WEBVTT - Courtney 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:02.840 What you're about to hear in the following episode does 0:00:02.880 --> 0:00:06.600 not implicate the Chicago Police in the murder of Courtney Copeland. 0:00:11.119 --> 0:00:13.920 When my son Courtney was twenty one years old, he 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:20.799 got a BMW convertible. He loved that car like it 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:25.240 was his girlfriend. He would talk to it like good mooney, 0:00:25.400 --> 0:00:34.240 hello baby. The first time Baby rolled into our driveway, 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:38.360 it was late at night, Courtney had drip top by. 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:45.199 Courtney had the music blasting all the way up. Courtney. 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:48.519 It's like like a little black party, you know, in 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:53.000 the middle of my driveway. He had the top down. 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:55.280 It wasn't even that pot outside, but of course he 0:00:55.320 --> 0:01:02.720 had the top down about them on. It was a 0:01:02.760 --> 0:01:06.520 beautiful moment, and that was probably one of the most 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:18.279 happiest moments I've seen him. Robber robbery down a granted 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:21.840 central gunman just said he was shot. Okay, look at me, am, 0:01:21.880 --> 0:01:30.000 I throw into okay right away. But not even one 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:33.640 year later, my son wound up with a bullet in 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:39.520 his back outside of Chicago police station. And there are 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:43.200 still so many unanswered questions about what led to the 0:01:43.240 --> 0:01:46.520 death of two year old Courtney Copeland. Family member say 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:48.840 Copeland was on his way to a friend's house when 0:01:48.840 --> 0:01:51.400 he was shot through his car window. A bullet hit 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:53.720 his bag. He managed to flag down a police car 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.520 in front of the twenty five District station and was 0:01:56.600 --> 0:02:00.120 rushed to a hospital. The wound was fatal. There's what 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:03.600 you hear on the news that Courtney got shot, drove 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:07.120 himself to a police station, where officers did everything they 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:10.359 could to help him. His mother's heart tonight left in pieces, 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:15.360 and then there's a troop. I believe that not enough 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:18.720 has been done for thought of Courtney murder, Like, what 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:22.200 would you like that I haven't done. I personally would 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:24.840 have went back and reinterviewed everybody to make sure that 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:35.799 we could. My name is Chaparral Wells. I'm Courtney Copeland's mom, 0:02:35.840 --> 0:02:46.120 and this is somebody every body so by every day, 0:02:46.840 --> 0:03:06.440 no bide nothing. No, that's right. Chicago police have one 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:09.560 of the lowest murder soft rates in the country, and 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:14.919 it's even lower if you're black. So when it came 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:17.880 time to find out who killed my son, I knew 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:26.200 I'd have to figure it out on my own. I'm 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:30.320 gonna take you with me step by step in my investigation. 0:03:32.400 --> 0:03:36.240 But first let me tell you about my son. You 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:39.480 need to know who he was in life, because we're 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:42.160 going to spend a lot of time talking about his death. 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:51.560 Courtney was born a day after my twenty one birthday 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:56.000 on New Year's Eve, and they just still remember him 0:03:56.000 --> 0:03:59.800 sleeping on my chest sometimes. That's my mom, Reneme. And 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:04.440 his favorite thing was warm milk, and he talked about 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:08.160 that and tell him the dunk Grandma. I still remember 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:10.880 the warm milk you give me when I was a baby, 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:14.640 and that this stuff. They were so sweet. What do 0:04:14.680 --> 0:04:17.880 you remember about the early years? He would have like 0:04:17.960 --> 0:04:22.760 little jokes and stuff. Here's my husband, Corney's father. He's 0:04:22.800 --> 0:04:25.240 raised him since he was four years old. You know, 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:27.640 like in fact, like the first joke he had told me, 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:31.200 he was like, what do you call uh stolen cheese? 