Cold Case Files - Murder in the Bayou: Evil in Cajun Country

Episode Date: April 8, 2025

The town of Alexandria, Louisiana is rocked when the body of Courtney Coco, 19, is found dumped 200 miles from home in Winnie, Texas. The case cools until a retired homicide detective, turned podcaster, discovers her killer hiding in plain sight.Homes.com: We’ve done your homework.Progressive: Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.Rosetta Stone: Cold Case Files listeners can get Rosetta Stone’s lifetime membership for 50% off when you go to RosettaStone.com/coldcaseSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hi, cold case listeners. I'm Marisa Pinson. And before we get into this week's episode, I just wanted to remind you that episodes of Cold Case Files, as well as the A&E Classic Podcast, I Survived, American Justice, and City Confidential are all available ad free on the new A&E Crime and Investigation channel on Apple Podcasts and Apple Plus

for just $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. And now on onto the show. This program contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. Courtney loved family get togethers and she loved having friends. They all loved Courtney because she had that bubbling personality. And I got the phone call that changed my life forever. She was nude from the waist down.

It was evident that the body was posed. She let the person into the house. It's somebody she knew. You think of all these horrible things that go through your mind. Why holler so far away from home, especially with all the bayous and canals in southern Louisiana, where you can throw a body.

I said, I'ma solve this case or I'ma die trying. We never stopped. We never stopped looking. We never stopped asking questions. In all those years, we never stopped. There are over 100,000 cold cases in America. Only about 1% are ever solved. This is one of those rare stories. Winnie, Texas. Small farming community. It's all Texas Bayou country. Rice, hay,

cows, horses. People go into swamps and they hunt alligators and they duck hunt. Everybody knows everybody, so you better not do nothing wrong. Our crime rate is low. Most of it is a burglary or farm equipment stolen. You get a murder once in a while. October 4, 2004 was a hot morning in Winnie. Just north of town, a farmer on his tractor passes an abandoned building. He spies a body in the shadows and calls the police. Retired detective David Rabelais responds to the call. I knew exactly where it was. It was about 150 yards down the street from my house.

The first thing that went through my mind is whose child is it? Is it one of my neighbor's kids? I had no idea it could be somebody from out of state or out of town. Hugo Holland is a special prosecutor. It was very clear that this was a body of a petite, young, white female. It was also very clear that she had been dead for some period of time because there was significant decomposition to the body. Glenn Younger is a sergeant with the Louisiana State Police.

She was lying on her back and her heels pulled up to her body so that her knees were up. She was nude from the waist down. It was evident that the body was posed. Who would want to hurt somebody to this point, degrade them to this point? There has to be a sick individual who did this. There were some tire tracks that led up to where a car would logically be positioned to remove a body from the trunk. You're a quarter of a mile from interstate 10. I figured it had to be somebody who traveled that road pretty frequently and knew that place was there. If she was sexually assaulted, wherever it happened, or wherever she was murdered, she

wasn't killed there. We were looking for any other kind of identifiers, any other way to identify the victim. And I noticed a class ring from Alexandria High School in Alexandria, Louisiana, about three and a half hours away. There was a name printed on the inside of it, Courtney Coco. I stepped outside the building and I called Alexandria Police Department in Louisiana. Courtney Coco is a 19-year-old receptionist born and raised in Alexandria. Stephanie Bellegarde is Courtney's mother. It's a little small town. It's a mix of a lot of country folks, but a little bit of Cajun from down south.

It was an awesome place to raise my girls. Courtney has a house near the Red River, a short drive from her mother's. My mom and dad had a camp at Salim Bayou. It was on a Friday, 3.30 in the afternoon. Courtney came to my house and I asked Courtney if she wanted to go with us to the camp. She said, no, Mom, I'm not the country girl. And I gave Courtney $10 for gas. She was going to come back and forth and feed my two little dogs. So we got home from the camp late Sunday night,

and I noticed that my little dogs didn't have, like, their food, but I really wasn't concerned too much about it because I just thought maybe Courtney had come earlier that day. And Monday around lunchtime, October 4th of 2004, the detective from the Alexander Police Department called me and asked me if Courtney was there. I said, Courtney doesn't live here, but this is her mom, is something wrong?

