GUILTY FL - Courtney Wilkes, 15, raped, murdered in Seagrove Beach, 16 June 2011

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Filly said:
Columbo, I don't think he needed to tell there was a lost dog. It appears they met during the vaction. It was 2:00PM in the afternoon. The family saw him. Courtney requested permission.

Again, I think because it's vacation and kids are just enjoying life. A huge thing for kids Courtney's age is meeting boys during vacation. Who amongst us doesn't have memories of that?

Unfortunately this poor sweetheart met up with the wrong creep.
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Of course, we only have the mug shot, but apparently I don't share the perceptive powers of others. Looking at Cozzie's photo, I don't see anything that would alarm me.

ETA: I think you're right on the money about one's guard being lowered on vacation. And Cozzie had been introduced to her parents and received permission for the walk. That used to be considered a sign of good intentions.
 
Filly said:
Why oh why would he take his friend to see this poor girls bodie? Seriously I want to know. Why?
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Bragging? It's sick, but I think it's quite possible.
 
pearl said:
I live in Toombs County, GA, Courtney's home community. A couple of years ago, she attended the school where I teach. Courtney was a Christian, star student top of her class, and a really good soccer player. But, most importantly, she was a really nice person. Our community is in shock. It will take us a long time to heal. Some will never heal. I know only the details of the crime as have been reported in the news media nor do I want to know. Visitation with the family will be tonight. How do you comfort a parent who is burying a child who died in these circumstances? I will leave you with this thought. Courtney's grandfather is a preacher. Wednesday morning, he will conduct his granddaughter's funeral. I cannot imagine the agony this man will endure. Prayers for this family.
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Pearl, I have said many prayers for Courtney's family and loved ones. I cannot express how sorry I am that this horrible thing happened to such a beautiful soul.

Thank you for sharing a little bit about this sweet child with us.
 
Courtney was buried today. Our entire community is blanketed in white ribbons and balloons. Rest in peace beloved child.
 
http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/Close_Friend_of_Accused_Killer_Speaks_Out_124141429.html

One of Cozzie's close friends is speaking out. She says she wasn't surprised when she heard the news.
"I could see this coming but at the same time, I never expected it to be him. It made no sense. He was acting fine just a couple days before that-- and he just snapped, something just snapped". She has asked not to be identified.

After doing some digging, we are getting a better idea of who this accused killer is from his MySpace page.

According to a blog that was posted in September, Cozzie seemed deeply disturbed. It states "You might think I'm crazy but ****, hit me up if you want my whole life story. It's filled with more tears and sorrow that my ex can even experience in a day."

Girls posted comments on his wall, describing him as "shady".

The 16-year old girl we talked to says he was attracted to younger girls.

"He would just fall in love with each and every one of us, like one-by-one he would fall in love, and every time we'd be like, 'Steven, you're too old, it's creepy".

We did confirm that Cozzie once worked as a dishwasher at Bruno's Pizza and authorities say he was recently kicked out of his mother's home and had been living at a nearby campsite.
 
http://www.waltonsun.com/articles/investigation-7019-wcso-homicide.html

parents had kicked him out of their home. gives their address. Gives no reason why he was kickied out though.

"Teresa Carter, who manages the Cassine Garden Townhomes on Cypress Grove Lane near where the murder victim’s body was found told a Northwest Florida Daily News reporter she had identified Cozzie when deputies showed her his photo.

She said Cozzie was a frequent trespasser and that he had been living at her pool for a week because his parents had kicked him out of their home on Robert Ellis Street, also in Walton County.