0:04:31.279 --> 0:04:34.040 I said what he said, not your cheese. I'm like, 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:38.200 I'm like it was kind of corny, but it was 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:42.119 still funny. At the same time, he had y'all both 0:04:42.400 --> 0:04:52.240 have cornball jokes. That's what y'all got alone. Here he 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:54.440 is goofing off with some of his friends. How are 0:04:54.440 --> 0:04:57.880 you doing today? What's your name? Corney's pretending to be 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:01.000 a contestant on American Idol he in the seventh grade, 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:04.040 right at the age where his voice is changed. Makes 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:07.440 sense right now, but it will. It was some little 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:15.000 loose how to make it fail in regulations are going 0:05:15.160 --> 0:05:19.240 to Hollywood. Courtney sure knew how to turn on the 0:05:19.320 --> 0:05:21.920 charm to get what he wanted. And Corney was kind 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:24.960 of a malipulator with you. You know. It was like, uh, 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:28.400 he asked me for twenty dollars, and then turned around 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:31.680 and ask you for twenty dollars, and then he was 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:34.839 asking him for twenty dollars, and now he got sixty dollars, 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:36.800 got sixty dollar. That's how he would do it, and 0:05:36.920 --> 0:05:40.760 I wish I could do it for him now. Courtney 0:05:40.839 --> 0:05:44.040 was energetic and out going. I mean he was so handsome. 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:48.080 He had this carmel color skin and the most incredible smile. 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:51.320 He spent all his money, and I mean all his 0:05:51.480 --> 0:05:55.880 money on food, clothes, haircuts, and shoes. My mom just 0:05:55.960 --> 0:05:58.720 came back from Wisconsin. She bought me this hat and 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:04.279 said go. After Corney died, I went through his phone. 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:09.320 Look uncle, all those videos and photos and social media. 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:12.080 It made me feel like he was still right there 0:06:12.200 --> 0:06:15.960 with me. Really. We called him Gucci in high school. 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:18.679 I don't know if it was because he was fleet 0:06:18.760 --> 0:06:20.680 or because he looked like Gucci man, but we just 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:24.000 we called him Gucci. One of his friends was a 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:27.680 kid named Chancellor Bennett. You might know this guy has 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:32.040 chanced the rapper. I got suspend it. You got to 0:06:32.080 --> 0:06:35.400 spending the cheap and a hundred blood sports teen four 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:39.520 hundred minutes fans run in and fansy hands from Mr 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:42.360 Bennet that racket o. But yeah, I met Gui and 0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:44.800 I was like in summer school. You know what I'm 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:47.280 saying not to and I don't hope. I hope that 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:49.280 doesn't have like a negative connotation and stuff. But like 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:50.960 I mean, I was in summing school. Everybody goes to 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:52.880 something school. So yeah, he would free style with me, 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:55.760 well you know, kick it after after school and stuff 0:06:55.800 --> 0:06:58.760 and just be rapping walking down the street and be 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:01.960 boxing and stuff like that. Courtney would always tell me, Mom, 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:05.000 this guy is gonna be huge. That was like a 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:06.839 thing at the time. Like I was passing out CDs, 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:10.280 Like I was burning c ds and like standing outside 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:11.880 of Columbia