Pregnant Marine is missing

[thedrifter]

Lauterbach’s mom fills in some pieces of a daughter’s life
TIMMI TOLER
January 24, 2008 - 8:08AM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
She loved sports. She loved church. She was not a compulsive liar. Mary Lauterbach, the mother of the missing lance corporal found dead and buried in the backyard of Cpl. Cesar Laurean said there is much the public does not know about her daughter.

“She was all about sports and competition. She loved to play any type of game. She particularly loved to win,” said Mary Lauterbach in a phone interview from her home in Vandalia, Ohio. “She loved to push herself. It was part of the reason she joined the Marines.”

Maria Lauterbach was the oldest of Mary Lauterbach’s four children. She adopted Maria and her biological sister, Anne, when they were very young. Several years later, Mary Lauterbach gave birth to two more children.

“(Maria) enjoyed her place as the oldest in the family,” Lauterbach said.

She said her daughter was full of energy and was the type of person who liked to be involved in things.

She excelled in sports, particularly soccer, basketball and softball.

“She was a very physical person. She was always looking for a physical challenge,” said Lauterbach.

That’s part of what Maria Lauterbach’s lifelong friend Shannon Kimbrel remembers as well.

“She lived for sports. She was a smart girl and her big priority was sports. She loved being active,” said Kimbrel, who grew in the same neighborhood as Lauterbach in their shared hometown of Vandalia, Ohio.

The two went to the school together at St. Christopher’s Catholic Church.

“She comes from a very, very strong religious family. She and her family were very active in the church. They have so much faith, even through all this,” said Kimbrel.

Kimbrel feels that many assumptions are being made about Maria Lauterbach by people who never knew her.

“She was always a very hard worker. She never really slacked off. She was always a very positive person. She was never mean to anyone — even if people were mean to her — she was still the kind of person who would never treat anyone badly,” Kimbrel said in a phone interview from Columbus, Ohio.

They kept in touch even after Kimbrel went on to Ohio State, where she is still a student, and Maria joined the Marine Corps.

“It was the one thing she wanted to do …I knew she would be the one person perfect for it,” said Kimbrel.

Maria was introduced to the Marine Corps during her junior year at Vandalia Butler High School.

“Once she talked to the recruiter, she said, ‘That’s it, that’s what I want to do.’ She wasn’t 18 yet. I had a hard time convincing her to wait to sign up until she was at least 18,” Lauterbach said.

She thought her daughter would do well as a Marine.

“She had that mental toughness that you need,” Lauterbach said. “Once she made up her mind, nothing stopped her from doing what she felt was right.”

Including telling the Marine Corps that she was raped by Laurean.

According to a statement given by the Marine Corps on Jan. 15, Maria confided in her officer-in-charge on May 11, 2007, of “two incidents of a sexual nature with Cpl. Laurean.”

According to the statement, which said Maria alleged she had been raped by Laurean, the first incident occurred on March 26, 2007, and a second approximately two weeks later, although the Marine Corps has never given an exact date.

Mary Lauterbach said Maria initially told her about the rape sometime before Mother’s Day, which fell on May 13, 2007.

“I asked her to look seriously at the allegation because it could ruin that person’s career. I was (frustrated) because I knew she had waited to report it. I felt like all the evidence was gone. I knew the fight she was up against,” Lauterbach said. “I told her you have to report it. It was the right thing to do, not only for her but for her sister Marines. Right after that, she did report it.”

The Marine Corps’ response, she said, was lacking.

“I think it’s pretty obvious by their actions that the Marines didn’t believe her from the beginning,” Lauterbach said.

However, characterizations about her daughter seemed to indicate that Mary Lauterbach might not have, either. An incident report filed by an investigator with the Onslow County Sheriff’s Department on Dec. 19, 2007, states that Mary Lauterbach said “her daughter had a history of being a compulsive liar …”

It is a statement Lauterbach said is incorrect and has been taken out of context.

Lauterbach said after she filed the missing person’s report, a detective with the Onslow County Sheriff’s Department asked her to send him an e-mail with “anything I could think of that might be relative, that might help.”

Mary Lauterbach said she attached a three-page word document in the e-mail that she sent. In the document she listed as much information as she could, trying to include “anything and everything that might help steer detectives in the right direction.”

Included in that document, she said, was the information that Maria would often say things that others might not. She was direct.

“She might say something you would not consider normal,” said Lauterbach, who added she was “very anxious and very worried” at the time she wrote the document. “I never in my wildest dreams would have imaged it has turned into what it has become.”

Lauterbach said there are assumptions that have been made about her daughter that are not true.

“I think there is an important issue here that when people make serious accusations that there is a presumption of innocence, and that is important for any accused person,” Lauterbach said. “But at the same time, I think what it takes for a woman to report a rape is significant. I think many women feel they will be accused of being a tramp so they think why bother even reporting it.”

Lauterbach said she thinks that’s especially true in her daughter’s case with the Marine Corps.

“I think they need to be more proactive when rape cases are reported. I think there are better steps they can take that would not assume the guilt of the man but that would protect the women,” she said.

Mary Lauterbach said she knew of incidents where her daughter was being harassed after she reported the rape. She believes the incident where Maria was “punched in the parking lot” by a tall, white male wearing dark clothes happened at the barracks where Maria lived aboard base. She said her daughter elected to move into town not long after.

“There was a verbal report (about the harassment) and she asked to be transferred to another base,” Lauterbach said.

Lauterbach said her family has spent the week finalizing plans for Maria’s burial. Her funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Christopher’s Catholic Church.

Contact Timmi Toler at 910-219-8458 or ttoler@freedomenc.com

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Groups plan their answer to Westboro
Two pro-military rallies scheduled for Saturday
HEATHER GALE
January 24, 2008 - 8:22AM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
People from the community and across the country are coming together this weekend to show their support of the military community — and their distaste for the Westboro Baptist Church group and its message.