And he said, possibly. That's when I got the news of them finding a body in Texas with my daughter's ring on the finger. Alexandria police asked the family for a way to identify the victim as Courtney. I had told them that Courtney had braces on her teeth and that she had just got a new butterfly tattoo on her low back. I didn't want it to be someone else's child, but I surely didn't want it to be Courtney. And I just remember the phone ringing and my sister saying, it is. And my mom said that I passed out on the floor. And that's all I remember about that. Courtney was the baby. Her older sisters,

Lace and Heather, would haul her around like a little sack of potatoes and, you know, play house with her and play doctor with her or whatever. Ina Laborde is Courtney's grandmother. Courtney was a lovable child. She had a curious little nature, too. She loved birthdays. Mama, the candle just burnt down to the candle. Oh, mama. Can I put the music on?

Oh, my god. OK. Time to light it. She had wit. Courtney, I like the hair today. I love it. Listen, Rit. I love it. Looks original. I love it. It is.

It is. Courtney was very into baseball. Then she got into cheerleading. Every time we'd have get togethers for holidays and stuff, there was so much laughter, so much fun. Courtney had already taken some college classes in her high school because she wanted to go into criminal justice. Her sister Lace was working at a dentist office and Lace got Courtney a job as the front receptionist. Once Courtney got out on her own,

now she's got friends and boyfriend. And she was dating a guy named Jitti. So we didn't get to see each other as much. Me and Courtney, I just taught Courtney how to ride. Where's my floor? Here's mine. So while she's practicing riding over here. Shamus is going to be watching.

Shamus! Say hey to my mom. Hey, mom. It was not long after that where this all happened with Courtney. On October 5, 2004, the Jefferson County Moor did a autopsy on Courtney Coco's body. Dr. Brown had reported that he thought

the cause of death was asphyxiation, that she had been smothered. He immediately realized that the advanced state of decomposition was not normal for the time from which she had gone missing to the time she was found. He said, well, she had to be someplace that was hotter than the ambient temperature, like in a car.

There was no drugs in her system. There was no alcohol in her system. So we know she didn't OD. And there was no evidence of sexual assault. The way they posed the body and disgraced her and everything else, it surprised me. Hoping for more leads, Alexandria PD searches Courtney's house. There had been a party recently. I believe dominoes were on the table. There was some things in disarray. Her bedroom, the bed was in disarray. There was no comforter on the bed. Under the bed, police find an empty Brinks security box.

Investigators learned early on that Courtney had received a settlement from the untimely death of her father. The first thing that law enforcement tends to focus on is was this part of a robbery or a burglary gone bad? Missing from the house is any sign of Courtney's cell phone or her Pontiac Bonneville. Detectives notice something else is missing. What we did not find was evidence of forced entry. What that means is that she let the person into the house. It's somebody she knew. The names that were written on the Domino scorecard were Courtney, Jackie, and Lewis. Police discover Lewis is Jackie's boyfriend. Jackie is a good friend of Courtney's and the sister of Courtney's boyfriend, Jitty.

According to Jackie, Courtney had driven Jackie and her kids around town to run errands. They went to get something to eat. They came back to her house to play dominoes. Courtney dropped Jackie off at Jackie's house around four o'clock in the morning. Courtney received a phone call from Jackie's brother, Courtney's boyfriend, Jitty, around 430.

Jitty was Courtney's off and on boyfriend, and Jitty was known in the neighborhood as a possible dealer. Money is a big motive for murder. If the Brinks box was open and empty, could indicate that it was a potential robbery. I mean, if he's an on-and-off boyfriend, then he knows about the money.