“I have to kick him out of here all the time,” Carter said. “He never wears a shirt, always on his skateboard and always trespassing. I thought trespassing was all he was good for.”
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and another article with some info from the friend of Cozzie:
He says Cozzie was kicked out of his parent's house and homeless at the time, usually sleeping along beach accesses. "I was actually feeling bad for him. I was going to offer him to crash at my house for a little bit, get off the streets, I didn't get around to it until this happened," he added.
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http://www.wmbb.com/Global/story.asp?S=14932995

One more article, the only one I've seen with photos of the area (nothing gruesome), but yellow tape marking the area, and gives a good idea of how the trails are there.
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/sections/slideshow/?id=8299470

lmyb8v-img29014.jpg


lmyb94-img29055.jpg


And from Waltonmugshots.com:

Date Booked: 06/17/2011
Birth Date: 06/26/1989
Race: White
Sex: Male
Address: 11 LEE PLACE SANTA ROSA BEACH, FL 32459

Occupation: DISHWASHER
Employer: BRUNOS PIZZA

Charges: 782.04(1a1) MURDER PREMEDITATED
 
http://www.walb.com/story/14955698/funeral-service-under-way-for-slain-toombs-co-teen

VIDALIA, GA (WTOC) - The funeral service for a Toombs County teen who was murdered in Florida last week took place Wednesday morning.

Courtney Wilkes, a Toombs County High School student, who was murdered last week while on vacation with her family. The sheriff's office in Walton County, Fla., arrested Steven Cozzie on murder charges shortly after she went missing.

The funeral was at the First Baptist Church in Vidalia. White ribbons are being displayed on vehicles in Courtney's honor.
 
Filly said:
Why oh why would he take his friend to see this poor girls bodie? Seriously I want to know. Why?
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I don't know why, but I'm glad he did, so someone could lead authorities to the location. He also told his friend that he hit over the head with a stick. Hopefully, that will make it easier to prosecute him, since he admitted it to his friend.
 
This was not the parents fault. The Parents did NOTHING to cause their daughters Death. She was 15 almost 16 you can NOT have your eye on your children every second of the day. These parents should not be blamed AT ALL. The person to blame is STEVEN not these parents. It really bothers me some of the remarks in this thread. FYI to me he does NOT look 21 but younger.We just came back from vacation with our six children and our two older teens did hang out with other teens at the resort without me and their dad. We used our best judgement Had our teens check in every 20/25 minutes, stay in lighted area's at the resort etc . If God Forbid something would of happened to my children it would not of been MY fault it would of been the fault of the evil person that harmed them.

As Parents it is our job to protect our children the best we can it is sad that even the Police Officer that did the news confrence knew he needed to remark more then once this was not the parents fault that they did nothing wrong etc. We need to stop blamining the Victim and the Victims family ( who imo is also a Victim) . The blame lies with Steven and Steven alone.
 
http://www.waltonsun.com/news/ellis-7044-murder-son.html

'I JUST LOST IT': Murder suspect's mother grapples with grief, countless questions

Melody Ellis thought kicking her son out of the house would be the toughest moment in her life.

With tear-filled eyes and a look of exhaustion, Ellis spoke to The Sun about the last interaction she had with her son, Steven Anthony Cozzie, before he was charged with the murder of 15-year-old tourist Courtney Wilkes.

“I kicked him out of the house to show him tough love,” she said Tuesday. “I just never thought I’d wake up one day to this mess.’’
 
Is there not a glaring contradiction in the above news article? The mother says Steven said he was under the influence of drugs that night. Courtney died in the afternoon not night.
 
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/murder-41480-sexual-battery.html

The grand jury on Friday also indicted Cozzie for aggravated child abuse, armed kidnapping and sexual battery, according to a news release from the state attorney’s office.

View a slideshow of the murder scene »



The indictment was handed down for the strangulation and beating death of Courtney Wilkes of Lyons, Ga., on June 16 in Seagrove Beach.

State Attorney Bill Eddins said the sexual battery charge “stems from activities that occurred at or around the time of the murder.”
 
Lovejac said:
http://www.waltonsun.com/news/ellis-7044-murder-son.html

'I JUST LOST IT': Murder suspect's mother grapples with grief, countless questions

Melody Ellis thought kicking her son out of the house would be the toughest moment in her life.