The controversial Kansas church, the one that pickets funerals of military service members, has a permit from the Jacksonville Police Department for a planned protest of Camp Lejeune on Saturday.

Two other groups say they have a better alternative.

Three Marine Corps wives — Nikki Stahl, 29, of Jacksonville, Mandie Benson, 26, of Jacksonville and Chrissy Speelman, 31, of Jacksonville — are organizing a troop-support rally from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Jacksonville Commons Park near the community center.

The Gathering of Eagles — in conjunction with Rolling Thunder, Patriot Guard Riders, Eagles Up, Military Order of the Purple Heart and Leather-Necks Motorcycle Club — will hold a demonstration of their own from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of North Marine Boulevard and Western Boulevard, in front of Wal-Mart.

Both events are scheduled to counter the Westboro Baptist Church protest, which is scheduled at the same time at the corner of Lejeune Boulevard and Hargett Street.

“With the support of the citizens of Jacksonville we can spotlight the true spirit of the community,” the women said in a letter about the Support Our Troops rally sent to The Daily News and to businesses throughout Jacksonville. “We don’t think (the community) should give the church the audience they are looking for.”

Scooter the clown and a fire truck from the Jacksonville fire department will be at the Support Our Troops rally. There will be a raffle of donated items from local businesses, food from Sharp Shooters and Noble Roman’s pizza and free coffee, according to organizers.

“This is our home,” Speelman said. “We want to do something great.”

Speelman’s husband, a gunnery sergeant at Camp Lejeune, was at first against the women having anything to do with the church.

“After I explained to him that we are not trying to compete with (the church) he was very supportive,” she said.

Benson said the entire concept is to focus on family and community.

“Everyone is welcome from kids to veterans,” she said. “The rally has nothing to do with politics whatsoever.”

Ross “Bubba” McDonald is the North Carolina state coordinator of the Gathering of Eagles.

He said that due to the amount of commotion caused by Westboro Baptist Church after it announced the planned protest of Camp Lejeune, he and many others wanted to do something to counteract the church.

“We don’t want to be a part of the negativity,” McDonald said. “We just want to celebrate American military and demonstrate what real troop support looks like.”

McDonald said the Marines and residents should know that the groups are 100 percent behind them.

“We are not going to be holding pep talks for ourselves or feeding ourselves during the demonstration,” he said. “We are only here to show our support peacefully.”

Contact staff writer Heather Gale at hgale@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8464.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

FBI says Laurean lacks fear
Dual citizenship may complicate arrest in Mexico
STAFF REPORT
January 24, 2008 - 7:57AM
Cesar Laurean was born in Mexico. He became a U.S. citizen in 2003.
But he could still have Mexican citizenship.
The United States and Mexico are among a handful of countries that permit dual citizenship, according to Joseph Gutheinz, a criminal defense attorney who teaches criminal law at a college in Alvin, Texas.


An FBI spokesman said he could not speak to Laurean’s citizenship status.

“He is a naturalized U.S. citizen,” said Newsom Summerlin, a special agent with the Charlotte Division of the FBI. “I cannot speak to if he is, in fact, a dual citizen.”

But if Laurean did not renounce his Mexican citizenship, he still enjoys all of the rights and privileges of a native in his home country, Gutheinz said.

“When a person such as Cesar Laurean breaks American laws he has the option of simply going south to Mexico, where wanted criminals will usually escape American prosecution,” Gutheinz said. “Reportedly, Laurean is now walking the streets of his hometown in Mexico, meeting up with relatives who are not turning him in.

“He lacks the typical fear one would expect of someone on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list.”

Laurean has been charged in the death of Maria Lauterbach, whose charred remains were found along with those of her unborn child in a fire pit in Laurean’s backyard on Jan. 12.

Lauterbach, a Marine who worked alongside Laurean, had accused Laurean of raping her in 2007. The medical examiner’s report states she died of blunt force trauma and lists her cause of death as homicide.

Authorities believe Laurean fled Onslow County on Jan. 11, hours before Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown reported that Lauterbach, who had been missing since Dec. 14, was dead.

Laurean is facing charges in Onslow County of first-degree murder, bank card theft and obtaining property by false pretense, as well as a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

FBI court documents state Laurean told members of his Marine Corps unit he would flee to Mexico if it appeared he would be found guilty of raping Lauterbach. Laurean’s wife, Christina Laurean, also told authorities she believed her husband would head to Mexico if he was in legal trouble. FBI investigators told The Daily News that they suspect Laurean did indeed flee to that country.

“Our position has been since last week and remains today,” said Summerlin. “We strongly suspect but have not confirmed he is in Mexico.”

A man identified as his cousin told The Associated Press Tuesday that Laurean walked into his liquor store in Zapopan, Mexico, on Jan. 14 or Jan. 15.

But Summerlin said the FBI has not confirmed that Laurean is in Mexico or that the man speaking to reporters is his cousin.

“We have not confirmed any of these reports,” Summerlin said.

Laurean’s citizenship, however, is not something the FBI is particularly concerned with.

“ We’re more focused on the fugitive case,” said Summerlin.

Once the FBI locates and arrests a fugitive overseas, the case moves over to the Department of Justice and the State Department to begin extradition proceedings, according to Summerlin.

Gutheinz, for his part, thinks the idea of dual citizenship may require a second look.

“Questions now have to be asked,” Gutheinz said. “Why didn’t members of Laurean’s chain of command take action, and do so earlier? Was there a failure on the part of the Sheriff ’s Department and NCIS to take decisive action? How did Laurean so easily slip into Mexico? Why wasn’t the FBI waiting for Laurean side by side with Mexican law enforcement to see to it that Laurean was arrested? Is it now time to change America’s dual citizenship laws, to foster allegiance to our laws and a single flag?”