He knows when her door's locked. I felt at that point that he may be involved in the murder. When I was finally able to interview Jitty, he answered one or two questions, but he answered them far off in the left field. He kind of tapped around any answers, and then he just kind of quit answering anything. Detectives check into the stories

of Courtney's friends, Jackie and Louis. They confirm the two were dropped off at 4 a.m. They also went to a gas station where we see Courtney on video surveillance with the clothes on that were found later in her apartment. She seemed like everything was fine in the video surveillance. As far as Alexandria police were concerned,

the last person to see Courtney alive was Jackie and Louis, and their story checked out. So in that regard, they're excluded as suspects. Alexandria police looked at Jitti, and he alibied out as well. At that point, they're out of people that they know were with Courtney the day she was last seen and they don't have any motive that they know of for Courtney to have been killed. I remember my sister saying, we need to plan a funeral.

And it was just terrible. I mean, I was still in shock. I was still in denial. The church, which is the largest church in Alexandria, the cathedral, was so packed. There was standing room only and people standing outside. So many people talked about how horrible the fact that Courtney had been murdered. I chose most of the pallbearers, the Anthony Laces boyfriend at the time, Courtney's daddy's little

nephew and a few of my friends. I sat next to my dad and I said, daddy you're my rock, you're my rock to my dad and I said, Daddy, you're my rock, you're my rock, and I need you. I don't remember what happened exactly. I just remember my mom and dad had to leave straight from there and go to the hospital. My husband Nelson had a stroke at the graveyard when we were burying Courtney. He did get better, but he never ever got to be that Nelson LeBord that used to be. He could not take the loss of one of his grandchildren. While the family mourns Courtney's loss, that very same day detectives get a break in the case. Have you ever dreamed of opening new doors? Whether it's traveling the world, advancing your career, or simply embracing the joy of

learning. Speaking a new language can transform your life, and Rosetta Stone makes that journey engaging, effective, and accessible. With its unique approach, you'll learn naturally, absorbing language through real-world context and conversation, just like you learned as a child. Rosetta Stone is the leading language learning program trusted by millions over 30 years. Offering 25 languages, including Spanish,

French, Japanese, and German, it's designed to immerse you fully in your chosen language. Forget rote memorization. Instead, Rosetta Stone's intuitive learning process starts with words, builds to phrases, and then progresses to full sentences. So you truly learn to speak, listen, and think in your new language. One standout feature is Rosetta Stone's True Accent Speech Recognition technology. It provides real-time feedback on your pronunciation,

helping you sound more natural. It's like having a personal coach guiding you every step of the way. Plus, with lessons available on desktop and mobile, Rosetta Stone fits seamlessly into your busy life, whether you have an hour or just five minutes. Whether you're preparing for travel or aiming for personal growth, Rosetta Stone empowers you to achieve your goals. And with a lifetime membership

granting access to all 25 languages, you can learn as many as you want whenever you want. So don't wait! Unlock your language learning potential now! Cold Case Files listeners can grab Rosetta Stone's Lifetime Membership for 50% off. That's unlimited access to 25 language courses for life! Visit rosettastone.com slash coldcase to get started and claim your 50% off today. Don't miss out! Go to rosettastone.com slash cold case and start learning today.

Cold case files is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money when you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes

and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you could save. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states. More than 200 miles away from Bayou country, someone is using Courtney's cell phone in a place where she has no known connections. Houston, Texas. At that time, pinging cell phones was still fairly new. Your cell phone carrier can tell me what tower is servicing your phone.

So that tower can track your location where you're using that phone at. It was traced to an apartment in Allen Parkway. Allen Parkway Drive was in the fourth ward of Houston, which is a pretty low-income government housing neighborhood. High crime. And when we knocked on the door, a lady answered the door, and we told her who we were while we were there. And a 15-year-old male tried to dart out the back door,

but the door was locked. He couldn't get it open. And we were able to get through the front door and get him and grab ahold of him before he got out. He had the phone in his possession. When we told him who the phone belonged to and what happened, his jaw dropped and his pupils dilated. He told us, I had no idea. The young man that purchased Courtney's cell phone described that there were two men, two black males in this green Bonneville that sold him the phone for $10.