and he would be standing out there with me, 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:14.640 or like he would take c ds and from me 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:18.840 and give them to other people and stuff too. They 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:21.360 went to Jones College Prep. It's one of the top 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:25.560 public schools in Chicago. Courtney played on the basketball team 0:07:25.640 --> 0:07:36.520 and he helped them win a city championship. When he 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:39.480 was seventeen or eighteen, he got a tattoo of a 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:43.520 basketball across his chest and it says ball too. I fall. 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:47.800 I've always hated tattoos because I'm a religious person and 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:51.640 I believe tattoos are a desecration of the body. When 0:07:51.680 --> 0:07:55.840 I first saw the tattoo, I literally cried and I said, 0:07:55.840 --> 0:07:58.400 you just want to hurt your mama, don't you. Then 0:07:58.440 --> 0:08:02.240 he got more tattoos, including one that says Mama's boy, 0:08:03.200 --> 0:08:11.320 how do you like that? Courtney got a partial scholarship 0:08:11.400 --> 0:08:14.280 to play ball in Indiana, but we could only afford 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:16.760 to help him so much, so he had to come 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:19.800 back home after one semester. He got a job as 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:23.160 a janitor and a Dunkin Donuts. Gotta get ready for work, 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:25.880 Oh my god, put all my pants, put on my shoes, 0:08:26.120 --> 0:08:28.800 put on my shirt, ready for work. He was wandering 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:31.800 through life until a friend recruited him into the business 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:35.480 called World Ventures. Corney's job was to sign up members 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:39.600 for discount vacations all over the world. Courtney was determined 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:42.040 to go to the top. And that's when I really 0:08:42.080 --> 0:08:46.400 show Courtney turning into a man. That's my mom again. 0:08:47.160 --> 0:08:51.640 Because of his positive mental attitude that he developed, his 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:56.000 change of thinking helped people treated him. He became more 0:08:56.080 --> 0:08:59.480 of a leader now and just one year, Courtney signed 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:02.520 up so many people. The company helped him lease that 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:07.960 BMW as a bonus. It is World Ventures, Wings and Wheels. 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:16.240 Step one, get your wings, Step two, Get your Wheels. 0:09:17.760 --> 0:09:19.640 Courtney asked me if I was signed for the car 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:22.360 for him, and I told him no way. If he 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:24.800 wanted to get someone else to help him, that was 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:28.360 on him. So he convinced his friend Christian Hernandez to 0:09:28.440 --> 0:09:37.120 co sign for Courtney. The BMW was validation and we 0:09:37.360 --> 0:09:40.720 all loved that car. His cousin Sean, who's a rapper, 0:09:41.280 --> 0:09:45.559 used it in his music video money Him addicted to 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:49.040 the all I'm a tennis cast, All I noise. Count 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:51.800 that dog, Count that dog count that you know. It 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:56.000 was just like a typical rap video, Sexy girls dancing 0:09:56.080 --> 0:10:01.880 all around and the guys and money and things corneys 0:10:01.880 --> 0:10:06.920 in the video to count that dog. Yeah, count that dog. 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:10.960 Corney was living the high life. Just a few months 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:15.840 before he died. He went on a trip to Cancun. Hey, 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:18.959 I supposed to be Dr Donald's right now, but I 0:10:19.080 --> 0:10:22.040 did something different. I say, yes, I stayed consistent. I 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:25.600 worked hard. I mean, this was a trip of a lifetime. 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:28.240 He was just like he was on top of the world. 