Man charged in Burk case
Special to the News
Courtney Lockhart, 23, of Smiths Station has been charged with capital murder in the Lauren Burk case.
A 23-year-old Smiths Station man is behind bars today, accused in the murder of 18-year-old Auburn University freshman Lauren Burk.
Auburn Police Assistant Chief Tommy Dawson confirmed Saturday morning that Courtney L. Lockhart had been apprehended Friday by the Phenix City Police Department and that he is being charged with capital murder during a kidnapping, capital murder during a robbery and capital murder during an attempted rape.
The news came just four days after Burk died from a single gunshot wound. Dawson wouldn’t offer any details about what happened Tuesday night except that authorities found Burk, lying on the roadway of North College Street between Farmville Baptist Church and U.S. Highway 280 after a 9:08 p.m. 911 call. Another call at 9:27 p.m. led police to campus, where they found Burk’s 2001 Honda Civic fully engulfed in flames.
Dawson credited the task force dedicated to this case for the work that led to Lockhart’s arrest. He said it was photographic evidence, obtained early in the investigation, that led them to believe Lockhart was Burk’s killer. Dawson would not say where the picture came from, but said that NASA experts helped to enhance it to make a clear identification.
Chief Frank deGraffenried said there was nothing to indicate that Lockhart was connected to any previous crimes in Lee County or Auburn, specifically the unsolved murder of local businessman Dick Salmon or the unsolved disappearance of AU graduate Lori Ann Slesinski.
Lee County District Attorney Nick Abbett said the next step is a preliminary hearing, probably on Monday. He said he plans to present the case to the grand jury on May 5. A trial probably would start a year from now.
“Capital cases do not move speedily through the system,” he said.
Dawson said he was confident Lockhart was Burk’s murderer, but he talked little about details linking Lockhart to the case.
“Again, I apologize for having to say this so much in this case, but I can not try this case in the media,” he said.
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Reader Reactions
I am tremendously relieved to hear that a suspect has been arrested and charged in the Lauren Burk case. However, I am also tremendously upset with Auburn University’s lack of security on its campus. Several years ago, when AU president Ed (rhymes with “in bed”)Richardson allowed the City of Auburn to takeover campus security. I knew that was a huge mistake then and I certainly know it now. The “outsourcing” of campus security gave the City of Auburn a large amount of money and one wonders how that money is being used. I used to see AU security very frequently at night, but you seldom see an Auburn City police car on the campus at night. I was extremely incensed at current AU President Jay Gogue attempting to defend the decision to outsource campus security. his statement on the AU main website was that 80% of Auburn’s students live off campus, so the outsourcing contract gives the City of Auburn more resources (which is questionable in itself) to provide community security. Students living off campus are CITIZENS of the City of Auburn and plenty of tax dollars go to the City of Auburn already to pay for security and other services. Auburn University should not be paying the City of Auburn additional money to provide city services. When the campus security was operative, they had a PRESENCE “ON” campus. Anyone driving on the campus was always AWARE of their presence. Auburn University officials and City of Auburn officials bear a huge responsibility in the tragic death of Lauren Burk. Please, President Gogue, do not make any more excuses for Ed Richardson and his absurd policy decision to hand over Auburn University’s responsibility to the money-gouging mayor and City of Auburn.
Why are these 2 murders along with the elderly man in Flordia being treated as hate crimes?
Swift and just punishment surely is needed here - just like the Founding Fathers did - hung by the neck until dead.
It’s a relief that this person has been apprehended, and there’s still a long way to go before he is brought to justice, but I do feel better that this person is off the streets. I sincerely hope this will help bring some kind of closure to Lauren’s family, and that she will be able to rest in peace. I commend the task force and the Phenix City police for getting the job done so well. I hope they will remain vigilant on campus for the protection of all of our students.
we should do this like they do in China - 30 minutes after the guilty verdict, take him in the backyard and shoot him. it’s certainly the best way. it’s cost efficient, saves all of us money and it’s justice, not to mention it’s the law, if this guy is found guilty and given the death penalty. and to bootlegger - it may or may not be a deterrent for all criminals, but you can be sure if justice was swift and sure, there are many potential murderers out there who would think twice before they coldly killed somebody without remorse.
so Texas has the highest murder rate ? # of murders per capita? would you care to share the data and a source on that ? no? not surprised. cause it likely doesn’t exist. you sound like a typical liberal just spouting off some liberal propaganda that isn’t based on fact or reality
Bick
If you climbed off of your high horse long enough you would realize that when one says War Eagle, it doesn’t only refer to pep rallies and football games. The cry War Eagle represents all that is great about the Auburn community. It is a reference to the pride that anyone who has ever lived in Auburn has in the place and its people. No matter where we live, we mourn the loss of one of our own and we say War Eagle because we know that she must have loved Auburn. After all, who wouldn’t?
23 and a convicted felon? What did he do before? More robberies? Is he on parole? Should still be in jail?
He’s 23 and already a convicted felon. Why isn’t he still in jail? Is he on parole? What was he convicted of?
I don’t view the death penalty as a deterrent, anyway. I view it as justice and punishment. Just like I don’t view prisons as places to rehabilitate the hopeless causes in our society. I see them as places to lock up the worthless human detritus so it isn’t on the streets. My only regret is we don’t have enough room to lock them up for life. That’s the only reason to even attempt rehabilitation. If we had the beds, just lock them up and throw the key away. Alas, we don’t.
That’s right auyard, and Texas doesn’t have any more murders…oh wait, they have one of the highest murder rates in the country. Yep, that death penalty is a really good deterrent.
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