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Paperwork Could Slow Efforts to Arrest Laurean in Mexico; Marines to Honor Lauterbach

Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - 06:40 PM

By Philip Jones
Eyewitness News 9
E-mail | Biography


Cesar Laurean rode a bus into Mexico just two days after he fled from Jacksonville, according to Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson.

Hudson told Nine On Your Side Wednesday morning that he’s seen substantial FBI evidence that leads him to believe Laurean made the trip using the alias “Armando Ramirez.” That alias is on a list of names the FBI released Tuesday that it says Laurean could be using as he continues to run from law enforcement.

“It took him basically two days from the time he left Jacksonville until he entered in to Mexico, and they had very strong, compelling evidence that he did in fact ride a bus into Mexico,” Hudson said.

A man who claims to be Laurean’s cousin told CNN and The Associated Press on Tuesday that Laurean had visited his liquor store just outside Guadalajara, Mexico early last week.

Neither the FBI nor the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office will address the validity of the man’s claims. Hudson says he can’t verify the sighting, either.

But even if Laurean is spotted by Mexican law enforcement, Hudson says that doesn’t mean they’ll arrest him on the spot. He says his office is still working with the International Affairs Office at the U.S. Department of Justice to take the necessary steps that will lead a Mexican judge to issue an “order of arrest.”

So far, Hudson says, an order of arrest has not been issued because the order has to work its way up the chain of command at the Dept. of Justice, then back down the chain of command in Mexico to a judge -- a process that could take some time.

“I’m pretty certain that no [Mexican] police officer is going to arrest him until a judge issues an order of arrest in Mexico -- and that could take several days [or] up to two weeks.”

Until that happens, Hudson says his office is still working hard to solidify its case against Laurean, if indeed he happens to be caught in Mexico.

Hudson is trying to gather all the available evidence and information related to the case, because he feels the U.S. will have to fully outline its case against Laurean before Mexican authorities would extradite him.

Hudson is also calling an Onslow County grand jury back into session Thursday so he can present additional charges against Laurean and seek several indictments, including one for first degree murder.

Hudson says he’s doing that as a “precautionary” measure, because he believes if Laurean is caught in Mexico that he’ll have to present all the indictments against Laurean before the Mexican government would extradite him.

The Onslow County D.A. also stressed to Nine On Your Side that he was unhappy he was forced to take the death penalty off the table in order to have Laurean extradited back to the States -- if indeed he is caught in Mexico. Mexico does not support the death penalty and generally refuses to extradite fugitives back to the U.S. if they could face capital punishment.

“Trust me, I did not want to have to do that,” Hudson said. “That deal I had to make to not seek the death penalty was only applicable if [he’s arrested] in Mexico and has to be extradited from Mexico.”

If Laurean is indicted for first degree murder and then caught anywhere else, Hudson says he would seek the death penalty.

“If he’s caught in Arizona, Texas or any other state here, or any other country in South or Central America -- or anywhere that does not require me to waive [the death penalty], then that agreement is not applicable,” he said.

As for Maria Lauterbach, the pregnant 20-year-old Marine Lance Corporal that Laurean is accused of murdering, the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office tells Nine On Your Side her body was flown back to her home state of Ohio earlier this week.

Nine On Your Side has not learned of any details about a funeral for Lauterbach, but her unit at Camp Lejeune -- the 2nd Marine Logistics Group -- will hold a memorial service for her. A date has not been set.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Grand jury indicts Laurean
LINDELL KAY
January 25, 2008 - 12:27AM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
The FBI thinks Cesar Laurean is in Mexico, and local authorities are doing everything they can to get him back.

A specially convened Onslow County grand jury indicted Laurean on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach on Thursday, a move the Onslow County district attorney said will help speed Laurean's return to North Carolina if the fugitive is caught in his native Mexico.

Laurean, a Camp Lejeune Marine corporal, has been indicted on five criminal charges related to the death of Lauterbach.

The 18-person grand jury returned a true bill of indictment against Laurean for first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, financial transaction card theft, obtaining property by false pretense and attempted misdemeanor financial transaction card fraud. Those indictments state Laurean forced Lauterbach to remove money from her bank account on Dec. 14, the same day investigators say he killed her.

While the indictments will expedite matters with Mexican officials, Hudson said he was not happy about having to forego the option of the death penalty to get a provisional arrest warrant for Laurean. The agreement also was necessary because Mexico will not extradite a prisoner to the United States to face the death penalty.

"The choices presented to me were either a possible life without parole sentence or (Laurean's) living in Mexico the rest of his life as a free man," Hudson said. "Because of the all the attention, I hope (the Mexican government) will move on this case very quickly."

Lauterbach, who was in her last trimester of pregnancy when she was killed, accused Laurean in May of raping her in March and April and, at one time, claimed Laurean was the father of her unborn child

FBI court documents state Laurean told members of his Marine Corps unit he would flee to Mexico if it appeared he would be found guilty of raping Lauterbach. Laurean's wife, Christina Laurean, also told authorities she believed her husband would head to Mexico if he was in legal trouble. FBI investigators told The Daily News they suspect Laurean did indeed flee to that country.

At the request of the Onslow County Sheriff's Department and Naval Criminal Investigative Service, military medical examiners performed a second autopsy in Dover, Del., on Tuesday. Medical experts determined Lauterbach's unborn child did not breathe oxygen before dying, which means no charges for the death of the fetus can be filed, Hudson said. According to North Carolina law, the killing of a viable but unborn child does not constitute murder.

Hudson said he is waiting to hear from the military about the paternity and gender of the unborn child.

Lauterbach's charred remains were found Jan. 11 buried in a fire pit in the backyard of 103 Meadow Trail - the home owned by Laurean and his wife.