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:35.200 He did the Macarena in the hotel lobby, he went 0:10:35.320 --> 0:10:43.319 scuba diving, brow the jet ski. He was doing really, 0:10:43.440 --> 0:10:46.760 really well, getting close to moving out my basement and 0:10:46.880 --> 0:11:11.679 moving in with some friends. No, here's what I know 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:15.520 about the last day of my son's life. Corney helped 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:18.880 a friend move a sofa. He talked to my mom 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:23.080 about becoming an in home caregiver. The application was due 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:26.800 the next day. That day, I remember, I got my 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:30.199 hair done, and that night I caught some of the 0:11:30.320 --> 0:11:34.200 Republican presidential debates. Never heard of this word. Look at 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:37.959 those hands? Are they small hands? While I was watching that, 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:44.640 Corney was given a presentation for World Ventures. Around midnight, 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:49.199 Corney swung by pythons, his favorite piece of place. It's 0:11:49.240 --> 0:11:51.959 a couple of blocks from my house in Cicero, just 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:55.520 outside of Chicago, and he ran into his friend Chris. 0:11:55.840 --> 0:11:57.599 The next day, we were supposed to go on the 0:11:57.679 --> 0:11:59.800 little road trip. We're gonna be there for the weekend, 0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:03.520 so we're preparing everything. Courtney show Chris this book he 0:12:03.640 --> 0:12:07.319 was reading. It was called Think and Grow Rich. He 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:10.280 was already on chapter three. I always tell people this 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:13.920 story because it felt weird because he left the parking 0:12:14.160 --> 0:12:16.839 right from Pythons and I didn't even get in my 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:18.920 car yet. You know, usually I said, by somebody, I'll 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:20.959 get in my car and I go. But I stood outside. 0:12:21.040 --> 0:12:23.120 I'm like, man, that's crazy. You know. He hit the 0:12:23.160 --> 0:12:26.600 bonus of the car like he's happy. He's reading that book. 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:31.360 But Courtney really wasn't headed home. It turns out he 0:12:31.440 --> 0:12:35.000 had this girlfriend, a co worker he was dating, and 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:42.280 he was heading to see her. I replayed this nice 0:12:42.320 --> 0:12:45.160 so many times in my head. I wish I had 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:47.839 texted him like I usually would do, to see when 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:51.199 he'd be back home. Maybe then he would have just 0:12:51.320 --> 0:12:54.360 come back to the house. I don't know why I 0:12:54.400 --> 0:13:00.360 didn't check on him that night. I'm excited, man. Reason 0:13:00.400 --> 0:13:02.440 why is because you know, I understand that I'm God's 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:05.120 highest form of creation. Before he drove into the city, 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:09.760 Courtney posted on snapchat. He's in his car wearing a 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:13.400 red hoodie under his pea coat. He looks so happy 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:16.200 and hopeful that I wanted obtaining my life. I can 0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:20.839 do him. I just gotta believe in myself. His name 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:26.040 on Snapchat was born Leader thirty four. Thirty four was 0:13:26.200 --> 0:13:32.199 Courtney's favorite number, and the night he died was March four, three, 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:40.959 four hour after he posted on snapchat, my son was 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:45.240 being rushed to the hospital. I am calling because I 0:13:45.360 --> 0:13:48.520 just received a patient here to our er. The hospital 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:53.040 called the police in Cicero, where I live. And what's 0:13:53.040 --> 0:14:00.280 her name of His name is Courtney O. P L 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:03.199 A N D. Want his mom advice that he's in 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:07.560 the hospital. He was actually en route to I guess 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:10.400 the police station nearby because he had been shot and 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:13.760 then he came in by ambulance. I don't know if 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:15.319 you want to tell her what the nature of the 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:20.880 injury is yet, probably not trying to want to heed 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:25.440 in the hospital. A little after two o'clock in the morning, 0:14:26.080 --> 0:14:32.560 the Ciero police came bamming on our door. When I 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:35.480 opened the door, he asked me, did I know a 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:41.560 Cortney Copeland. I was already thinking that this is bad. 