What happened to Courtney Coco? Harrowing details of the 19-year-old's death on Dateline, explored 

The heartbreaking case of Courtney Coco was first featured on NBC's Dateline back in April 2023. According to the Dateline episode, Courtney Coco's lifeless body was discovered inside an abandoned building more than twenty years ago on October 4, 2004. Her body was in an advanced stage of decomposition by the time of its discovery.

Before her body was found inside the abandoned building at Winnie, Texas which is situated about two hundred miles from her home in Alexandria, Lousiana, Courtney Coco had been missing for two days.

Dateline further revealed that the police were initially unable to specify the exact cause of Courtney Coco's death owing to the severely decomposed state of the body. Her death was nevertheless ruled as a homicide and an investigation was launched to hunt down her killer. Over the years, the investigation slowed down for lack of evidence and the killer remained at large.

The Alexandria Police Department finally announced in 2021 that they had arrested a man by the name of David Anthony Burns and charged him with second-degree murder. Throughout his time being held by the police, David Anthony Burns claimed that he was innocent. The trial began in October 2022 and soon enough a Rapides Parish jury convicted Burns of second-degree murder.

Here's everything that we know.

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Dateline: The tragic murder of Courtney Coco

As reported by Alexandria Police Department lead detective Tanner Dryden, Courtney's partially clothed corpse was discovered in an abandoned structure on the fringes of Winnie, Texas, roughly a three-hour drive from her Alexandria home.

Her corpse was so thoroughly decomposed that the cause of death could not be ascertained, but it was considered to be murder. A week later, Courtney's 1999 Pontiac Bonneville was found in Houston, Texas. Her things, including the white lab coat she wore to work at a dental facility, remained inside. The people in possession of the car were questioned, but detectives declined to comment on whether they thought they were involved in Courtney's death.

As the years dragged on, Coutney's death was pushed to the background with other cold cases that were left unsolved for lack of evidence. Nevertheless, as Dateline revealed, Courtney's family and especially her mother Stephanie carried on the fight for justice. Stephanie had previously stated in her Dateline interview:

"I know nothing can bring her back. As a mother, I want to fix this. Sadly, I can’t. But I kneeled at her grave and made a promise to get justice. And I’m keeping that promise. I’ll get justice and finally she’ll be at peace.”

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Dateline: The trial and conviction of David Anthony Burns

The case received an unexpected transfusion of hope when in 2019 podcast presenter Woody Overton began to investigate Courtney's situation. He presented his discoveries on his podcast "Real Life Real Crime" and released an eighteen-episode investigative series titled "Who Murdered Courtney Coco?"

In 2020, Overton informed Dateline that he had gotten an overwhelming reaction. In 2021, Alexandria Police stated that David Anthony Burns had been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. At the time, it was unclear what prompted the police to arrest Burns. Burns pled not guilty.

During the trial, it was revealed that Courtney's sister Lace Evans, who was engaged to Burns for six long years, testified against him. Evans stated that she and Burns ran into an argument on Saturday, following which Burns was untraceable until Courtney's body was found on Monday.

According to NBC-affiliated station KALB, Burns appeared in court for sentence on Monday, November 28, 2022, when his attorney argued for acquittal and possibility of parole. Both motions were rejected. The next day, David Burns was condemned to life in jail with no option of probation, release, or sentence suspension.

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