By THE DAILY UNIVERSE STAFF
CORVALLIS, Ore. ? Benton County prosecutors filed charges against a man held on rape and kidnapping counts in New Mexico with the murder of 19-year-old BYU student Brooke Wilberger who disappeared more than a year ago.
During a news conference today, prosecuting attorney Scott Heiser said Joel Patrick Courtney, 39, who is in custody in Albuquerque, N.M., was charged with killing Brooke Wilberger, who was last seen in May 2004.
Wilberger had returned from her freshman year at BYU in Provo, Utah. She was staying with her sister in Corvallis, home of Oregon State University.
Corvallis Police Capt. Ron Noble who refused to say what led police to the suspect also said Wilberger had not been found: ?We still don't know where Brooke is.?
Scott said a green Dodge van was key to the arrest of Courtney.
In New Mexico, Courtney is accused of kidnapping a foreign exchange student at knifepoint, forcing her into his car, tying her up with a shoelace and sexually assaulting her, according to the Albuquerque Tribune.