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:50.720 The police told us that Corney was in the hospital 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:53.760 in Chicago, and that's it. And at that point before 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:57.400 I remember, you're dropping to your knees, said Mom. I 0:14:57.480 --> 0:14:59.600 knew he did. They knew he's gonne. They just don't 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:01.480 do the if they don't, you know. This is when 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:04.840 someone did. I assumed that it had to be some 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:10.000 type of auto accident because Corney was always known for 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:18.640 texting and driving. I remember my husband, Brent, driving our 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:24.840 families to Illinois Masonic Hospital. My mom, Courtney's sisters, my aunt, 0:15:25.400 --> 0:15:27.880 we were all there. We rolled in our town and 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:30.240 Country minivan and it was in the middle of the 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:33.920 night and I don't even recall any other cars being 0:15:33.960 --> 0:15:46.640 on the road. Right away, the staff wanted to take 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:50.800 us to the family room, but I knew. I knew 0:15:51.240 --> 0:15:56.160 what the family room was. That's when they tell you 0:15:56.360 --> 0:16:00.200 that your kid is dead. And I didn't want to go. 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:08.480 They sent in this nurse, a very kind nurse. She 0:16:08.680 --> 0:16:12.200 stayed with me, she held my hand to try to 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:16.760 keep me calm. I had no idea then how important 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:24.240 she would become to my investigation. That's when the doctor 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:27.720 came out and told us the news, you know that 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:33.000 he had died from a gunshot wound, and we were like, well, 0:16:33.960 --> 0:16:36.520 why why, what do you mean a gunshot wound? Who 0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:42.800 shot him? When the doctor said Courtney was shot, that 0:16:43.040 --> 0:16:47.120 was like an unbelievable We didn't hear anything else. Everybody 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:52.720 drops to the floor, screaming, yelling okay, oh no, no, no, 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:55.680 because that was the last thing that we would think 0:16:55.760 --> 0:16:59.080 Courtney would be involved in it, any form of shooting, 0:16:59.160 --> 0:17:03.120 because he was not that type of individual, okay, and 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:05.800 he was a non violent person. He would really know 0:17:05.920 --> 0:17:09.320 he would not be involved in anyone there would him guns. 0:17:12.359 --> 0:17:15.639 The doctor told us that when Corney arrived, they opened 0:17:15.720 --> 0:17:22.080 up his chest to try to save him. I've been 0:17:22.160 --> 0:17:24.440 at the hospital for over an hour and I still 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:27.960 hadn't seen my son, and you know, as a mother, 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:32.040 you want to have that confirmation that this is indeed 0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:38.040 your child. They told me I couldn't see him until 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:42.440 detectives got there, and I told him, I said, well, 0:17:42.560 --> 0:17:46.280 I'm gonna tell you right now. If I can't see 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:51.679 my son, I'm gonna tear this whole hospital up. They 0:17:51.800 --> 0:17:56.840 finally let us see Courtney. He was on a hospital 0:17:56.920 --> 0:18:02.560 bed and the trauma unit m. After a few moments, 0:18:03.440 --> 0:18:07.920 I asked everyone to leave because I had to be 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:10.800 with him. I had to be with him by myself. 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:19.200 I began to touch him. His body was still warm. 