Investigators say Cesar Laurean left more than one note behind with his wife, who told them he fled the area in the early morning hours of Jan. 11. In the notes, Laurean allegedly claims Lauterbach slit her own throat and he buried her body. Investigators said the note's claims do not match the physical evidence at the scene or the state medical examiner's finding that Lauterbach died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Sources close to the investigation told The Daily News that Lauterbach's throat was cut post-mortem, possibly in an attempt to cover the true cause of death.

The blunt force object used to kill Lauterbach was a crowbar, according to sources close to the investigation. The Sheriff's Department said an "item" believed to be the murder weapon was turned into detectives by a witness who did not know the significance of it until learning from the news media that Laurean was wanted for killing Lauterbach.

Hudson said federal authorities believe Laurean entered Mexico on a bus a few days after he left Jacksonville. Earlier this week, a man identified as a cousin of Laurean's told reporters he spoke to Laurean last week at a liquor store in Zapopan, a city in Guadalajara - the state in Mexico where Laurean was born. However, the FBI could not confirm the sighting or the man's relationship to Laurean.

Laurean's 2004 Dodge Ram pickup truck was found at a hotel in Morrisville four miles from an unmanned bus station. Lauterbach's bank card was discovered at a bus station in Durham.

Capt. Rick Sutherland said he still believed earlier reports that Laurean was spotted at a bus station in Shreveport, La., and no one has been able to pin down how long Laurean's truck was parked at the hotel in Morrisville.

"We are still working off our original timeline as to when and how Laurean fled," Sutherland said.



Contact police reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534. To comment on this story or to read others' comments go to jdnews.com.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine indicted in murder, robbery, theft
The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Jan 25, 2008 15:07:24 EST

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A grand jury indicted a Marine corporal Thursday with first-degree murder in the death of a pregnant colleague, but a prosecutor said he wouldn’t seek the death penalty if the man is arrested in Mexico.

Authorities believe Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean has fled to his native Mexico, which refuses to send anyone back to the U.S. unless provided assurances they won’t face the death penalty.

“This agreement to not seek the death penalty applies only if he is arrested in and extradited from Mexico,” said Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson. “The choices presented to me were either a possible life without parole sentence, or the defendant living in Mexico the rest of his life and never brought to trial.”

The remains of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, were found with those of her fetus earlier this month in a fire pit in Laurean’s backyard. Lauterbach, who had once accused Laurean of rape, had been missing since mid-December. Military investigators are still working to identify the father of Lauterbach’s unborn child, Hudson said.

Before Laurean fled from Jacksonville in early January, he left a note for his wife, Christina, that said Lauterbach slit her own throat with a knife, and he then buried her in the woods near their home. Detectives have rejected that claim, and an autopsy found that Lauterbach died of blunt force trauma to the head.

But because authorities have determined that Lauterbach’s child had not been born at the time of her death, Hudson said, prosecutors can only charge Laurean with one count of murder.

Hudson said the grand jury also charged Laurean with robbery with a dangerous weapon and a charge involving an unauthorized financial transaction involving card theft. The indictment states that Laurean forced Lauterbach to remove money from her bank account Dec. 14, the same day authorities believe he killed her.

Laurean is also accused of trying to use Lauterbach’s ATM card Dec. 24, and was charged with attempted card fraud and obtaining property by false pretenses.

Hudson said authorities believe Laurean entered Mexico on a bus Jan. 14, two days after he left Jacksonville. Earlier this week, a man identified as his cousin said Laurean walked into his liquor store in Guadalajara last week but left without saying where he was headed.

“Because of the all the attention, I hope [Mexican authorities] will move on this case very quickly,” Hudson said.

Hudson said Thursday that Christina Laurean is still cooperating with investigators, and she does not face any charges. She learned of Lauterbach’s death roughly a day before Laurean fled but only then told police and turned over the note he left behind, according to court documents.

Although Laurean refused to speak with detectives looking into Lauterbach’s disappearance before he fled, authorities have said they didn’t consider him a flight risk because they had information that the pair had a “friendly relationship” even after she reported the rape to military authorities.

Lauterbach had accused Laurean of rape in May, a charged he denied. Naval investigators have said they have no evidence to corroborate Lauterbach’s claims, but Lauterbach and Laurean’s regimental commander was intent on taking the case to a hearing that could have led to a trial.

Laurean had told members of his unit that he would flee to Mexico if it appeared he would be found guilty. Laurean, 21, of Las Vegas, was born in Guadalajara. Family members there have said he moved to the U.S. more than 10 years ago.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Laurean detail misreported
Lauterbach wasn’t force to withdraw money from ATM
LINDELL KAY
January 26, 2008 - 12:00AM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Cesar Laurean did not force the woman he is accused of killing to remove money from her account Dec. 14, as far as investigators know, authorities said Friday.

Several news media outlets including The Daily News incorrectly interpreted Laurean’s Thursday indictment on a charge of robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Laurean, a Camp Lejeune Marine corporal indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, who was pregnant and had accused him of rape has been on the run since Jan. 11 when he left notes with his wife, Christina Laurean, saying he buried Lauterbach’s body in the couple’s Half Moon community backyard.

Lauterbach did remove money from her account on Dec. 14 the day authorites say she died.

That money has not been recovered, and investigators believe Laurean robbed her dead body of the cash. That is where the robbery with a dangerous weapon charge and subsequent indictment stems from, authorities said.

The indictment states that Laurean took Lauterbach’s cash and Fort Sill National Bank debit card Dec. 14. An 18 person grand jury concluded enough probable cause existed to charge Laurean with robbery with a dangerous weapon for taking cash money from Lauterbach after her death and also trying to use her bank card later.

Laurean was also indicted for attempted misdemeanor financial transaction card fraud. Investigators said Laurean held onto Lauterbach’s bank card and tried to use it 10 days after she had been killed.

