Missing (Pregnant) Marine Dead, Authorities Say

KWTX ^ | 1/11/2008 | n/a

[Pyro7480]

January 11, 2008)--Authorities in North Carolina said late Friday morning pregnant Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach is dead.

They said she’s buried in a shallow grave, for which investigators are now searching.

They identified the suspect in the case as a Marine officer whom she accused of sexually assaulting her.

Police earlier were planning to interview a man who lived with her and said he would answer questions that "will shed a lot of light on the case."

Authorities said again Friday Marine Sgt. Daniel Durham isn't a suspect, but police believe he's the last person to speak with the Marine.

She disappeared Dec. 14 ahead of her expected testimony in a military investigation into her claim a senior officer had sexually assaulted her.

Court documents show the investigation went sour amid inconsistencies in the woman's story and allegations that she's bipolar and a compulsive liar.

Search warrants show she was facing a possible discharge from the service.

Lauterbach was eight months pregnant when she disappeared.

[FormerWM]

The Butler shirt she had on in one of the pics, was also the name on the sweatshirt in the ATM pic.

[FormerWM]

From what I remember, an MPO is not enforceable off base.

Now, however, if there is police involved off base after an MP) is put into place, then steps are taken to punish the violator. Then it falls under Article 134 - Conduct unbecoming of a Marine.

Weird, but thats how it worked in 29 Palms.

[Brian S. Fitzgerald]

"Also, in Mexico, crimes against women are covered up by a Machismo attitude. "

But against a pregnant woman?

[Girlene]

“Pretrial restraint is moral or physical restraint on a person’s liberty which is imposed before and during disposition of offenses.”

Sounds like an MPO is pretty wide open in when and how it is applied. In Maria’s case, the two were seperated, but still attended joint meetings. So it was a worthless order. This obviously needs tightened up in a rape allegation. The two should be seperated. What about phone calls? Wonder if there was any restriction placed on those? What about the wife harrassing her? No restraint there. What about buds that may have keyed her car and punched her in the face? No restraint there.

I think from here on out any military person who has been sexually assaulted needs to report it to civilian authorities, regardless of whether they have jursidiction. I’d ensure the local cops were aware they had a predator in their community. It’s not like a rapist is going to restrict his activities to the base. The community needs to be aware.

[FormerWM]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,326245,00.html

[Lyn_2IDMom]

The only reference I have been able to find as to a "girl" was an ABC news release who quotes "a federal official" as their news source. http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4155874&page=1

Official: Marine Killed by Crowbar, Baby Was a Girl

Crowbar Has Been Sent to Crime Lab for Testing

By BRIAN ROSS

Jan. 18, 2008—

Pregnant Marine Cpl. Maria Lauterbach was believed to have been killed by a crowbar blow to the head, a federal law enforcement official involved in the case tells the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

As the search widened for her suspected murderer, Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean, initial autopsy results on Lauterbach's burned body, found buried in a North Carolina field, indicate that Lauterbach was eight-months pregnant with a baby girl, the official said.

Earlier reports from Lauterbach's hometown in Ohio had said the unborn baby was a boy, to be named Gabriel Joseph.

She had told her family she believed her unborn child was a boy based on an early sonogram. Officials say a second autopsy will be conducted by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.

Officials at the Onslow County, N.C. sheriff's office have confirmed they have the suspected weapon in their possession but not confirmed it is a crowbar.

"We do have an item that we believe is consistent with the findings of the medical examiner, and we believe it could be the murder weapon," Capt. Rick Sutherland told the Associated Press today.

The crowbar has been sent to the state crime lab for forensic testing, according to the federal official.

This post has been updated.

Click Here for the Investigative Homepage.

Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures

[najida]

I don’t know. I do know that abuse etc gets swept under the rug. Why do you think it’s been so easy for Lauren to hide?

[Brian S. Fitzgerald]

"Why do you think it’s been so easy for Lauren to hide?"

If the family itself has criminality or violent tendencies in its makeup, I can see why they would be capable of protecting one of their own.