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:27.760 I caressed his face and kissed his forehead, and I 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:30.800 told him I was sick. I'm sorry I wasn't there 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:40.840 for you when you needed me the most. And I 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:44.440 walked out of the room. And then it really hit me. 0:18:46.280 --> 0:19:05.920 The Corney was gone, and I just collapsed. Yeah. Corney's 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:09.320 friends and our extended family were piling into the hospital 0:19:09.400 --> 0:19:14.879 waiting room. I remember two detectives coming in. They were 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:18.480 white and middle aged, and they told us what they knew. 0:19:19.760 --> 0:19:22.480 They said Corney was shot in his car and drove 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:25.920 himself to the police station. Corney jumped out of his 0:19:26.000 --> 0:19:29.879 car and flagged down an officer for help, but the 0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:33.040 car was still moving, so the officer told him to 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:36.040 put it in park. So Corney hopped back into the 0:19:36.119 --> 0:19:39.520 car and put the car in park. And then they 0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:42.960 said that Corney ran over to the officer again and 0:19:43.040 --> 0:19:47.240 grabbed his arm and said I've been shot before collapsing. 0:19:57.440 --> 0:20:02.320 Then came the moment when felt something more than grief. 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:08.159 I felt suspicious. See the detective said they wanted to 0:20:08.200 --> 0:20:14.119 ask me some questions, and their first one they asked 0:20:14.160 --> 0:20:21.000 me if Courtney was the owner of the BMW. Remember 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:23.080 when I told you that Corney had to get a 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:28.320 co signer for the car, Christian Hernandez. Christian's name was 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:32.760 actually on the registration and not Cortney's. Courtney had been 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:35.800 stopped before because of this, so when the police asked 0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:37.520 me if he was the real owner of the car, 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:41.760 I started to think maybe this was a police stop 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:46.760 gone wrong, you know, like Philando Castile up in Minnesota. 0:20:48.000 --> 0:20:50.720 Maybe the police stopped him after running his plates and 0:20:50.840 --> 0:20:53.560 seeing a black man driving a car registered in a 0:20:53.680 --> 0:21:16.560 Hispanics man's name. The first thing that Courtney's friends did 0:21:17.160 --> 0:21:20.800 is went looking for clues. They went to Belmont Craigan, 0:21:21.240 --> 0:21:25.000 the neighborhood where Courtney was shot. They saw skid marks 0:21:25.200 --> 0:21:28.520 and some broken glass on this corner near Catholic Church. 0:21:29.320 --> 0:21:31.960 They scooped up the glass and talked to a neighbor 0:21:32.320 --> 0:21:36.720 who said she heard gunshots. We put up reward posters 0:21:37.080 --> 0:21:41.160 all over the neighborhood so we would with the flyers 0:21:41.400 --> 0:21:45.080 and and we were on the radio, which anybody that 0:21:45.240 --> 0:21:49.360 can help us get injured. First, we offered a five 0:21:49.440 --> 0:21:53.879 thousand dollar reward, then a six thousand, then a sixty 0:21:53.960 --> 0:21:58.479 six hundred. In the end we put up ten thousand dollars, 0:21:59.359 --> 0:22:05.240 but we got no answers. We try to keep Courtney 0:22:05.280 --> 0:22:08.040 story alive in the news. Here I am on a 0:22:08.119 --> 0:22:12.480 local show called Jamaica Fun. Give us a little background 0:22:12.520 --> 0:22:15.720 of Courtney. What what? What did Courtney do? Corney? Was? 0:22:15.800 --> 0:22:19.600 I seen your sales rep and World Ventures travel industry 0:22:20.119 --> 0:22:22.920 and he was a rising member of the of the 0:22:23.040 --> 0:22:26.080 Chicagoland area, so he had I wasn't just trying to 0:22:26.200 --> 0:22:29.840 solve his case. I was also fighting to protect his name. 0:22:30.000 --> 0:22:33.000 Police Copeland was not a gang member. They can only 0:22:33.119 --> 0:22:36.679 guess right now why he was shot. He graduated. Police 0:22:36.720 --> 0:22:39.440 said he wasn't a game member. Why was that even 0:22:39.480 --> 0:22:42.879 a question? I had to do everything I could to 0:22:43.000 --> 0:22:47.120 protect his image. When reporters asked to use photos of him, 0:22:47.680 --> 0:22:51.920 I made sure he looked his best four. I just 0:22:52.000 --> 0:22:55.040 don't on the narrative to be negative about myself. I couldn't. 0:22:55.680 --> 0:22:59.720 He does he was not that that's my spear. Okay, 0:22:59.800 --> 0:23:01.320 she preferre We used the picture of him in the 0:23:01.359 --> 0:23:04.760 tux that's on his Facebook page. Ever did this to us? 0:23:04.960 --> 0:23:11.440 Uh as, did you turn yourself ins that you ask 0:23:11.520 --> 0:23:15.040 for forgiveness from God? Looking back at my face on 0:23:15.200 --> 0:23:18.879 TV that night he died, It's literally hard to believe 0:23:19.840 --> 0:23:25.480 that was even me. How many against to die, how 0:23:25.600 --> 0:23:32.320 many black children die Chicago. I remember being in so 0:23:32.520 --> 0:23:36.920 much pain, but I needed to find answers. That was 0:23:37.000 --> 0:23:43.720 the only way I knew how to keep going. A 0:23:43.840 --> 0:23:48.120 few people did come forward with tips. One guy actually 0:23:48.280 --> 0:23:51.520 told me he was driving by the police station and 