Courtney Coats was a beautiful but mixed up woman who was apparently trying to find herself and get her life back on track. She was a recovering drug addict who had seen her share of hardships, but she was known to be a loving and cheerful person -- and she was cared for very deeply by everyone who knew her. Nobody is perfect and nobody is truly a saint, but Coats was reportedly someone who had no enemies. Nobody had a reason to harm a hair on her head -- except Patrick Chase. The two had a history of domestic violence incidents, so it's not entirely shocking to see this case line up with statistics. Women who are in abusive relationships are statistically more likely to die at the hand of their abusive partners than other modes of death. It's also a statistical fact that women in abusive relationships are often in more danger when they attempt to leave their abusers. One of Courtney's loved ones claims that she was gong to leave Chase.
Brandon Chittum reportedly watched as Pat Chase strangled the woman to death, and then to be "good bro" to the alleged killer, he helped in the disposal of the woman's body. The who then had a secret to keep together -- and Chittum even posted on Facebook something about brotherly bonding shortly around the time that the woman was killed.
Courtney had only been missing for a couple of weeks, I was approached by her loved ones (who will remain anonymous for their protection) and asked to cover the case and give it a look with my own analysis -- and it wasn't long before I had written up this blog post. I also very bluntly warned the woman's loved ones that Chase didn't appear to be acting like someone in his position would normally act in a case like this. I also drove home the importance of asking numerous questions, such as whether or not the woman's cellphone had last pinged anywhere near Chase's phone, or if he was definitely the last person to actually physically see her. I asked, directly, if either one of them had a rocky relationship with histories of violence and if Chase had a history of violent crimes. I pointed out, like I am known to do time and time again, that he should be investigated by default. However, the true source of my worries came from Pat Chase's behavior directly after her disappearance.
He claimed that she "was fucked up, packed a bag and left" (on foot even though she had a vehicle), and then he unfriended her on Facebook even after she had been missing. He participated in the online community dedicated to searching for her, but only to the point that he was there to try to dictate the direction of conversation and speculation. This was made even clearer when the post that I wrote -- indicating my suspicion in him -- was removed from the community. I was contacted by someone close to Courtney Coats (again, anonymous for their protection) that he had read my post and it "scared the shit out of him." Good. I'm glad I scared him, and I am glad that he and his friend are now behind bars, but I hate that I was right about him for the sake of the family and this case in general. I hate that I was right that this woman was murdered at the hands of someone who was supposed to care about her.
Now all that is left is the hope that Courtney Coats gets the justice she deserves. That means that both Chittum and Chase deserve the death penalty for their alleged actions. Too bad it's not on the table in Illinois.