He tried to use her card to remove $500 Christmas Eve. This was the “suspicious activity on her bank account” originally reported by The Daily News on Jan. 10. “We believe Laurean attempted but was unsuccessful in removing $500 from Lauterbach’s account on Dec. 24,” said Capt. Rick Sutherland of the Onslow County Sheriff’s Department.

Sutherland would not com-ment on whether Laurean could not remove cash from the account because there were no funds available or because Laurean did not know Lauterbach’s personal identification number.

The indictment states, “(Lau-rean) committed this act by means of an assault consisting of having in defendant’s possession and threatening the use of a dan-gerous weapon, a blunt force ob-ject and implement used to kill Maria Frances Lauterbach.”The blunt-force object used to kill Lauterbach was a crowbar, according to sources close to the investigation. The Sheriff’s Department said an “item” believed to be the murder weapon was turned into detectives by a witness who did not know the significance of it until learn-ing from the news media that Laurean was wanted for killing Lauterbach.

Laurean was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon based on North Carolina case law, said Dewey Hudson, the district attorney for the 4th Prosecutorial District which includes Onslow County. The N.C. Supreme Court decided in State v. Rasor that it does not matter when the intent to steal from a person is formulated before or after an attack so long as the use of force and the theft constitute an ongoing transaction.

In the case, the state’s high court upheld an appeal, saying, “The evidence was sufficient to support defendant’s conviction of armed robbery where it tended to show a continuous transaction in which defendant critically wounded the victim and removed his wallet a short time afterwards.”

For Laurean to kill Lauterbach and then use her bank card, which he took from her, in an attempt to withdraw cash from an ATM would constitute robbery with a dangerous weapon,even though 10 days lapsed in between, according to the District Attorney’s Office.“It is my duty to inform you that although Cesar Armando Laurean has been indicted for first-degree murder and other related charges, that at this time he is presumed to be innocent under our judicial system,” Hudson said.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Traffic to be closed during Westboro church protest
January 26, 2008 - 12:00AM
DAILY NEWS STAFFJACKSONVILLE - The Jacksonville Police Department will redirect city traffic from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. today on N.C. 24 westbound from Richlands Road to Hargett Street due to a planned demonstration by Westboro Baptist Church.

All traffic traveling on New Bridge Street or Johnson Boulevard or east on N.C. 24 can continue without delays. Motorists who wish to travel to the New River Shopping Center or surrounding neighborhoods can reach their destination by traveling N.C. 24 east to New River Drive.

All traffic from Camp Johnson or Montford Landing Road will be directed to the right lanes on N.C. 24.

The intersection at N.C. 24 and Hargett Street will be closed to all traffic during the demonstration except to emergency vehicles and crews.

The Westboro Baptist Church protest is from 11 a.m. to noon.

While the Westboro Baptist Church is protesting Camp Lejeune, there will be pro-military rallies in town.

The Support our Troops Rally will be at Jacksonville Commons Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Open Celebration of American Military will be at Marine Boulevard and Western Boulevard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Slain Marine's remains escorted home

Fri Jan 25, 6:01 PM ET

A motorcade led by Marines, the Air Force and a volunteer group escorted the remains of a slain 20-year-old pregnant Marine to a funeral home Friday.

The burned remains of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach were found with those of her fetus earlier this month in a fire pit in the back yard of a Marine colleague's house in Jacksonville, N.C.

The colleague, Cpl. Cesar Laurean, is being sought on an indictment charging first-degree murder in Lauterbach's death. Both were stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The motorcade accompanied Lauterbach's body from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where a contracted airlift arranged by the military arrived Friday morning, to the Westbrock Funeral Home in Dayton about 15 miles away.

Lauterbach's hometown, Vandalia, is just north of Dayton.

Her father, Victor Lauterbach, is an Air Force Reserve master sergeant in the 87th Aerial Port Squadron, which is part of the 445th Airlift Wing at Wright-Patterson.

The family has requested privacy, base spokesman Derek Kaufman said.

Maria Lauterbach, who had accused Laurean of raping her, disappeared Dec. 14.

The FBI is leading the international manhunt for Laurean, 21, who is thought to be in his native Mexico.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Body of slain Marine returned to Dayton

By Margo Rutledge Kissell

Staff Writer

Friday, January 25, 2008

DAYTON — The body of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach arrived back in the Miami Valley on Friday.

The Patriot Guard Riders provided an honor escort from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to Westbrock Funeral Home, 1712 Wayne Ave., where funeral arrangements were finalized.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at St. Christopher Catholic Church in Vandalia.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at the church at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, with burial following in Calvary Cemetery.

The family requested two caskets, one for the slain 20-year-old woman and another for her unborn baby.

"Maria would absolutely want that," her mother, Mary Lauterbach, had told the Dayton Daily News last week.

Lauterbach's father, Victor Lauterbach, is an Air Force Reserve master sergeant in the 87th Aerial Port Squadron, which is part of the 445th Airlift Wing at Wright-Patterson. Lauterbach also is survived by three sisters and a brother.

The 2006 graduate of Butler High School in Vandalia was stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., when she disappeared Dec. 14.

Authorities recovered Lauterbach's remains, and those of her unborn child, on Jan. 12 from a fire pit in Jacksonville, N.C., where they suspect Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean burned and buried her body.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the fugitive hunt for Laurean, 21, who is being sought on murder charges. He is thought to be in Mexico.

The Lauterbach family requests donations to be made to Vandalia Butler Foundation, Maria Lauterbach Athletic Scholarship Fund, PO Box 722, Vandalia, Ohio 45377.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Prosecutor offers Mexican authorities and fugitive Marine a deal in killing of colleague

By: ESTES THOMPSON - Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. -- If a Marine wanted in the killing of a 20-year-old pregnant colleague is arrested in Mexico, he will not face lethal injection in North Carolina under a deal offered by prosecutors to the Marine and Mexican authorities.

