LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA : NBC Dateline's April 14 episode will focus on a case in Alexandria. Andrea Canning, a Dateline correspondent, will cover the case. The episode will centre on the Courtney Coco case, which led to the conviction of David Anthony Burns, 47, of Boyce, for second-degree murder. Burns, who was convicted on October 31, 2022, was Coco's sister's ex-fiance and was rumored to be seeing Coco as well. Burns has been imprisoned for life without the possibility of probation, release, or sentence reduction.
Interviews with Coco's family, including her mother Stephanie Belgard, Overton, several law enforcement personnel who worked the case, lawyers, and KALB's Brooke Buford, who covered the trial, will be featured in the Dateline segment.
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Who was Courtney Coco and how did she die?
Prior to enrolling at Northwestern State University, where she is said to have been studying criminal investigation, Courtney completed her high school education at Alexandria Senior High School in 2003. Courtney's family described the 19-year-old as a "kind person who loved people and helped everyone she came across," per NBC News.
In October 2004, Courtney's remains were located in an abandoned building in Winnie, Texas, approximately 200 miles from her Louisiana residence. Her mother, Stephanie Belgard, had last seen her a few days before her body was discovered. Her death was classified as a homicide even though her body had severely deteriorated. Days after her body was discovered, authorities discovered Courtney's 1999 Pontiac Bonneville in Houston.
Who killed Courtney Coco?
Courtney Coco, 19, of Alexandria, died in October 2004, and a Rapides Parish jury found David Anthony Burns, 46, of Boyce, guilty of second-degree murder in her death. Before returning a unanimous "guilty" decision after about an hour and a half of deliberation, the jury. As the verdict was read, Coco's family started to cry while Burns gave a head shake. On Monday, November 28, 2022, he appeared in court for his sentencing, but his attorney first presented two motions: one for a judgment of acquittal and one for a fresh trial. They were both rejected. Unless the defendant waives the delay, which Burns declined to do, Louisiana law requires that a punishment take place 24 hours following those motions.
NBC 'Dateline' airs on Fridays at 8 pm
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