He said that he had just bought it from somebody off the streets, somebody named Tree in red. Investigators realized the green Bonneville could be Courtney's missing car. They put out an alert through Crimestoppers. A tip leads them to a couple living in the fourth ward. Courtney's car was located there in Houston early night on October 13, 2004,

which was almost two weeks after her body was discovered. Two suspects were later found in possession of Courtney's car in what law enforcement sometimes term a rent-a-rock deal, which basically is you have a stolen vehicle and you rent that out for drugs and other things. The Houston police and the Texas Rangers drugged the couple into the police department and they sweated them pretty good. I mean they sweated them really good and they both told a consistent story. They had traded some drugs to Red for the car, and they're just gonna use the car until Red shows back up to get it,

which, of course, Red never does. It got to the point real quick to where I thought in my mind, I need to speak with Tree and Red. I need to find out how they got the cellphone, how they got the car. These two guys are key players in this case, and they need to be found. Red's obviously an important link how they got the car. These two guys are key players in this case, and they need to be found.

Red's obviously an important link, because Red got the phone and the car from whoever's responsible for killing Courtney. You've heard of a needle in a haystack. This would be like the eye of the needle in a haystack. I mean, you're looking for two guys, and that's all you know is Tree and Red. But the vehicle, of course, could contain forensic evidence,

could contain all sorts of things that could lead us But the vehicle, of course, could contain forensic evidence, could contain all sorts of things that could lead us to the killer or killers in this case. The Texas State Police, when they had a crime lab process the vehicle, there wasn't any fingerprints on the door handle, the steering wheel, it had been white plain and there was blood stains in the trunk. When we got to the crime lab, we sprayed it with liminal and several spots glowed in the carpet in the trunk. Technicians compare Courtney's DNA to the blood stains. One is a match. Finding Courtney's DNA in the trunk of her own car is significant. It confirms that her

body was back there at some point. But the car doesn't contain any clues to who drove it to Houston or who are Tree and Red. We never did ID, Tree, or Red. It was a dead end. It was just another tip that went nowhere. I put my complete trust in everything into the police because they were all I had to get me answers. The last time I went to Alexandria and I came back

and I told my sheriff, I'm getting absolutely nothing. Alexandria was not helpful. My sheriff finally said, we've sent you there three times. We can't keep doing this. Well, Mr. David Rabelais came into town to meet us. And every time he would talk to somebody, he felt like they didn't want to cooperate with him. It was kind of like a turf thing.

And that bothered that man and it bothered us. After one month, the pace of the investigation slows and the case goes cold. But Courtney's family doesn't give up hope. It was all Saints Day. I took Stephanie to the graveyard to put some flowers for Courtney. I kneeled on her grave and I said, mama promises you that I'm going to find out who put you here. That's what she needed to do, because she had to refocus.

And she had to get back into that mode, that fighting mode. So Stephanie and I, along with Lace and Heather, we would get out in the streets and hand out flyers. We started hunting and getting as many tips as we could from people. We put up signs. We did everything we could do. I still have dreams and nightmares of this case. When I pull out of my driveway, I can see the house.

It pops back in my mind. Me and my girlfriend have put flowers on Courtney's cross a couple of times. The next day I leave, I may remember the whole crime scene. I keep asking myself, what could you have done different? Determined to solve Courtney's murder, Stephanie looks for an expert in cold cases and finds investigative consultant Woody Overton. I served over 20 years in law enforcement. I kind of made my bones off of solving cold cases and that morphed into investigative

consultant. The podcast got started totally by accident. My wife, she said, hey, everybody loves your voice and everybody loves your stories. You need to start a podcast. I'm like, what's a podcast? I said, they want to hear a story.

I'll tell them a story. And I pretty much called Woody and I begged him to please help me. When I sat down with her and listened to her pain, it just broke my heart. I said I'm gonna solve this case or I'm gonna die trying. This case is 15 years old now and I do not think it can be solved. I know it can't be solved without the help of the public. And we're going to establish a hotline where people can call in tips. It was approximately September 2019, three weeks into the podcast, when I received a

telephone call from a listener. Tiffany said she knew the honest shadow of the doubt who murdered Courtney Coco. Tiffany listens to Woody, calls Woody's show, and says, I know something about Courtney Coco's death. And so I was able to contact her, and she told me that her ex-husband was the killer's best friend back in that day. Her ex-husband's name was Seamus. When this phone call came in, it changed everything.

