Courtney Morris was born December 29, 1998, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Christopher and Mary Margaret Morris. The young couple was thrilled to have their first child and filled her baby book with photos of her every "first" — her first smile, the first time she sat up on her own, her first step, and on and on.

When Courtney was four, brother Andrew joined the family, and no one was more thrilled than Courtney herself, who immediately claimed him as "her baby." Brother Peter was born two years later, followed by sister Jennifer in 2007.

By then, the family home was bursting at the seams, and the Morrises decided to move into a larger house across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas. Their new home was next door to the Kim family, who had three children of their own.

Courtney and Mee-Yon Kim became fast friends from the first day the Morrises arrived when Courtney walked right up to the Kims' front door and asked, "Do you have any kids? Can they come out to play?"

Even though Courtney was the new kid in school, she made friends quickly. She was a B-student and participated in a variety of extracurricular activities throughout her middle and high school years. She remained popular with her classmates and always reached out to the shy kids and the others who tended to stay on the periphery, wanting them to feel included and have as much fun as she was having.

After high school, Courtney and her best friend Mee-Yon enrolled at the University of Mississippi together. They were roommates for the first few years, until the spring of their junior year when Courtney moved into her own apartment.

Courtney met Ole Miss football player Justin Landry in a math class when they were both sophomores, and the two have been dating ever since. Even with a steady boyfriend, Courtney was popular with men and sometimes hooked up with guys other than Justin just for fun.

On Sunday, October 11, 2020, Mee-Yon and Courtney’s apartment manager, Craig Albright, found Courtney's body in her apartment.