[najida]

I can see a “The bitch deserved it” attitude and it being used as a sheild to protect one of their own.

[NCjim]

Right - the perspective that she deserved it because she had the nerve to accuse him of rape and ruin his otherwise shiny career as a Marine. Sick if you ask me.

[najida]

It IS sick, but the situation is sick from the get go....so it fits.

[Brian S. Fitzgerald]

In the modern coed USMC these words should be stamped into the brains of recruits by their DIs: “Don’t dip your pens in company ink”. Better yet, restructure the coed USMC to minimize situations that can lead to this. I think there is a definite negative morale factor in the current situation that extends beyond just Laurean and Lauterbach.

[Brian S. Fitzgerald]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-01-29-marine-mexico_N.htm

Mexican arrest order issued for Marine

U.S. Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean, suspected of killing a pregnant fellow Marine and fleeing to Mexico, is the subject of an arrest order issued by Mexico, according to a U.S. Embassy official.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican officials have ordered police to arrest a U.S. Marine suspected of killing his pregnant colleague and fleeing to Mexico, a U.S. Embassy official said Tuesday. That could lead to his extradition or deportation to the United States.

The Embassy official, who wasn't authorized to give a name, said Mexican officials issued a provisional arrest warrant for Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean, which means authorities can take him into custody, on Monday at the request of U.S. officials. The order was first reported by CNN...

[Girlene]

IamHD, Lyn found the search warrant that listed two of the phone numbers to be searched. The first has a prefix 740 and is identified as Cesear’s no. The second has a prefix and is identified as Christina’s no. I don’t know if they made a mistake in the search warrant but the prefixes go back to the wrong states.

740 - Southeastern Ohio (maybe Christina’s parents home?)==>identified as Cesear’s
702 - Nevada, Clark County (maybe Cesear’s parents home?)==> identified as Christina’s.

How common is this for military folks to have cell phone prefixes associated with their parents home town? I would have thought they would get a cell contract locally.

Wasn’t there another cell phone number listed for Elvira, Cesear’s mom’s phone, and possibly a sister, Blanca in another search warrant? Neither number look close to what’s on that FOR SALE sign on Maria’s car.

[Brian S. Fitzgerald]

Mexican arrest warrant as announced in Mexican press:

http://www.elmanana.com.mx/notas.asp?id=38605

[FormerWM]

“How common is this for military folks to have cell phone prefixes associated with their parents home town? I would have thought they would get a cell contract locally.”

We very rarely change our cell numbers. We move around too much and end up losing contact with people. I know MANY people the same way. Our friend still has his NY number and has since been to FL then TX then FL again.

I had my hawaii number for 4 years after we left.

[najida]

Well that’s good news!!!

[Girlene]

The two prefixes, 740 and 702 fit the parents’ hometown locations.

740 = Las Vegas, Nevada is where Cesear’s parents lived - allegedely Christina’s phone
702- Marion, Ohio is where Christina’s father lives - this is allegedely Cesear’s phone

Interestingly, 419 is Christina’s parent’s area code if they still live in Upper Sandusky, Ohio. I could see that first number on the FOR SALE sign could be a 419 area code. However, I have no idea how that would make any sense to put a number like that on the sign.

[Girlene]

Okay, that makes sense. So Cesear and Christina kept their cell numbers from their parent’s home towns. Except the search warrant has Christina’s cell from Las Vegas and Cesear’s from Marion, Ohio (Christina’s dad’s town). I wonder if authorities realize they made this mistake, or that Cesear and Christina swapped phones. I think it would have implications to the investigation on who was calling who from each phone. There sure have been a lot of mistakes and/or bad reporting in this whole incident.

[FormerWM]

I checked the Las Vegas court records (they are online) and couldnt find CL’s family in there at all. I used all the last name aliases and “S” as the first initial.

Also checked him out too. Nada. Onslow County records didnt even show a traffic ticket for either him or Christina. Any verification if she was using her old last name? We can check her home county to see if she was in trouble back there for anything. Just need her maiden name.