefully thought out right up to the point where he attempted to cover his tracks and flee.

Dr. King said. All that says to me that the behaviors were premeditated, planned, organized, and that he had a definite motive to avoid apprehension and detection. Dr. King further testified that there was actually no evidence to support that Courtney even had PTSD or any other mental illness, and I actually thought this part was really interesting because.

As we already said earlier in the episode, his wife and [00:33:00] friends and family, right, said that they definitely noticed a change in him after he returned from being in Iraq. But Courtney had never actually received any treatment or anything of the sort. He had never taken medications for mental illness.

He'd never been hospitalized for anything. He'd never sought or received any consultation or diagnosis regarding PTSD or anything like that, but. His friends and family definitely said that there was a notable change in him. Yeah, so the fact that this was not documented in any way was a major blow to Courtney's defense because if they couldn't prove that Courtney was mentally ill or suffering from PTSD, then the jury was left with only one conclusion, and that was that Courtney murdered 18-year-old Lauren in cold blood.

The defense's argument relied heavily on the idea that Courtney was mentally impaired and they painted a picture of a broken veteran suffering from war trauma that had left him paranoid, aggressive, and struggling to reintegrate into [00:34:00] society. His friends and family also spoke about the way Courtney had changed since coming back from Iraq.

They said he became withdrawn, hypervigilant, and prone to outburst. However, without any strong evidence to support these claims of PTSD, like Mandy was saying, there was nothing really on the record. It would be hard to convince a jury that Courtney was insane at the time of the murder. The defense tried to bolster their case with testimony from forensic psychologist Dr.

Kimberly Ackerman, who spoke about Courtney's struggle to cope with the pressures of life back home. While Dr. Ackerson did say that Courtney had some symptoms consistent with combat related stress, she clarified that he did not meet the full criteria for PTSD. He did have some traits commonly seen in people with PTSD, such as irritability and hypervigilance, but those symptoms weren't severe or consistent enough to warrant a diagnosis of PTSD.

Again, that just must be because it wasn't. Observed by a [00:35:00] right physician or something before this happened. So Dr. Ackerson also testified that there was nothing that indicated Courtney was unaware of what he was doing at the time of the crime. She noted that he had an IQ of 86, which placed him below average in terms of cognitive ability and that he was immature and had poor judgment in various aspects of his life.

She stressed that these things did not equate to a lack of understanding or intention in his actions. The defense didn't have any soldiers testify about how they experienced PTSD after the tour in Iraq. I will say his defense, I did not think. Did a very good job. Yeah. I just didn't. Right. I felt like, however you feel about this case, it feels like there were some opportunities if that, if you were his defense lawyer that you'd want to bring up.

To me, that would be a big one. Like, how are other people doing after this? Right. Like same people that were in his squad and everything. So I'm not saying that should have changed things, but I, I. Find to be, but if wanted to try and prove [00:36:00] PTSD without documentation, they definitely could have done more. I agree.

Yeah. It doesn't really make sense to me. Right. On November 18th, after six hours of deliberation, over the course of two days, the jury reached a verdict. Courtney Lockhart was found guilty of capital murder committed during a robbery and kidnapping. He was acquitted of capital murder in the course of an attempted rape.

The case then moved into the penalty phase where the jury faced a life altering decision. Would Courtney spend the rest of his life in prison or would he be sentenced to death? Prosecutors chose not to present any additional evidence, but they did argue that the victim's family had requested the death penalty and that that should be considered.

Courtney's defense brought his friends and family in to testify and they spoke about their love for him, their sorrow for what had happened and the life that Courtney had before the crime. His mother described his upbringing and his [00:37:00] military service and his character while his father testified that he had been absent for nearly 20 years because he struggled with drugs and alcohol.

Two corrections officers testified that Courtney was a respectful inmate that caused no trouble while he was behind bars. After hearing both sides, the jury unanimously decided to recommend life in prison without the possibility of parole, but the final decision lay in the hands of the judge. This.

Honestly blew my mind. I guess I didn't realize that this was really the only state that has this. But in Alabama, a judge actually has the power to override a jury sentencing recommendation, which isn't something you see in every state. Like I said, in fact, Alabama is literally the only state where this is a thing.

Uh, but in Alabama, a judge can unilaterally impose the death penalty even when the jury votes for life without parole instead. Which is [00:38:00] very controversial, as you'll see as we continue into the story. Especially if it's unanimous. Yes. To me, if it was like half and half or you know, some kind of a combination, I could see overriding it.

I mean, if that was the, you know, the precedent and that's the law there. Right. But to be unanimous is kind of wild to me. The sentencing hearing began on March 2nd, 2011. Several members of Lauren's family gave victim impact statements that were specifically not supposed to be considered in relation to Courtney's sentence, Lauren's father, Jim said that while he respected the jury's opinion that Courtney should get life in prison, he wondered if they would've voted that way, if they had lost a child in this same horrific manner that Lauren was killed.

