Still more questions than answers after man tells police he killed 3 people



JANESVILLE (WITI) -- Janesville police on Monday, May 12th said two missing persons cases are NOT connected to Clayton Courtney -- a man accused of killing his girlfriend, and telling police he killed three people total.

Courtney was initially arrested after he attacked his roommate on Sunday, May 4th -- nearly stabbing him to death.

On Monday, May 5th, police pulled a body from the Rock River. 

That body was later identified as belonging to 21-year-old Britney Cross of Edgerton, Wisconsin. An autopsy has determined she died due to blunt force trauma to her head.

When Courtney was arrested -- accused of nearly killing his roommate, he told police he had killed three people.

Courtesy Janesville Gazette



Courtney was photographed with a sinister smile on his face -- splattered with mud, with the words "Pure Hate" tattooed across his chest. 

Police were working to determine whether a case involving a missing 75-year-old woman was connected to Courtney.

75-year-old Mary Coulthard's body was pulled from the Rock River on Friday, May 9th.

Officials say the cause of death in Coulthard's case has been determined to be drowning.

Coulthard was missing since Saturday, May 3rd.

Police have now confirmed there is no connection to Courtney in this case.

"At this point, they seem to be two separate incidents," Janesville Police Chief David Moore said.

Another missing person -- 59-year-old Gerald Hockensmith was found alive in northern Wisconsin on Monday, May 12th.

"Like all of you in this room, and many people in this community, we were doing the math. We had an individual in our community who said he killed three people. We found one woman dead down by the Rock River -- and we had two more persons missing by the Rock River over the period of four days, so it was with some relief we know that Mr. Hockensmith is still with us," Chief Moore said.

Police say Courtney's roommate, Michael Clark has changed his initial statement.

Police say Clark initially told police Courtney said: "I have killed three people tonight."

Now, Clark says Courtney actually said: "I have killed three people. We are all going to die tonight."

"The movement of that tonight statement from the first sentence to the second sentence changes things considerably," Chief Moore said.

Police now say they're casting a much wider net -- looking further into Courtney's troubled past -- perhaps as far back as eight years.

So far, the Janesville Police Department has received 70 tips in this case.

Courtney has been officially charged in the attack on his roommate, Michael Clark.

Courtney faces six charges -- three of them felonies (including attempted homicide) in that case.

Janesville police have said Courtney is the lone suspect in the Britney Cross homicide.

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