KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The former FBI agent on the Robert Courtney case, the disgraced pharmacist who diluted cancer treatments, said she is in "complete disbelief" upon learning he is now in home confinement.
"I never imagined he would see the light of day," Melissa Osborne said.
Osborne is one of the FBI agents involved in the case and sat for hours in debriefings with him, talking about his crimes.
"Robert Courtney is a monster who took away the hope of thousands of individuals battling cancer," Osborne told KSHB 41 News in a statement on Thursday. "This man has no remorse for his actions and he should be serving every day of his sentence."
In April, KSHB 41 News learned that Courtney would get out of FCI Englewood in Colorado and serve the last two years of his sentence at home.
It happened on Wednesday, July 31, the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed.
This came despite many victims' family members and Missouri state lawmakers opposing the transfer.
Families wrote letters and pleaded with lawmakers to keep Courtney behind bars.
“It’s like being victimized all over again,” Santana Cummings said in a May interview with KSHB 41.
Her mother, Sherri Carrott was one of Courtney's victims and died at 33.
“It’s like we are having to go through this and relive this for a third time now when all we really want is for justice," Cummings said.
KSHB 41 received a statement from another victim's family:
"On the behalf of our mother, grandmother, great grandmother and sister, Sarita Sapp, our family is totally devastated and sickened that our justice system has failed our family. Not only did Robert Courtney victimize our family and thousands of others, but now our justice system has as well. Praying for all the families grieving again today with this horrific news. Loved ones of our dear mother, Sarita Sapp."
The Federal Bureau of Prisons told I-Team reporter Sarah Plake that Courtney is getting out on time credits under the First Step Act.
The First Step Act was passed in 2018 to reduce prison populations and let non-violent offenders out.
The FBOP would not tell us anything more about the release but a victim's family got an alert that a halfway house in Springfield would monitor Courtney at home.
Plake called that halfway house and the executive director said she could not comment on the people they monitor. She confirmed the halfway house monitors inmates on home confinement as well as the men and women who stay in its facility.
VOICE FOR EVERYONE | Share your voice with KSHB 41’s Sarah Plake
During the investigation in 2001, Courtney admitted to Osborne that he tampered with 72 drugs, mostly cancer treatments. That amounted to more than 98,000 prescriptions, which affected more than 4,200 patients and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people.
She believes he did it for more than just greed because he admitted to diluting drugs that cost just $5.
Osborne was a pharmacist before she joined the FBI. She said the Courtney case was life-changing for her because afterward, she went back to practicing pharmaceuticals.
"I have spent the last 20-plus years as a practicing pharmacist to make amends to society for his heinous crimes," Osborne said. "I am so very sorry and I think of the families and victims every single day."
Osborne has said many times she believes Courtney is a sociopath with no remorse.
"Read the case," Osborne said. "On the surface, it might not seem violent but read it. Basically, he's a mass murderer. We were unable to charge him with that. Not like we didn't look to that but we couldn't meet the burden of proof, and we wanted to make sure he went away. But he doesn't deserve to be out on the streets."
The only way Osborne said she would consider Courtney leaving a prison setting is if he was in hospice near death. However, she doesn't have any information indicating that.
In 2020, Courtney requested early release, citing COVID-19 concerns. Osborne, state lawmakers, and victims' families mobilized and just hours before his transfer, the request was denied.