He said, why should Lauren not be here? And he should be? It's not right. You killed her. She's not breathing and you are. Then he looked at Courtney and said, I just hope the fear, the pain, how scared my daughter was. I hope you feel that same fear before you [00:39:00] die. Jim then made a comment about. While Jim doesn't have his daughter Lauren, Courtney still has his own daughter, and that made Courtney Snap back and say, don't bring my daughter into this.

I'm sorry for your whole family. And Jim responded with, I wish you hadn't brought my daughter into this, which very powerful statement there. Lauren's mother, Vivienne told the judge that Courtney deserved no leniency because her daughter received no leniency. Two of Lauren's aunts asked the court to impose the death penalty in the end.

As Mandy was saying, the judge overruled the jury's unanimous recommendation for a life without parole and sentence, Courtney to death. His mother began screaming and wailing in the courtroom when she heard this sentence. The judge outlined why he believed Courtney deserved the death penalty in a 28 page sentencing order.

In part, he argued that the kidnapping was especially egregious because she had been alone. She was on a college campus, unarmed [00:40:00] and randomly targeted. Courtney then forced her into her own car at gunpoint and stripped her of her clothing and any opportunity to escape. The judge also pointed out that the jury had not been given the full picture of Courtney's past.

If they had, perhaps they would've voted differently. As for mitigating circumstances, the judge acknowledged that Courtney had no significant prior criminal history, but he said that held very little weight due to his military violations. The judge also said that he believed Courtney was under extreme emotional distress at the time of the murder, but felt that still did not justify anything.

Experts had testified that his condition was not severe enough to influence his actions, and Courtney had never sought mental health treatment. The wishes of Lauren's family also factored into the judge's decision, and although it is a constitutionally controversial practice to rely on a victim's family for sentencing decisions, it is legally [00:41:00] permissible in Alabama.

So the trial court found that Courtney is loved by his family and is a good father to his daughter, that he had virtually no relationship with his own father, and that he had been well-behaved while he was in jail. They agreed to all those things. The jury's recommendation was also considered a mitigating circumstance, but since the jury didn't have all the information, the judge that said that the weight of their recommendation had been greatly reduced, which I feel is unfair because.

It's the jury didn't get to, the jury didn't know that they were missing all the information. It's not their fault, so why? You know, I just feel like absolutely he has all the information and so he is saying all these poor things. If they knew the whole story, they would do it. Why didn't they know the whole story?

That doesn't make sense. Right? Courtney appealed his conviction and death sentence to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on grounds that it was unconstitutional for a judge to override the jury's recommendation of life without parole. His defense also contended that [00:42:00] the judge had unfairly considered the string of robberies before his arrest because he had never been tried or convicted of those.

But the appeals court upheld the trial court's decision stating quote, we have independently weighed the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and are convinced, as was the trial court, that death is the appropriate sentence for the murder that Lockhart committed. The court ultimately found no errors that could have impacted Courtney's rights.

Despite multiple attempts to appeal, Courtney was unsuccessful at every turn and the state remained firm in its stance. The Attorney General said that Courtney Viciously and senselessly struck down an innocent young woman and that the state was determined to keep this defendant from escaping justice for this horrendous crime.

In 2021, Courtney filed another appeal this time with the argument that his trial attorneys were ineffective. A key issue that he raised was that even though the funds for an expert psychologist had been approved 18 [00:43:00] months before the trial, it wasn't until just six weeks before that the defense brought on Dr.

Ackerson, who actually made things worse by testifying that she was not an expert in PTSD and that if she knew the defense wanted her to diagnose Courtney with PTSD, she would've advised them to seek a specialist instead. Yeah, for sure. If you. They had 18 months. And of course there's other things going on there, you know, building their case, right?

But then to bring somebody on that's not even an expert, it doesn't, it definitely doesn't help things. During this appeal process, new evidence surfaced when a law student who was assisting with Courtney's post-conviction proceedings uncovered a medical record from Fort Sill where Courtney had been stationed.

This document, which was found in his former bedroom, indicated that a military physician noted signs of PTSD and prescribed Paxil and Trazodone, which are commonly used to treat anxiety and depression. This record had never been discovered by Courtney's trial attorneys and was unknown to both Dr.

Ackerson and Dr. King, who also testified in the trial. [00:44:00] Despite the new information, Dr. King maintained his original assessment and concluded that Courtney was fully aware of his actions when he abducted and murdered Lauren, and that his actions that night were not driven by mental illness. Dr. King further said that Courtney's actions did not align with PTSD.