It was a great piece of the puzzle to start with. I asked Tiffany to do the recording of Seamus. I said, what if it was one of your kids? What would you do? I didn't know if she would do it or not, but she wanted to help, and she did it. Oh, my God, listen to this. Seamus, have you been following the broadcast? Oh, yeah do it or not. But she wanted to help, and she did it. Oh my god, listen to this. Seamus, have you been following the broadcast?

I love you. It's crazy. It's crazy, Seamus. His mama washed the blanket at the house right after she died. Anthony did that shit. But why would he do it, though? What was the cause of that shit?

I don't know, but I can't tell Courtney. Let me tell you that. You got to listen to it, Seamus. You got to listen to it. I'm telling you. I'm telling you. Anthony Burns. David Anthony Burns was Courtney's sister's fiance. When I first heard the recording, it was like, holy smokes. It wasn't necessarily the smoking gun.

Seamus could have had a beef with Burns. You know, I had to work it, but it was fire. Then I was able to find, but it was fire. Then I was able to find out that David Anthony Burns was missing that weekend. Courtney had been murdered. A witness had called in, was asked me to clock him in to work on that Saturday, October 2nd, 2004,

even though he wasn't at work. And Burns said that he was at the Dunes that weekend, which is the place where they ride four wheelers. He was telling all these different things and none of them had it up. He was later picked up in Lake Charles on Monday by his mother, 50 miles from Winnie, Texas, where Courtney's body was dumped.

So this is a fluid act of things that I'm stacking up, stacking up for the next three weeks. Woody sits down with Stephanie and the family and breaks the news. I said, listen, what I'm about to tell you is going to be so hard for you to hear. David Anthony Burns murdered Courtney Coco. We were all kind of in shock. Lace was literally just traumatized, like uncontrollable crying. It was very hard for us to grasp the fact

that Anthony could have done this. Anthony and Lace lived together. And he prayed with us, cried with us every time we met and discussed Courtney's case. And even when we went and erected the cross in Winnie, Texas, he helped us dig the hole to put it in. I couldn't believe that he was a pallbearer at Courtney's family. That was really hard to take. I guess that's why it hurts so deep. The questions start coming. So I then had to explain to them

that I couldn't go any further. I had to turn this over to law enforcement. In October of 2019, Woody turns over the recording to the Alexandria police. A new set of detectives take on the case. When they showed up to pick Seamus up for questioning, he said, I've been waiting 15 years for this moment. During the interview, Seamus said that David Anthony Burns had told him he killed Courtney Coco. Investigators comb through the list of tips reported over the past 15 years.

They find several that mentioned Anthony. The Alexandria Police Department did talk to two people that said Anthony Burns told me he killed Courtney. They thought this is the time to go talk to Anthony Burns. But I don't have anything that sticks out in my mind about that Friday. Who would you have been with? Would you have been with Lace Friday night? I was with him. So trust me. You remember anything about that Saturday night?

Man, I'm telling you men and Lace, they didn't do it. I went and talked to Lace. You think she could help verify some of this? Oh, yeah. Lace damn sure remembers what was going on the weekend that Courtney disappeared. And the story that she gave was not the story that Anthony Burns provided the police. According to Lace, she and Anthony had been arguing and fighting on Friday. And Anthony gets mad at her and leaves and takes the only car they have between them.

And she vividly remembers that she saw Burns for the first time after the whole family was gathered at Stephanie's house after they learned that Courtney's body was in Texas. You got not one, not two, but three people that have said, Anthony Burns said he murdered Courtney Coco. He has a connection to Courtney Coco,

and he's lied about where he was the weekend she's murdered. Not looking too good for an Anthony at this point, is it? There's no other possibility, in my professional opinion, than David Anthony Burns murdering Courtney Coquette. Homes.com knows that when it comes to home shopping, it's never just about the house or condo. It's about the home. And what makes a home is more than just the house or property.