With tear-filled eyes and a look of exhaustion, Ellis spoke to The Sun about the last interaction she had with her son, Steven Anthony Cozzie, before he was charged with the murder of 15-year-old tourist Courtney Wilkes.

“I kicked him out of the house to show him tough love,” she said Tuesday. “I just never thought I’d wake up one day to this mess.’’
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Wake up to a mess? Ummmmmmmmm, Mrs. Ellis this isn't a mess. It's a murder of a beautiful young woman. A mess would be if your son came home drunk and puked on your furniture. A mess would be if he got arrested for disorderly conduct.

Hmmmm, you have to wonder why he told his mom two different stories? You have to wonder why she kicked him out? I'm in no way saying she is to blame, but are those excuses or reasons she's giving for the crime he did? So he wasn't liked in school. Lots of people aren't, and they don't murder young women.
 
Filly said:
Wake up to a mess? Ummmmmmmmm, Mrs. Ellis this isn't a mess. It's a murder of a beautiful young woman. A mess would be if your son came home drunk and puked on your furniture. A mess would be if he got arrested for disorderly conduct.

Hmmmm, you have to wonder why he told his mom two different stories? You have to wonder why she kicked him out? I'm in no way saying she is to blame, but are those excuses or reasons she's giving for the crime he did? So he wasn't liked in school. Lots of people aren't, and they don't murder young women.
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Right, Filly!

I bet Mr. and Mrs. Wilkes would like to be able to wake up from the mess of the murder of Courtney.
 
Lovejac said:
Right, Filly!

I bet Mr. and Mrs. Wilkes would like to be able to wake up from the mess of the murder of Courtney.
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My heart breaks wide open for Courtney's parents. It gives me anxiety even thinking about their pain.

Sending prayers, love, light and compassion to this lovely family.
 
Courtney's funeral service was held about a week and a half ago. Her grandfather led a moving tribute to the life of this young, vibrant girl. Outpouring of grief and support for her family was and is still tremendous. There was a huge turnout for the service, standing room only inside and outside the church. Several officers from the Walton County, FL, Sheriff's Office made the almost 7 hour trip from there to here to attend. White ribbons are still blanketing the community. Many will not come down until this case winds its way through the court system. I will not say criminal justice system because, in my opinion, there is no punishment severe enough for this horrible crime. Our young people have suffered a loss of innocence with the death of their friend and classmate. We have lost children in our area due to several causes. In my memory, this is the first time we have lost one to unspeakable evil. Our young people have been slapped in the face with the reality that bad things can happen to truly good people. Religion is a strong foundation of our community. A large segment of our young people serve God through the way they lead their lives. Courtney was one of these young people. I will not go off on a religious tangent here. However, it is though only through God that we can offer our young people any kind of consolaton when they ask us why this crime occurred. Rest in peace, Courtney.
 
pearl said:
Courtney's funeral service was held about a week and a half ago. Her grandfather led a moving tribute to the life of this young, vibrant girl. Outpouring of grief and support for her family was and is still tremendous. There was a huge turnout for the service, standing room only inside and outside the church. Several officers from the Walton County, FL, Sheriff's Office made the almost 7 hour trip from there to here to attend. White ribbons are still blanketing the community. Many will not come down until this case winds its way through the court system. I will not say criminal justice system because, in my opinion, there is no punishment severe enough for this horrible crime. Our young people have suffered a loss of innocence with the death of their friend and classmate. We have lost children in our area due to several causes. In my memory, this is the first time we have lost one to unspeakable evil. Our young people have been slapped in the face with the reality that bad things can happen to truly good people. Religion is a strong foundation of our community. A large segment of our young people serve God through the way they lead their lives. Courtney was one of these young people. I will not go off on a religious tangent here. However, it is though only through God that we can offer our young people any kind of consolaton when they ask us why this crime occurred. Rest in peace, Courtney.
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Thank you for the updates pearl. So, so sad.
 
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