Great find, freema on the truck, and great job on capturing that still, Sue. The front grill has some similarities with the one at the ATM.
Freema, Maria thought the baby was going to be a boy I think based on an early sonogram. It appears the prediction by her examiner was wrong. I think the pregnancy test that was given Maria on May 11 was also wrong. If they gave her the test in the middle of the day when she reported the rape at work, this wouldn’t be nearly as accurate as the pregancy test when you first get up in the am. The autopsy found out it was a girl and 8 months along. If the baby was over 6 pounds just one month earlier, this fits.
To easily “get” Maria versus not so easily (i.e. grab, abduct, etc) get Maria to a place where Laurean and she would be alone...just some jumbled thoughts...
*and I’m totally speculating*
Maria was a pregnant young Marine. She was or felt ostracized and there are not too many accounts of her having a support network of friends at Lejeune. She was raised Catholic.
Perhaps if Laurean planned to use the holiday break period as his best opportunity to have her disappear — Marines would be coming and going and less noticeable that she was missing. I believe that he could have asked Maria to come to his house when the wife went to the party. (Wife still could have been in on this plan). The two could have talked, but mostly Laurean, who suggests that they go away together; he’ll leave his wife. Young and vulnerable, she wants to believe him and they get into their respective vehicles to drive to the ATM for some cash for her bus ticket. We need to do this before my wife returns from the party. He instructs her to leave a note to throw everyone off. Either he writes it or dictates what to write. She drops off the note.
Next they go to the ATM. She withdraws cash. They go buy her ticket and she leaves her car there and gets in his truck. They go back to his place to “pack up” when he kills her. He next goes and takes money out of her account so he can use it to cover his tracks. I think he begins tossing things like the cell and her ID (?) later to make it appear like *she* was throwing her Marine Corps life away, just tossing the things she didn’t need anymore.
I think he was staging her disappearance to make it look like she was running away. Maybe this has been said here a million times already, but I’m just thinking aloud.