Investigators believe Cpl. Cesar Laurean has fled to his native Mexico, which refuses to send anyone back to the U.S. unless provided assurances they won't face the death penalty.

On Thursday, Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson announced an indictment charging Laurean, 21, with first-degree murder.


"The choices presented to me were either a possible life without parole sentence, or the defendant living in Mexico the rest of his life and never brought to trial," he said.

The remains of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, were found with those of her fetus earlier this month in a fire pit in Laurean's back yard. Lauterbach, who had once accused Laurean of rape, had been missing since mid-December. Military investigators are still working to identify the father of Lauterbach's unborn child, Hudson said.

Laurean fled Jacksonville in early January, leaving a note for his wife, Christina, that said Lauterbach slit her own throat with a knife, and he then buried her in the woods near their home. Detectives have rejected that claim, and an autopsy found that Lauterbach died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Authorities have determined that Lauterbach's child had not been born at the time of her death, Hudson said, so prosecutors can only charge Laurean with one count of murder.

The grand jury also charged Laurean with robbery with a dangerous weapon and a charge involving an unauthorized financial transaction involving card theft. The indictment states Laurean forced Lauterbach to remove money from her bank account Dec. 14, the day authorities believe he killed her.

Laurean is also accused of trying to use Lauterbach's ATM card on Christmas Eve, and was charged with attempted card fraud and obtaining property by false pretenses.

Authorities believe Laurean entered Mexico on a bus Jan. 14, two days after he left Jacksonville. Earlier this week, a man identified as his cousin said Laurean walked into his liquor store in Guadalajara last week, but left without saying where he was headed.

"Because of the all the attention, I hope (Mexican authorities) will move on this case very quickly," Hudson said.

Christina Laurean is still cooperating with investigators, and she does not face charges, Hudson said. She learned of Lauterbach's death roughly a day before Laurean fled, but only then told police and turned over the note he left behind, according to court documents.

Authorities have previously said Lauterbach was killed Dec. 15, citing the timeline provided by Laurean's wife. Hudson declined to address the discrepancy in detail, saying only that the "best evidence available" now indicates Lauterbach was killed Dec. 14.

Although Laurean refused to speak with detectives looking into Lauterbach's disappearance before he fled, authorities have said they didn't consider him a flight risk because they had information the pair had a "friendly relationship" even after she reported the rape allegation to military authorities.

Lauterbach, of the Dayton, Ohio area, had accused Laurean of rape in May, a charged he denied. Naval investigators have said they have no evidence to corroborate Lauterbach's claims, but Lauterbach's and Laurean's regimental commander was intent on taking the case to a hearing that could have led to a trial.

Laurean had told members of his unit that he would flee to Mexico if it appeared he would be found guilty. Laurean, of Las Vegas, was born in Guadalajara. Family members there have said he moved to the U.S. more than 10 years ago.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Church group draws counterprotest
Law enforcment prevents physical interaction
BY HEATHER GALE
January 26, 2008 - 7:24PM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Five people versus 40.

The notorious protesting church, Westboro Baptist Church, turned out five women, — two older and three who appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties — to express their viewpoints about the Marine Corps and the circumstances surrounding the death of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach.

However, more than 40 counterprotesters were across the street from the church members on Lejeune Boulevard, holding signs and supporting the military.

Many of the supporters of the troops said they were shocked at how few members from the Topeka, Kan., church showed up as they yelled out, “Where are your men?” and “One, two, three, four, God loves the Marine Corps!”

The verbally sparring groups shouted back and forth to one another as they each sang songs and held signs supporting their causes.

Col. Adele Hodges, commanding officer of Camp Lejeune, had advised Marines to stay away from the protest, but many friends, wives, children and other family members showed up to support the troops.

Dawn Wellman, 30, of Jacksonville, was one of the vocal supporters of the troops.
“We can’t just let them come out here and (protest),” she said. “We have to stand up for what is right.”

Wellman said she was very angry when she heard the church group was coming to protest the military.

“I can’t believe they would and try to take advantage of the family’s loss,” she said.
Members of the church had signs that said “God is your enemy” and were wearing, standing and dancing on and spitting on the U.S. flag.

Katie Rasmussen, of Jacksonville, said she was wondering why the protesters weren’t getting tickets or being arrested for desecrating the flag.

It is a Class 2 misdemeanor for anyone to mutilate, defile, deface or trample upon the U.S. flag or the North Carolina state flag, according to the N.C. General Statute 14.381.

Federal law on respect for the flag says no disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water or merchandise; and it should never be used as wearing apparel.
Police officers said they were not going to arrest the protesters for their behavior with the flags.

Jacksonville Police Department Capt. Patricia Driggers said the department had consulted before Saturday’s protest with the District Attorney’s Office, which decided that those types of charges should not be pursued because the group has taken several cases regarding similar charges to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jeff Workman, 35, of Jacksonville, and Jennifer Farrar, 29, of Jacksonville said as much as they disagree with what the church group is saying, they do have the right to protest.

“(The church group), however, also has the right to hear opposition, and that is why I am here,” Farrar said. “I was in disbelief when I heard they were coming. To me, they seem more like attention seekers than ones who are trying to get a message across.”

Laurie Haydel, 51, and her grandson Jordan, both of Jacksonville, said they were at the counterprotest to stand up for their God, the country and the military.

“Why would anyone come to a military town who didn’t believe in the military,” she said. “God does not hate everyone. He loves everyone and loves the military.”

Both Haydel and her grandson said they think the church members should be sent to Iraq and try to fend for themselves.

“I bet that they would be running toward the first American military person they saw,” Haydel said.

Jacksonville Police Department, military personnel, state troopers and a Wilmington Mounted Police unit that offered to come blocked off Lejeune Boulevard in front of the protesters and only allowed one escorted person at a time to walk by the protesters. People were advised by the police to not talk to the protesters and were told they could not stand near them.

