What has been an already trying case for the Auburn community and the family and friends of Lauren Burk has now become something of a nightmare.
Courtney Lockhart, the man accused and indicted of killing Lauren Burk, has changed his plea from guilty to not guilty and now, to not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
Since there is a gag order in the case, The Plainsman cannot question Lockhart’s lawyer about the change in pleas and Lockhart’s pending psychological evaluations.
We can agree with the logic behind the gag order in that it will promote an unbiased jury when it comes to trial time, but we would like to know the reasoning behind the switch-up.
To begin with, this person signed a detailed confession, which was read aloud at his initial hearing March 10 and was still committed to that confession when he waived his right to a preliminary hearing April 23.
The psychological evaluations have yet to be performed, however since Lockhart had just returned from Iraq, the defense may want to pursue the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder route.
It is not hard to understand the effect the disorder would have on a person and the difficulty of adjusting to returning from war, but his story is now becoming inconsistent.
We, also, can’t help but question the premeditation that seemed to be involved in this case.
If the defense does end up claiming Lockhart is suffering from the disease, it will have a hard time convincing a jury because of the time line of the case.
He allegedly bought the gasoline the day before, waited for a victim at the library and seemed to have a pretty clear plan of what he wanted to do.
Another part of the case which troubles us is the sense that he wanted to be caught.
Lockhart, alledgedly, set Burk’s car on fire in a student parking lot, when he could have easily taken it to an abandoned field and disposed of it there.
To further demonstrate the idea of premeditation, Lockhart, allegedly, did not only murder Burk, but kidnapped and attempted to sexually assault her. In crimes involving sexual assault or the attempt thereof, the assailant tries to demonstrate his or her authority and control over the victim.
Since Lockhart, allegedly, made an attempt to cover up the crime, he showed he knew what he had done and felt some sort of responsibility for his actions.
When the plea is confirmed or denied by the psychological evaluations, Burk’s and Lockhart’s families, the Auburn community and University will be watching, because this is the case that forever changed the way everyone thought about their safety.
