Posted on 01/11/2008 9:43:08 AM PST by Pyro7480
January 11, 2008)--Authorities in North Carolina said late Friday morning pregnant Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach is dead.
They said shes 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.
THREE fires? Christmas Eve was also the same he day he was using her ATM card. So when you say they had friends over, do you mean for the bonfires? If so, I bet they are totally creeped out! How could you burn bodies, with people over, without there being a smell?
So it appears Mrs Laurean helped paint the house. I wonder if he was able to clean it up enough that she was unaware what they were covering up? Doubt it. I had wondered if he done the painting during the time the neighbor said the Mrs. car wasn’t there (before Christmas). Guess not.
Maybe she bought the story of the suicide and helped her husband cover.
Whew — that’d be an 16 hour haul for me. I wish!!
That is consistent with the blood spatters on the ceiling, sadly. And I still believe that the missus is complicit in this.
Yeah, it’s getting a lot harder to believe otherwise.
Thanks - there are so many contradictions in the wife’s story (as reported by the media) which is why I believe she was fully involved.
Wish someone could get an on camera interview with her, but she has probably lawyered up and has cut a deal with prosecutors.
“...he was a *respected Marine officer* “
He is NOT an officer!!!!!! He is only a Corporal. That is a lower rank!
Blunt force trauma makes more sense with the amount and spray of the blood vs. the suicide method Laurean described. Let us know what they say in the press conference if you catch it.
Agreed.
Press conf on now.
-Death occured on or about 12/15
-Identity confirmed- COD blunt trauma to the head
-They met with NCIS and Marine Corps yesterday
DA said he “understood” the length of time it took for Marines to determine whether or not to press charges..
Odd, that.
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. The Marine corporal wanted in the slaying of a pregnant colleague who had accused him of rape is likely no longer on the run and has probably gone into hiding, authorities said Tuesday.
"It is believed that he has reached a location where his need to move in high speed or long distance no longer exists," said Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown.
Brown declined to discuss details, including whether detectives believe Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean had successfully crossed the border into Mexico.
Authorities believe Laurean fled Jacksonville early Friday morning, after leaving a note in which he admitted burying the body of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, who was eight months pregnant at the time of her December disappearance and death. He is the subject of a wide-ranging manhunt that includes a $25,000 reward and billboards with his picture posted in cities nationwide.
Meanwhile, authorities said Tuesday that state medical examiner have confirmed that the remains recovered from Laurean's backyard over the weekend where those of Lauterbach and her unborn child. Dr. Charles Garrett, the Onslow County medical examiner, said Lauterbach died from "tramatic head injury due to blunt force trauma."
In his note, Laurean alleged that Lauterbach committed suicide by cutting her own throat. Brown has consistantly rejected that idea, blood spatters on the ceiling and a massive amount of blood on the wall found inside Laurean's home as signs of a violent confrontation.
JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina (CNN) -- Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach had a protective order against the fellow Marine accused of killing her, but the order expired in September, military records show.
Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, last spoke to relatives in the Dayton, Ohio, area on December 14.
Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean signed the agreement on June 26. It expired September 24. Lauterbach had accused Laurean of raping her.
In the military protective order, Laurean is forbidden from contacting Lauterbach in any manner, including through a third party, and ordered to stay at least 1,000 feet from her.
The order also shows Lauterbach and Laurean worked in the same unit at Camp Lejeune.
The search for Laurean continued Tuesday as the FBI posted his image on electronic billboards across the country. A $25,000 reward is offered for information leading to his capture.
Authorities say Laurean killed Lauterbach, who was eight months pregnant, on or about December 15, a day after she was last seen by her roommate.
Lauterbach's family in Ohio reported her missing on December 19.
[...]
Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said Monday he expected Laurean was getting help in hiding and asked friends or family to turn in the Marine corporal if he makes contact.
"I would imagine he's getting help ... even though he's committed this horrible crime, he's still got friends," Brown said.
Laurean, 21, of Nevada, is believed to have been driving a black Dodge pickup with North Carolina license plate TRR1522.
The sheriff described the 5-foot, 9-inch tall, 160-pound Laurean as "dangerous," especially if cornered.
A warrant for Laurean's arrest on murder charges was issued last weekend. The FBI said Monday it has also obtained a federal warrant for Laurean's arrest on charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Brown said the military protection order was not shared with civilian law enforcement.
"We had no reason to be on his trail," Brown said of Laurean. "This has nothing to do with the civilian world. Nothing about this had anything to do with the civilian world."
Brown said police learned Laurean's name January 7.
The Marines are investigating what information Lauterbach's superiors had and what steps were taken regarding the case, the Marine Corps said in a statement released Sunday evening.
Military officials have said Laurean was not taken into custody after Lauterbach reported the alleged rape because there was information the two carried on "some sort of friendly relationship" after she filed the complaint.
"The information ... leads us to believe that she still had some kind of contact" with him, said Paul Ciccarelli, agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service field office at Camp Lejeune.
Thanks, SE Mom. The sheriff understood the length of time it took for Marines to decide to press charges? That IS odd. Wonder what they told him. And I wonder why the military protective order was not reissued. Could it have been because she moved off base?
I do not understand why the Marines/NCIS did not share this information with the sheriff’s dept. once she was missing. He had to learn about Laurean from the family, and the protective order (expired ?) from a search warrant of her car. I have a feeling this lack of movement by Marines/NCIS is the reason they are throwing everything into finding the suspect now. They’re making up for past mistakes. They just must not have believed she was in danger.
Blunt force trauma - I guess that blows the suicide theory Laurean proposed.
I agree—
You don’t crack your own skull and bury yourself in the back yard. Plus the wife painting the garage looks bad too.
OK, my bet is they were both in on it from the get go...and a lot of what the wife has done is to throw suspicion elsewhere.
And the bizarre aspect comes in where Laurean was telling friends that his wife was pregnant. I wonder if the two of them had plans to take Maria’s baby by force.
It appears that way....but something went very very wrong.
Maybe it was the wife who killed Marie (like “NO! I dont’ want another woman’s baby!”) and hubby did the disposing etc.
Sheesh, when all this gets sorted, it’s going to be interesting.
Or Maria protested and they hit her in the head.
The FBI has set up a nationwide tip line. That number is 1-800-CALL-FBI. Detectives say they are also working with America's Most Wanted.
Authorities say the Marine is likely in hiding. Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown says he thinks Corporal Cesar Laurean has reached a location where he no longer needs to run. Brown would not discuss details this morning and would not say if investigators think Laurean crossed into Mexico.
I’d like to know if people familiar with them noticed if the wife had an “expanding” waistline recently.
The way evidence has been dropped here & there makes me wonder how many are in on this. This evidence could have easily been destroyed but appears to have been dropped “accidentally on purpose” to lead investigators in a particular direction. OR the people involved just watch too much TV. We need a timeline.
...he was a *respected Marine officer*
He is NOT an officer!!!!!! He is only a Corporal. That is a lower rank!
___________________________________________________________
Sorry;(
Probably not much respected either!
IOW, he’s good n gone.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.