In the end, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals once again upheld Courtney's sentence. As of today, Courtney remains behind bars at Holman Prison. His execution date has not yet been scheduled. No defendant in Alabama history has ever been executed after a unanimous jury recommendation for life without parole, and Courtney is actually one of only five inmates currently on death row due to this type of judicial override.

In March of 2022 on the 14th anniversary of Lauren's murder, former Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson, spoke to WRBL News three, where he reflected on Lauren's final moments. He said, [00:45:00] the one thing I always try to get across is Lauren was very, very brave. She jumped out of the vehicle, totally nude, except for a pair of socks, and she fought it to the very end, and unfortunately she was murdered in the process.

She was very, very brave. End quote. Chief Dawson continues to advocate for awareness and personal safety and urges people to remain vigilant. He stresses the use of the buddy system, staying aware of your surroundings and fighting back if you're attacked. He says you should make as much noise as possible to deter the perpetrator and above all, always fight back.

Absolutely. This. Case is so sad at the heart of it and like the focus is that Lauren Burke was killed. She did nothing wrong. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Right. She tried to give him her money. She tried to do whatever she could, and he, I mean, I can't imagine that's torture to have somebody driving you around, begging them to let you out and holding a [00:46:00] gun at you for however long.

In your own vehicle. You know, just, I can't imagine the fear without clothes on or anything. I mean, without clothes on mean, oh my gosh. All of it is just so horrific. Yeah. And unnecessary, uh, you know, and for him to just admit that he was looking for gas money, and then I don't understand why he didn't just take her $200 and let her go.

Yeah. It did seem like he was escalating with things though, like he had these other robberies, which weren't allowed in court for some reason. And then he has the lady in the Sam's parking lot with the baby, with the child. Yes. That's, yeah. Right. Yeah, he was escalating. But it's just so unfortunate to me that Lauren at the heart of this had nothing to do with it.

Had no idea who this guy was. And that's like the scariest thing, right? Like having kids and stuff is, yeah. You don't even have to worry about the people they know. You have to worry about people. Right. They have no idea about. And the other thing that made me so angry about this guy, uh, just one of the specific [00:47:00] details was that he specifically targeted people that were vulnerable.

He was prowling around at nursing homes and, you know, looking for elderly people. Thank for saying that a woman with a young child, you know, a college campus where you know it's gonna be young people, students that are gonna be like helpless and in their own world. Yeah. Unexpecting and unassuming and that type of.

Like preying on people like that just. It's just this, that's where you get special level, another layer, you know, to the whole thing. Absolutely. So you can have all this trauma from being in the war, and I'm sure he did. But this is a whole other, a whole other thing, I guess if anyone knows for sure. I would love to know why the judge was able to make the decision with.

All the evidence, but the jury had to look at just what they had. Yeah, so like the, I feel like if it's, I just wanna note understand, right. I feel like if it's a case where the judge is looking, you know, looking at things and the judge is thinking that he's going to override the jury's decision, [00:48:00] I feel like at that point the judge should be the one to like bring the jury back together and say like.

I actually need you to look at this other evidence and then see if it cha, you know, if, if you wanna talk amongst yourself, if you come to a different decision or not, and then kind of go from there. But like, I think it's very unfair that the jury didn't get to hear about the other crimes, but I also feel like I.

Though he admitted to those crimes, you know, in his confession. Right? But he wasn't tried for those and convicted of those. I did see in the research that they were able to go, at least on one of those, they were able to go and find footage, you know, proving that what he said happened actually happened.

You know, he did hold this, you know, the elderly woman at gunpoint, right? I believe they got footage from that one. So I'm, as I'm, I'm not sure, but I'm. Assuming they were able to verify the all these things that he said, you know, and prove them, but he wasn't tried for them and wasn't convicted for them, so that I can understand his defense saying, yeah, that they shouldn't be considered because technically those aren't on paper either.

If you can't say he [00:49:00] has PTSD 'cause there's no paper trail, then you also can't use these three crimes. Because there's no paper trail. We're advocat for him to be out of prison. We're just confused on a lot of things about this case. A lot of it in the court case, like I, I just don't understand the defense prosecution or the judge to be quite honest in the whole thing.

Like maybe the state of Alabama just says things differently and I didn't realize that. Well, they, they are the only t say who does things this way. So they do do things differently. Okay. Clearly. So, I mean, it makes a little sense that we don't understand it. 'cause it's definitely not common for once. It wasn't Florida only two states, Alabama and Florida.

Yeah, exactly. But no, this is such a sad story. Like the, these types of stories really do just break my heart because Lauren had absolutely nothing to do with this. Terrified and everything to live for. Just, yeah, man, I feel so bad for her family. I can't imagine those calls like this. Yeah, you're right. It just does it.

It breaks your heart. It really does. Okay guys, that was the story for this week. Thank you so much for listening. We will be back next week. Same time, same place. New story. [00:50:00] Have a great week. Bye.