0:23:51.640 --> 0:23:55.640 saw Courtney on the ground with cops just standing around him. 0:23:56.600 --> 0:24:00.440 This bystander basically told me when he looked at the scene, 0:24:01.080 --> 0:24:03.600 he felt that the police were doing something to him. 0:24:05.080 --> 0:24:07.720 And then when I began to press him, trying to 0:24:07.760 --> 0:24:10.720 get more information, and that's when he was like, you know, 0:24:11.200 --> 0:24:13.879 I don't really want to get involved. You know, you 0:24:13.920 --> 0:24:17.280 don't understand the police around here. They'll come after me. 0:24:18.200 --> 0:24:20.320 And then he finally told me, he was like, look, 0:24:20.520 --> 0:24:24.639 I have children and I can't risk my life to 0:24:24.760 --> 0:24:31.560 basically tell you what I saw. Then there was a 0:24:31.640 --> 0:24:37.359 toe truck driver. He took a video. It's hard to 0:24:37.440 --> 0:24:40.200 make out, but it looks like Courtney is laying on 0:24:40.240 --> 0:24:44.280 the ground outside the police station. The lights are flashing 0:24:44.680 --> 0:24:50.280 and no one is helping him. One of Courtney's friends, 0:24:50.800 --> 0:24:53.760 a world venture guy named June, says he got in 0:24:53.880 --> 0:24:56.920 touch with the toe truck driver I mean history, says 0:24:56.960 --> 0:24:59.080 his theory was that the police didn't That was That's 0:24:59.119 --> 0:25:00.520 the first thing that came out his mind. That's what 0:25:00.560 --> 0:25:04.119 he's been saying since the beginning. What the police told 0:25:04.160 --> 0:25:07.080 me is that they did everything they could to save him. 0:25:07.880 --> 0:25:11.920 But you know what, it just wasn't adding up. So 0:25:12.080 --> 0:25:15.080 I said to myself, I just got to bury my 0:25:15.200 --> 0:25:19.920 baby and lay him the rest, and then I'll find 0:25:19.960 --> 0:25:28.000 out what really happened. I needed some strength, so I 0:25:28.080 --> 0:25:31.480 turned to Courtney the only way I could. Any obstacle 0:25:31.720 --> 0:25:33.160 you know that you're going through with in your life today, 0:25:33.280 --> 0:25:35.720 Understand that God would never put you through anything that 0:25:35.800 --> 0:25:37.840 you cannot handle. The reason why they call it a 0:25:37.960 --> 0:25:40.600 past is because you already went through. Remember how I 0:25:40.720 --> 0:25:44.399 told you that. Since Courtney's death, I go through his phone. 0:25:45.359 --> 0:25:49.680 Guess how he had me listed uh with three exclamation 0:25:49.760 --> 0:25:55.320 points as an oh my mom's calling. And you know what, 0:25:56.400 --> 0:25:58.960 he was right to be afraid, because when I get 0:25:59.040 --> 0:26:02.720 onto something, I don't let up. And I'm putting the 0:26:02.760 --> 0:26:06.440 police on blast right now. I will find out the 0:26:06.560 --> 0:26:10.280 truth of what happened to my son, and when I do, 0:26:10.800 --> 0:26:17.800 the whole world will know it. Every bid by every day, 0:26:21.119 --> 0:26:30.960 No Bide, Deny Somebody is a co production of The 0:26:31.000 --> 0:26:35.720 Invisible Institute, The Intercept, Topic Studios and I Heart Radio 0:26:35.960 --> 0:26:41.879 in association with Tenderfoot TV. I'm chaparral Wells. This podcast 0:26:42.080 --> 0:26:46.320 is produced by Alison Flowers and Bill Heally. Sarah Geye 0:26:46.720 --> 0:26:50.600 is our story editor. Ellen Glover is our associate producer 0:26:51.240 --> 0:26:55.680 for The Invisible Institute. Jamie Calvin is executive producer for 0:26:55.920 --> 0:27:00.560 Topic Studios. Maria Zuckerman, Christie Gressman and Leeds al Malad 0:27:00.680 --> 0:27:06.080 are executive producers. Special thanks to Lizzie Jacobs for The Intercept. 0:27:06.440 --> 0:27:11.119 Roger Hodge, Deputy Editor, is supervising producer. Sound designed by 0:27:11.240 --> 0:27:16.160 Carl Scott and Bart Warshaw. Michael Raphael is our mixed engineer. 0:27:16.920 --> 0:27:20.560 Our theme song, Everybody Something Is by Chance the Rapper. 0:27:20.920 --> 0:27:23.760 Original music for the podcast by Nate Fox of The 0:27:23.880 --> 0:27:28.880 Social Experiment and Eric Butler. Additional reporting by Sam Steklow, 0:27:29.400 --> 0:27:35.640 Annie When, Khari Blackburn, Raje Sinclair, Henry Adams, Matilda Voyad, 0:27:36.320 --> 0:27:42.760 Dana Roso's Kellerher Frances McDonald, Diana Archmagian, Maddie Anderson, Andrew 0:27:42.840 --> 0:27:48.600 Fan and risa Apantaku. Translation support by Benny Hernandez Ocampo 0:27:49.240 --> 0:27:53.600 and Emma Perez. Fact checking by Noah Are Jenny Special 0:27:53.680 --> 0:28:00.080 thanks to Chris Rasmussen, Bennett Epstein, Matt Topic, David bralow In, 0:28:00.200 --> 0:28:03.159 Julie Wolf. We want to hear from you. Email us 0:28:03.560 --> 0:28:08.199 at info at somebody podcast dot com or leave us 0:28:08.240 --> 0:28:13.080 a voicemail at seven seven three to seven zero zero 0:28:13.240 --> 0:28:17.080 one two one. To learn more about this case and 0:28:17.200 --> 0:28:20.359 for links to additional materials, go to our show page 0:28:20.880 --> 0:28:24.399 at somebody podcast dot com. You can also find a 0:28:24.480 --> 0:28:27.400 list of everyone we want to think they're so many 0:28:27.560 --> 0:28:29.160 people helped us along the way.