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J. L. Courtney/ J. W. James Exhumation: Update # 6
On September 17, 1999 at 10:00 AM Judge Meyers of Falls Co., TX, held the final hearing to consider Betty Duke's request to exhume the body of her great- grandfather James L. Courtney to prove or disprove that he was AKA Jesse W. James.
The five-hour hearing included evidences presented by both Betty Duke and her witnesses and
Max Courtney, the opposing family member, and his witnesses. Although this hearing was originally scheduled to include no new evidences, Judge Meyers accepted testimonies of two opposing expert witnesses, one being Max Courtney himself who works in forensics, and that of a genealogist from Kansas City, Mo. Ms. Duke felt that this was out of order for she had not been beforehand notified of the presentation of new evidence; thus she did not have certain documents on hand that she felt would have helped her counter argument.
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Judge Meyers expressed concern that some family members were obviously emotionally opposed to the exhumation. He reviewed the state law on exhumation, which had particular elements, including the strong consideration of family feelings. He asked if the two sides could come to a compromise on a less intrusive method than exhumation in order to get DNA testing. Max Courtney’s attorney suggested that blood samples from Stephen and Diana Courtney descendants could be taken and compared to the direct line of James L. Courtney. Betty Duke said she had looked into that avenue and that it was difficult to know with certainty whom the genuine descendants of Stephen and Diana Courtney were. She said she wanted to compare the DNA of female descendants of Zerelda James, Jesse’s mother, to the DNA samples from James L. Courtney. Otherwise, she said, questions would remain and the issue would not be settled without the best available evidence. Also, she felt there might be likely problems in obtaining cooperation of individuals whom were asked for blood samples and in protecting the unquestionable integrity of such tests. The impasse remained.
After a recess and consideration, Judge Meyers denied Betty Duke’s request, by stating that the evidence had not risen to the necessary compelling level to warrant exhumation for DNA testing.
Betty Duke was understandably disappointed in the outcome of the Judge’s ruling. She still wants to pursue other viable avenues that may shed light on the still remaining unanswered questions and questionable evidences. Perhaps at some point the Courtney family will all hopefully come together in a united cause to mutually settle the tantalizing issues.
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If you know of any information or if you have suggestions that might help this case, please contact me.
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