Click to enlarge photos.By Elizabeth Farnsworth
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer
MARIETTA —A suspect has been arrested in the case of Lauren Burk, who was killed Tuesday evening in Auburn, Ala. Courtney Lockhart, 23, was arrested late Friday afternoon in Phenix City, Ala., following a traffic stop, Auburn police officials said at a press conference this morning.
Lockhart has been charged with three counts of capital murder during a kidnapping, capital murder during a robbery, and capital murder during an attempted rape, said Tommy Dawson, Auburn’s assistant chief of police. Lockhart was arrested in Phenix City on robbery charges, apparently unrelated to the murder case, and held in the Russell County Jail on $250,000 bond.
The 23-year-old is from Smiths, Ala., a small town about 26 miles from Auburn’s campus.
“At this point, I’m not going to say whether it was a random deal. I don’t believe that he targeted her for that long, if he targeted her at all,” Dawson said.
Ms. Burk, an 18-year-old freshman at Auburn University, graduated from East Cobb’s Walton High School in 2007. She died Tuesday night from a single gunshot wound. Police found the injured woman on the side of a road about five miles away from Auburn’s campus around 9 that night. Ms. Burk was taken to East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, where she died. A short time later, her car was found on fire in a campus parking lot.
“We have the right individual in jail, I’m 100 percent sure of that,” Dawson said, although he remained reserved about details of the case. Further evidence will be disclosed at trial, he promised. Dawson would not say if Lockhart used Ms. Burk’s credit card, if he confessed to the murder, or what the motive might have been.
Officers have had a photo of Lockhart since Wednesday, Dawson said, although he would not share how police obtained that picture. Although the traffic stop in Phenix City was random, Dawson said he did not think it was an accident.
“I wouldn’t call it a lucky break. I call it a blessing from God, and good police work,” he said.
Authorities have been on Lockhart’s trail since early in the week, he said. Dawson assured parents that Auburn University students were in no more danger this week than any other, as stepped-up patrols were a visible presence on campus. Lockhart is not believed to have been in the area of the Auburn campus since Tuesday evening.
“We’ve pretty much had his footprints of where he was going and what he was doing at the time,” Dawson said.
Lee County District Attorney Nick Abbott said that Lockhart would appear for a hearing within 48-72 hours, probably on Monday. The grand jury will meet May 5, and a trial would probably occur about a year after that, he said. The death penalty could be involved in the case, Dawson said.
For officers, relief over nabbing a suspect was mingled with pain.
“We’re here because Lauren Burk is not. That’s the only reason we’re here. We share that grief with the family. It’s our loss also,” said Auburn Police Chief Frank deGraffenried.
Dawson said he called Jim Burk, the 18-year-old’s father, late Friday afternoon to tell him of the arrest.
“The highlight of my day yesterday was putting this individual in jail. But the highlight of Mr. Burk’s life was seeing his daughter,” Dawson said.
Kathy Singleton, a friend of Ms. Burk’s mother, Viviane Guerchon, said the arrest begins a second phase of grief for the girl’s family.
“The family is so relieved and thankful to all the law enforcement who have worked so hard around the clock to bring this to this point this quickly. It’s a relief going into this day, the day of her service, to have this information,” Ms. Singleton said Saturday morning, before heading to a service for the girl at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church that evening.
For now, the family is focusing on getting through the services honoring Ms. Burk’s life, Ms. Singleton said. Eventually, the attention will turn to justice, as the criminal investigation and case moves forward, she said.
Westboro Baptist Church, out of Topeka, Kan., is planning to picket memorial services for Ms. Burk today and tomorrow. The church protests the funerals of fallen soldiers and college students, and plans to be present at her funeral tomorrow at Temple Kol Emeth, and again Monday at a memorial service at Auburn University.
efarnsworth@mdjonline.com
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