Driggers said the police were present just as a safety precaution. She said she is happy that, in the end, everyone abided by the rules and that everything went peacefully.

Driggers said no one knew the names of the protesters present, and the only communications from them came through an attorney when planning the protest.

The church members left a few minutes before noon and were escorted by police. The Daily News was unable to get comments from the members.

Staff writer Amanda Hickey contributed to this report.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Support Our Troops rally draws a crowd
BY AMANDA HICKEY
January 26, 2008 - 10:35PM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
While five members of the Westboro Baptist Church protested the U.S. Marine Corps, more than 200 people gathered at Jacksonville Commons Park for the Support Our Troops rally.

The rally, organized by Marine wives Nikki Stahl, Amanda Benson, Christina Speelman, Jennifer Grooms and Kim Grove, was a way to say thank you to the troops.

“We decided that it’s time to do something for our troops with our community,” Speelman said.

The rally was one of two events — the other being at U.S. 17 and Western Boulevard — organized in response to the Topeka, Kan.-based church group’s protest across town.
Forty-three businesses and seven individuals made donations, allowing food to be spread across tables and coffee to be served to fight off the cold.

“We had so little resistance. Everyone (was) all about it. That’s exactly what we wanted to spotlight about this community,” Grooms said.

Scooter the Clown was among those who volunteered their services.

“I believe that what the other folks over there are doing, they have a right to do, but I believe in supporting the people who give them that right,” he said as he made a balloon animal. “The Armed Forces fight for that right.”

For Scooter, a peaceful rally was a good response.

“I think that if you want to get your point across, you don’t have to be stomping around with signs and being angry,” he said.

Omar Myers retired from the Marine Corps after 20 years as a staff sergeant and is now the post commander of AMVETS. When he heard of the rally, he wanted to make sure AMVETS was involved.

“This is our country. We’ve got to support the people who protect it,” he said.
With Myers came former post commander and retired Staff Sgt. Joseph Traumer, a Vietnam veteran.

“It’s (the Westboro Baptist Church’s) freedom to say what they want to say, but its our right to listen or not listen,” he said.

Darlene Shriver, 62 of Jacksonville came to the rally because she felt it was the right thing to do. Shriver’s husband was in the Army and her son was in the Air Force.

“It makes me feel proud to be here, and the wives showing such great support of their husbands and the entire military is great,” she said.

As she thought of Westboro Baptist Church, Shriver just shook her head.

“I know they have the right to be here, but I disagree whole heartedly with everything they’re doing,” she said.

Cristal Romeo, 21 of Jacksonville, and her 16-month old sons Draven and Donavan went to the rally in full support of the Marine Corps.

Romeo’s jeans donned the words “Proud Marine Wife,” “Support the Troops,” and “I love my Marine,” while the twin boys wore camouflage pants and jackets with a shirt underneath that said “My daddy rules,” with the Marine Corps emblem.

On the side of their stroller was a sign that read “Daddy fights for freedom as we fight for his name.”

“It’s really great to see that this many people support (the Marines),” Romeo said. “I’m just grateful that these girls put this together.”

Also making appearances were Onslow County Commissioners Delma Collins and Lionell Midgett.

“It’s such a good feeling (to be at the rally). It just amplifies what I’ve known as a member of this community all my life, that is when a challenge comes to this community, they bond together and rise up,” Collins said. “It’s a good way to give back, that’s what this is all about. This is my way of giving back and supporting the military.”

Col. Paul O’Toole was also at the rally and led the group in the pledge of allegiance before thanking the organizers.

“You typify what we have here in Jacksonville,” he told the organizers. “I like this environment because everyone down here is either in the Marine Corps or Navy, or is tied to it.”

Gunnery Sgt. Robert Stahl, 31, of Jacksonville, was proud of what his wife and her friends put together.

“No one knew it was going to be this big, but I’m very proud of how big this is,” he said. “It fills me with pride, because even though this is a military community, they haven’t forgotten their roots. They still show their patriotism and support for the troops.”

Contact Jacksonville and Onslow County reporter Amanda Hickey at ahickey@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8463.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

People drive across state to celebrate military
BY AMANDA HICKEY
January 26, 2008 - 10:41PM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
More than 250 people gathered with U.S. flags and signs showing their support for the military in front of Wal-Mart by U.S. 17 and Western Boulevard on Saturday.

More than 100 American flags were waved in the air while signs asked drivers to “Honk if you love the Marine Corps.”

Another sign told people that “If you don’t stand behind the troops, stand in front.”

The celebration was one of two events — with the other at Jacksonville Commons Park — organized in response to an anti-Marine Corps and military protest by Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kan., that happened across town.

“We’re just here to show the world that we support the troops,” said Bill Cook of Sherrills Ford, state captain of the Patriot Guard.

Cook drove from the town that is north of Charlotte to attend the celebration.

“Some of the signs say honk if you love the Marines and, obviously, this is Marine territory,” he said, motioning toward the road where drivers were honking the horns while passengers hung out car windows waving flags and screaming their support.

Among the flags being waved by the crowd were some that came from the Healing Field in Sturgis, S.D. Each flag represents a fallen warrior and has a tag on it saying as much, Cook said.

When the field took the flags down, the Patriot Guard bought many of them. Cook also bought a few, the first of which he gave to the young fallen Marine’s mother, he said.

Despite the cold and the rain, those celebrating the troops weren’t stopping.

“That’s just respect and honor,” Cook said while looking at those involved in the celebration.

Darryl Linder, a gold-star father who lost his son in June, drove from Hickory to attend the celebration.

“I love it. I would have driven a lot farther than this. There’s a lot of good people here from every walk of life. I love it,” he said. “We’re just supporting what our nation stands for, what the men and women do.”