It's the the home. And what makes a home is more than just the house or property. It's the location and neighborhood. If you have kids, it's also schools, nearby parks, and transportation options. That's why Homes.com goes above and beyond to bring home shoppers the in-depth information they need to find the right home. And when I say in-depth, I'm talking deep. Each listing features comprehensive information about the neighborhood complete with a video guide. They also have details about local schools with test scores, state rankings, and student to teacher ratio.

They even have an agent directory with the sales history of each agent. So when it comes to finding a home, not just a house, this is everything you need to know all in one place. Homes.com, we've done your homework. Podcasting isn't just about talking, it's about growing, engaging, and monetizing. And that's where Podcast One Pro comes in. Whether you're an independent creator or a major brand,

Podcast One Pro gives you the tools you need to take your podcast to the next level. We're talking about premium hosting, advanced analytics, dynamic ad integration, and expert distribution all designed to maximize your reach and revenue. Plus with access to PodcastOne's industry leading network, you'll be connected to top tier advertisers and a massive audience. It's time to go pro and turn your passion into profit. Visit podcast1pro.com to get started today. Podcast 1 Pro, the power behind the podcast.

In November of 2019, police bring Anthony Burns back to the station for a CVSA, a computer voice stress analyzer. It detects tiny modulations in a person's voice when they lie. I want to ask you a couple of questions, you know, with this procedure. I know this is kind of run, you know, with this procedure. I know this is kind of running out of ink on the back of your head, isn't it? No. Okay.

There's absolutely nothing you can do that will affect this. Okay. This is a controlled question. I would like you to lie to me. Have you ever lied to someone that has trusted you? No. Are you involved in the death of Courtney Coco? No.

Is this the month of November? Yes. Are you involved in the disposal of Courtney Coco's body? No. I'm gonna pull the mic. Anthony failed the voice stress analysis test. At that point, he decided he didn't want to talk anymore until he conferred with counsel.

The evidence is mounting against Anthony Burns, but police want more to secure a conviction. Detective Tanner Dryden went back and combed meticulously through all of the leads that came in. He found a witness by the name of Jude Wilson. The night before the body was discovered, Jude's on the road, which has the abandoned house where Courtney's body was found.

And there's a dark four-door sedan that backs out of that house at 10-something at night. He almost gets in a wreck with it. He went in to report this at Chambers County Sheriff's Office, like, the next day. And it got lost in an investigation. Jude is contacted by Tanner what 16 years after this occurs and Jude said oh yeah I remember it like it was yesterday. I actually had to swerve because I thought he was going to back into me. It was a very big car. I noticed the license plate. The first thing I noticed was the letters, which was J-W, and those are my initials. But I just saw it silhouette.

Investigators realized the description of the car and the license plate matches Courtney's Pontiac Bonneville. And he turned at the exit to go to I-10 off of 1406 before you get to the bridge. If you were shown a lineup, you think you'd be able to maybe recognize the person? Jude Wilson, he's an artist, and he's like, I could draw you a sketch of his profile. And he did it and sent it over. It looked just like David Anthony Burns. When they put the lineup in front of Jude Wilson, he immediately picked one picture out, and that was the picture of David Anthony Burns. It really was a turning point in the case.

Now, we have something that ties a suspect to the body dump location. It's now April 2021, 17 years after Courtney is murdered. There's a special prosecutor in our area that actually travels throughout the state named Hugo Holland. And he has a hired gun for district attorney's offices in places that have difficult cases. I set the case up for grand jury. It took the grand jury, I don't know, about three minutes to decide to indict Anthony Burns for second degree murder.

