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.

[NCjim]

I am also confused.

1. What did Laurean's wife know? One report states that she has also disappeared.

2. Every reference to Lauterbach's roommates (more than one) have referred to them as male. Say what?

3. Now reports are coming in that neighbors saw the fire, saw swarms of vultures circling the pit, and saw Mrs. Laurean's car at the house. And yet nobody reported these strange events.

4. Mrs. Laurean must have seen the blood and the attempts to clean it up and/or paint over it.

5. I have to agree with Sheriff Brown when he says, "I do think this case is going to have a bizarre ending, and when I say bizarre, more than just a death and a burial."

[Thunder 6]

Once you’ve smelled it, you will never forget it.

Regards,

[Rte66]

Sheriff Brown was just on the news and said he is fixated on the tiny hand and will never, ever forget it. *sigh*

[StarCMC]

I stand corrected! Thank you!

[Tired of Taxes]

Thanks for the ping. I’m trying to keep up with the details of this case, and it’s all horrible. Last I read, the remains of a woman and baby were found in the shallow grave.

[freema]

Here we go

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080113/ap_on_re_us/killings_after_combat

[freema]

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080113/BREAKINGNEWS/80113002

[freema]

Meanwhile, questions grew Saturday about authorities

The Associated Press reported that the sheriff's department was slow to act and that Lauterbach continued to work alongside Laurean and endured harassment at Camp Lejeune. But Naval investigators said the pair had been separated on the job, and the rape case was progressing.

Brown and Onslow District Attorney Dewey Hudson said the rape allegedly occurred on the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base and not in jurisdiction of civilian agencies.

"This has nothing to do with Sheriff Brown or my office," Hudson said.

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_7960624?nclick_check=1

[freema]

Lauterbach disappeared sometime after Dec. 14, not long after she met with military prosecutors to talk about her April allegation that Laurean raped her.

Her uncle, Pete Steiner, said that Lauterbach — stung by the harassment that eventually forced her to move off base — decided to drop the case the week before she disappeared.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jLAxQfkotgyOSgs3LXmXYW6hy6PgD8U4RDV80

[freema]

Sunday, January 13, 2008
Winston-Salem Journal
Marine’s kin say sheriff was slow to act
Arrest warrant issued for suspect in killing of pregnant woman

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173354192651&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099

[freema]

Urgency of search for Marine questioned
Miami Herald
Posted on Sun, Jan. 13, 2008
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/AP/story/377165.html

[freema]

Prayer vigil will be held Monday for Lauterbach

Dayton Daily News

Family and friends gathered Saturday at the Vandalia childhood home of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach. Family members were seeking support from each other and respect for their privacy from the media...

A prayer service is scheduled at 7 p.m. Monday at the Lauterbach's home parish...

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/01/13/ddn011308localmarine.html

[freema]

Urgency of Search for Marine Questioned
Dayton Daily News

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Missing_Marine.html

[sodpoodle]

From the article: “”As authorities recovered Maria Lauterbach’s remains Saturday from a fire pit where they suspect Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean burned and buried her body, her family asked why authorities didn’t treat her case with greater urgency.””

Perhaps because her step-mother described Maria as a compulsive, bi-polar liar!!!!!!!!!!

[freema]

When police consulted with the military on the allegations, the military reported that the case was open, but "it was difficult, due to inconsistencies provided by Maria Lauterbach, the reported victim."

Military investigators also "confirmed the history of compulsive lying," the report said, and added that Lauterbach was facing a possible discharge from the Marine Corps and was under personal and professional stress.

A Marine Corps Times story Thursday, citing unnamed sources, said Lauterbach may have fled her post after she withdrew the sexual assault allegations because she feared being charged with making a false statement. The newspaper said the allegations were lodged with Marine Corps officials last year and later withdrawn.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/10/missing.marine/?iref=mpstoryview

[freema]

Perhaps.

[freema]

However, that does not negate the fact that the mother did everything she could possibly have done to alert every authority at hand that she feared for her daughter’s welfare as evidenced by police documents.

I will say that I think the Sheriff’s Department did everything possible within their jurisdiction and I would love to get in Ed Brown’s head for his thoughts on this case.

[sodpoodle]

In this tragedy there was a beginning - but nothing has been disclosed about the rape/assault. Have to believe it was treated as a *date rape*, much like a college campus investigation. No statement on a rape kit or medical examination for DNA at the time of the incident.

It does seem that throughout the pregnancy - the contact between the two parties was being monitored and moved along by *procedure* and not panic.

[sodpoodle]

****..the mother did everything she could possibly have done to alert every authority at hand that she feared for her daughter’s welfare as evidenced by police documents.**

Very true. As her delivery date approached, it looks as if Maria was in severe distress...something that Laurean took advantage of.

[freema]

Exactly. Most every woman I know has a some kind of date rape experience. No kidding. It dumbfounded me when a bunch of us got to talking about it some years ago. I've got two stories, of my own. One was a damn close near miss, the other an actual event right out of a novel. Who woulda thunk it. Certainly not I. Most women don't even report it. No one I knew did. Who ya gonna call as a witness?

Please keep in mind there is no evidence that this Marine killed this woman. He has a wife and small child. Plenty of motive for the wife, with the husband having to clean up the mess. There are other people with motives, too. This investigation was pretty shoddy. NCIS should have protected the alleged rape victim. Seems they have more important things to do, though. Again, I am very eager to learn when Dan Durham was sent to California. I understand he's pretty pissed.

Lauterbach and Laurean served in the same unit of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, and court documents indicate that Lauterbach’s mother said that Laurean had threatened her daughter’s career. Chiccarelli said that officials didn’t consider Laurean a threat to Lauterbach because they had indications that the two were on friendly terms. He declined to detail those indications yesterday

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173354192651&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099