Others came to drown out the voices of the Westboro protestors.

“It’s awesome. Rain doesn’t bother me. Cold doesn’t bother me, because I know we’re doing the right thing,” Fayetteville resident Mike Surles, 43, said.

George Samek of Shallotte said each person on that sidewalk and in the grass was there for the same reason: to support the troops.

“I love it. I am a 22-year Army vet, a two-year Vietnam veteran. If you attack my military, I am on you like glue,” Samek said.

Retired Chief Petty Officer Les Valyer rides with the American Legion in Winston-Salem and drove from Statesville to show his support.

“It gives you a really warm feeling inside to do something like this. I like supporting the troops,” he said.

When Valyer heard about the Westboro Baptist Church’s plans to protest in Jacksonville, he came to “make sure they had enough support here.”

He was not surprised by the number of people that turned out but was happy so many were there.

“It’s great, really it’s great, to see all these people in the rain doing this,” he said. “It really shows how strong this country is.”

Josh and Tessa Elsass of Jacksonville came to the celebration to support the troops and remember friends they’ve lost along the way.

“We’ve had friends get hit with these IEDs they support,” Tessa said. “It’s good to see all these people support them. All you hear on the news is those against them.”

“So we have to fight a war here as well as overseas,” Josh, who was in the Marine Corps for five years, added.

For Donna McDowell of Raleigh, showing her support of the Marine Corps and military was an honor.

“I am so proud of the military. It’s just awesome. They’re thanking us when we’re out here supporting them. …It’s an honor to stand here and support these guys.”

Contact Jacksonville and Onslow County reporter Amanda Hickey at ahickey@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8463.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Mexican extradition complicated
LINDELL KAY
January 28, 2008 - 12:05AM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Even after he is caught, getting a Marine corporal back to Onslow County to stand trial for the slaying of a fellow Marine will require a mountain of paperwork, authorites said.

Camp Lejuene Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean has been on the run since Jan. 11 when he left a note behind saying he had buried the body of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach in the backyard of the Half Moon community home shared by Laurean and his wife, Christina Laurean. The remains of Lauterbach and her unborn child were unearthed in a fire pit in Laurean's backyard the day after he fled the area. Authorities believe she was killed in mid-December. Lauterbach had accused Laurean of raping her earlier in 2007.

Cesar Laurean was indicted Thursday by an Onslow County grand jury on first-degree murder and other related charges.

The FBI believes he is hiding out in his native Mexico, and the Onslow County District Attorney's Office has been working around the clock to get the bureaucratic mechanisms moving that will be needed to extradite him.

"It has taken quite a bit of work to even get this far," said Ernie Lee, the chief assistant district attorney for Onslow County.

The first phase of the process was completed Jan. 18. To obtain a provisional arrest warrant for Laurean by Mexican authorites, the District Attorney's Office had to provide a summary of the case and assurances that Laurean would not face lethal injection should he be captured in Mexico and sent back to the United States.

Prosecutors were not happy with the idea of giving up the death penalty if Laurean is caught in Mexico, but said they could not accept the alternative - that Laurean would be a free man wandering the streets of Mexico.

Extradition paperwork has to go through several agencies on both sides of the border before ending up in the hands of a Mexican judge who could sign an arrest warrant for Laurean.

Once the D.A.'s Office finished with that paperwork, it was sent to the U.S. Department of Justice. After the DOJ reviews the documents, they are sent to the U.S. State Department to be translated into Spanish. From there, the paperwork goes to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, and then passes to the Mexican Foreign Ministry. The foreign ministry hands the paperwork to the Mexican attorney general, and from there the extradition request works its way down to a local judge who signs an arrest warrant.

"We still don't even know if a Mexican judge has seen the paperwork," Lee said.

In order to complete the second phase of the extradition package, prosecutors have to take affidavits from every witness in the case - something they normally would not do while the Onslow County Sheriff's Department is still conducting its investigation.

"From what I have been told, the Mexican government requires every statement to be in the form of a sworn affidavit," Lee said. "It is very difficult to prepare a case prior to receiving all the information usually gathered by (law-enforcement)."

Prosecutors said they would be ready to send the affadavits off at the first of this week, but he added that the paperwork will have to take the same route up the U.S. chain of agencies and back down the Mexican line of officials.

The 1980 extradition treaty between the United States and Mexico states that neither country is "bound to deliver up its nationals."

Laurean was born in Mexico. He became a U.S. citizen in 2003. Questions raised by The Daily News about the possibility of Laurean's having dual citizenship have so far been unanswered by civilian and military officials.

But even if Laurean had renounced his citizenship, the Mexican government still most likely would consider him a national, said Joseph Gutheinz, a criminal defense attorney who teaches criminal law at a college in Alvin, Texas.

"Mexico interprets nationality liberally to include those with dual citizenship and even those who have a Hispanic surname," he said. "Thus Mexico can retain Laurean, and possibly try him there for crimes committed in the United States."

Authorities said Laurean entered Mexico a few days after fleeing Onslow County. His 2004 Dodge Ram pickup was found abandoned at a hotel in Morrisville near an unmanned bus station. Lauterbach's bank card was found outside a bus station in Durham.

The bus ticket Lauterbach purchased Dec. 14 - the day authorites say she died - has not been redeemed as far as investigators know, said Capt. Rick Sutherland of the Sheriff's Department..

FBI court documents state Laurean told members of his Marine Corps unit he would flee to Mexico if it appeared he would be found guilty of raping Lauterbach. Laurean's wife, Christina Laurean, also told authorities she believed her husband would head to Mexico if he were in legal trouble. FBI investigators told The Daily News that Laurean fled there.

A man identified as his cousin told The Associated Press last week that Laurean walked into his liquor store in Zapopan, Mexico, on Jan. 14 or Jan. 15.



Contact police reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534.

Ellie