And I walked out and said, hey, here's the indictment. Let's go get a warrant and pick this guy up. Detective Dryden and his partner went to Burns' workplace, and they took him into custody. He just grinned. He thought he was smarter than everybody else, and he thought he was untouchable. I was at a red light, and my phone rang,

and Tanner Dryden said, guess who I have in the backseat of my car? David Anthony Burns. And I think I ran through that red light. I had to pull over. I was shaking and crying so bad. Anthony Burns pled not guilty to the murder of Courtney Coco. Prosecutor Hugo Holland prepares for a trial based on witness testimony without any physical evidence connecting Burns to Courtney's murder. I fully realized the problems

with the case. I wasn't sure how strong Jude was gonna come off and I didn't know if the jury was gonna believe the three confessions. I warned Stephanie and Courtney's family, we've got a 50-50 chance of winning this trial. Let me go and explore a possible manslaughter plea. When I approached the defense lawyer with that, he laughed at me. He said, we're trying the case. And I said, well, OK, bitches, let's do it. Anytime you take a case of this magnitude to a jury, you never know the outcome. Eighteen years after Courtney's death, in October 2022, the case goes to trial. We finally got our day in court. Anthony would not look us in the eye.

Prosecutor Holland brings in his three witnesses to testify that Burns admitted he killed Courtney Coco. There was a skittish witness, did not want to be there. When Seamus gets on the stand at trial, he doesn't exactly say what was on the recording. He tried to color it a little bit. And then the third one was a homeless guy who I had to send Glenn Younger with the state police to arrest at a shelter in Missouri. And the witness looked right at Anthony and said something like,

Anthony, you know what you told me, why don't you get up here like a man and tell him what you told me? That got a reaction from Anthony. He could tell he wanted to beat the guy up. Mr. Holland put up on the screen this silhouette drawing that Jude Wilson had drawn of Anthony Burns, and he does a still frame of a video of Anthony Burns

driving down the road in a car. It really got the jury's attention. The defense attorney came at it very aggressively. How could you pick someone from a silhouette and pick them from a lineup? The family home, they didn't know. I guess they had a certain amount of fear that he was going to get off. The jury leaves for deliberations. In a surprising move, the 12 members return in just over an hour.

And I knew, just because I've done this more than once, that a jury is not acquitting somebody in 75 minutes. The jury came back with a unanimous verdict of guilty for David Anthony Burns for second-degree murder and the death of Courtney Coco. Anthony Burns was dutifully convicted and tossed into Angola for the rest of his life. The trial, it was bittersweet. Still to this day, I still don't know how Courtney died. I don't know where Courtney died. I believe the motive was Anthony Burns

attempted to have sexual relations with Courtney that night and she spurned him and he killed her. So what does he do? Well, he uses the comforter that was on her bed, wraps her up, puts her in the trunk of her car. Soon as the body gets dropped off, Anthony does what Anthony's got to do. He's going to show her, so he poses the body like he does,

and then get on over to Houston to get rid of the car. I will one day get Anthony to tell me what he really did to Courtney. The next day was All Saints Day, exactly 18 years to the day that I kneeled on Courtney's grave and promised her I'd find out who put her there. I was on my knees thanking the Lord for bringing somebody into my life

that actually helped me, and that was Booty. I'm just so glad to see you. My hero. Still got your bracelet. First day in your kitchen, when we took it on, right? You gave it to me and haven't taken it off since. You can still read it. It says, justice for Courtney, and the Lord is close to the brokenhearted.

Right. This means a lot to me. At some point I know I've got to take it off, right? But I can't make myself do it yet. Oh, this is so precious. I know. I think about Courtney every moment of my day. That is my absolute favorite.

Courtney brought lots of joy to our lives. She's teaching him how to dance. Oh, that's so good That's a little place. Even though she was only here for 19 short years, she did a lot. She touched a lot of people's lives. Because that was the last time I saw her. I felt a calling to be a victim's advocate for people that didn't have nobody in their

corner. I do it because Courtney pushes me forward to keep going. And I feel like with me helping others that her death wasn't in vain because that's what she wanted to do was help others. with countless cases to crack from Criminal Minds, Tracker, and Matlock. I'm a lawyer like the old TV show. And thrills are free with heart-pumping hits like The Walking Dead and Pulp Fiction. Direct the mundo! Feel the free Pluto TV. Stream now, pay never.