Prayers for L/Cpl Maria Lauterbach

[Phantom Blooper]

Two months later, Laurean still on the run




BY LINDELL KAY
March 11, 2008 - 2:00PM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
The manhunt for a Camp Lejeune Marine corporal wanted in the slaying of a co-worker has dragged on for two months, but investigators say they feel they are closing in on him. "Cesar Laurean has proven capable of running and adapting," said Capt. Rick Sutherland of the Onslow County Sheriff's Department. "But we have eliminated some of his resources."
Sutherland would not elaborate on how authorities have impacted Laurean's means, saying he did not want to tip the hand of local and federal investigators.
A grand jury indicted Laurean - who has four known aliases, according to the FBI - on a first-degree murder charge in January for the death of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach. He has been on the lam since Jan. 11, when he fled Onslow County just hours before investigators discovered charred human remains in a fire pit in the backyard of his home on Meadow Trail in the Half Moon community. The remains were later identified as Lauterbach and her unborn child.
Lauterbach had accused Laurean of rape and was in the third trimester of her pregnancy when she was killed. Military authorities have not released the paternity of her unborn child.
Laurean's wife, Christina Laurean, who moved out of the Meadow Trail house Feb. 22, has continued to cooperate with investigators, authorities said.
"We would certainly prefer he was placed in jail Jan. 11, as we believe he is the one who killed Maria and her unborn child, but we are not discouraged he has not been caught yet," Sutherland said. "We are working with several agencies to ensure he is captured."
Local and federal investigators believe Laurean is alive and more than likely hiding in Mexico. Laurean fled Onslow County on Jan. 11 in his pickup truck, boarded a bus in the Durham area, was spotted at a bus station in Shreveport, La., mailed letters to his wife from Houston the next day and crossed over into Mexico at Laredo, Texas, the following day, according to the FBI.
He was spotted by a distant cousin at a liquor store in Guadalajara a week later, according to The Associated Press.
But while Mexico was Laurean's apparent original destination when he fled, local investigators are not ruling out the possibility he may return to the United States.
"The FBI has said he entered Mexico voluntarily and it is our belief that if he entered Mexico voluntarily, then he can re-enter the United States voluntarily," Sutherland said.
And while investigators could not be specific as to any communications Laurean may have had with family members or any help he may have received, they believe they are cutting off some of his resources.
The FBI and Navy Criminal Investigative Service have been conducting follow-up interviews with family members, authorities said.
"If we can prove someone is assisting him in any way, we will ensure those people are prosecuted," Sutherland said. "We have eliminated some of his resources. We believe Laurean is aware of some of the things we have done, but most things he is not aware of and that is what will eventually get him caught."
While the FBI is in charge of the international search for Laurean, detectives with the Sheriff's Department are continuing to piece together information at the local level and preparing for what they call an inevitable trial.
"This case has drawn more scrutiny and more attention from the media and the public, but this is what our guys and girls are trained for and prepared for," Sutherland said.

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

[davblay]

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...s=den&psp=news

Call me stupid CPL, but WTF does this have to do with the L/CPLs death?

[Phantom Blooper]

Congressman questions handling of Lauterbach case




BY LINDELL KAY
March 11, 2008 - 7:00PM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
A U.S. congressman is asking the Marine Corps tough questions about events leading up to the death of Camp Lejeune Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach.

Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, on Tuesday sent a five-page letter to Gen. James T. Conway, the commandant of the Marine Corps, asking pointed questions about the Marines' handling of Lauterbach's claim she was raped by a fellow Marine. Lauterbach disappeared Dec. 14, and her body was found Jan. 11, buried in the backyard of the Marine she had accused of rape.
Cpl. Cesar Laurean, who is accused of her killing, has been on the run since that time and is believed by the FBI to be hiding in his native Mexico.
In his letter, Turner refers to the Jan. 15 press conference at Camp Lejeune that included details about a military protective order issued May 24, then renewed June 25 and Sept. 25. Marine officials said the protective order was issued to "preserve the integrity of the investigation" because "the evidence did not contain elements of force or threats" to Lauterbach.
Turner asks in his letter, "Doesn't a rape accusation inherently contain an element of force or threat?"
The Daily News has interviewed several people who knew Lauterbach and Laurean, including Jennifer Renna, with whom Lauterbach was staying off base in the spring of 2007.
Renna and others have said that Lauterbach did not know Laurean was married when they met and began to date in March. Lauterbach learned Laurean was married after the two were dating, but before she made the rape accusation in May, law enforcement officials confirmed.
Turner's letter to the Pentagon includes more than two dozen questions from the Lauterbach family. According to the letter, the family would like copies of Lauterbach's medical records, beginning with the rape report taken May 11.
Lt. Col. T.V. Johnson, spokesman for the Marine Corps commandant, confirmed the commandant's office has received the letter and that it is being reviewed.
"Anytime we get a congressional inquiry, we respond to those as quickly as possible, with as much information as possible," Johnson said.
But, he said, the response "will be from the Marine Corps to the congressman's office. We will not go over it point by point with the media."
Though Johnson could not comment on the letter, he did say the Lauterbach case is "tragic on about 100 different levels."
"As a Marine, it makes you sad, it makes you angry, the fact that this could happen to another Marine, especially such a young Marine. I mean, she was just a kid," Johnson said. "We want to see justice done as much as anybody, but we have to be careful about things that are released. We don't want to hinder the investigation in any way or give anyone an unfair advantage."
In the letter, Turner also asked for facts to justify the way Lt. Col. Curtis Hill characterized the Marines' records during the January press conference.
Hill - the spokesman for II Marine Expeditionary Force, under which Lauterbach and Laurean were assigned - gave some details of the Marines' service during the press conference, saying "(Lauterbach's) record indicates she was a solid Marine" and "(Laurean's) record indicates he was a stellar Marine."
"I don't believe you can be a stellar Marine and have another Marine buried in your backyard," Turner told The Daily News on Tuesday.
An attempt by The Daily News to reach Hill late Tuesday was unsuccessful.
Turner, who serves on the House Armed Services and Government Reform and Oversight committees, said he is concerned about the inaction of the Marine Corps regarding the sexual assault claim, Lauterbach's pregnancy and her unauthorized absence status.
"The entire nation grieved with the Lauterbach family at the tragic death of Maria and her unborn child," Turner said. "For Maria and other women serving, we must determine what should have been done to protect her and her unborn child."
Turner said he met with Lauterbach's family - which resides in his district - just before her funeral and, at the family's request, he asked the Marine Corps to explain what steps were taken to protect Lauterbach after she accused Laurean of rape.
Turner said he spoke with Maj. Gen.-select Michael Regner, the legislative assistant to the commandant.
"He has informed me that the Marine Corps has reviewed their internal procedures, determined that appropriate procedures have been followed and that the ‘matter was concluded,'" Turner said. "I disagree."
Lauterbach's case highlights the need to protect female military personnel who file sexual assault claims and raises serious questions about the procedures the military has in place for responding to such claims, Turner said.
Some of the questions Turner raised in his letter, which is available for viewing via a link from this page, include:
After the accusation of rape by Lauterbach in May 2007 against Laurean, what was done to protect Lauterbach?
Once accused of rape, did Lauterbach and Laurean continue their assignment in the same unit? Would this continued assignment have resulted in regular contact between the two? Would this continued assignment have also resulted in Lauterbach's regular contact with Marines who would have been in regular contact (perhaps even maintained close friendships) with Laurean?
What details of harassment or physical abuse had been detailed by Lauterbach during her time of service?
In view of the confirmation of Lauterbach's pregnancy on June 27, why was no DNA sample taken from Laurean?
Is there any system to notify civilian authorities when a person who is the subject of a Military Protective Order moves off base?
When Lauterbach did not report for duty on Dec. 17 why, in view of the pending rape claim against a fellow Marine, was no attempt made to search for her or question Laurean?
Was there any mechanism in place to trigger a special reporting requirement up the chain of command when the victim of a claimed sexual assault goes UA?
Interactive content editor Jennifer Hlad and staff member Mike McHugh contributed to this report. Contact police reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534

[jahhead88]

They need to catch that miserable half assed excuse. Hey Cpl Laurean, run away little coward. After all you did really heroic act. You hit a pregnant woman over the head with a crowbar, lied about it, and then ran to Mexico.

[Phantom Blooper]

Autopsy: Baby clothes found in pit with Lauterbach's body




BY LINDELL KAY
March 14, 2008 - 3:29PM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Baby clothing was found with the charred remains of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach and her unborn child, according to the autopsy report released Friday. The baby clothing was found in a melted plastic bag and labeled "size 0-3 months."
Lauterbach was reported missing in mid-December, and authorities believe she was killed at that time. Her extensively burned and decomposed body and that of her unborn child were found buried in a fire pit in the Half Moon community back yard of Cesar Laurean, the Camp Lejeune Marine corporal accused of killing her.
Laurean has been on the run since Jan. 11, and federal authorities believe he is hiding in Mexico. The reward for his capture has gradually risen to $46,000 after federal, state and public contributions are totaled.
According to the autopsy report, completed and released by the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Lauterbach's unborn baby was extensively charred but still bore a small amount of umbilical cord.
"The fetus may have been expelled from the body as a result of charring of (Lauterbach's) abdomen," the report states.
Lauterbach's body was wrapped in a partially burned comforter, according to the autopsy, which was conducted Jan. 14. Clothing found on Lauterbach's body consisted of a sports bra and a green knit shirt. The report does not list any other clothing as being with her body when it was examined.
The autopsy report also details a "superficial incised wound to the left side of the neck." The wound is four-inches long with a two-inch gape.
The reports states the wound "appears to be real (not an artefact of charring) but may have occurred after death" as first reported in The Daily News on Jan 25. The wound, the report adds, "does not appear to damage critical structures."
In a note left to his wife before he fled, Laurean claimed that Lauterbach slit her own throat and that he just buried her body. Investigators have told The Daily News they believe the cut to her neck was an attempt by Laurean to disguise her actual manner of death, which was declared to be more than one blow to the head.
"Death is most likely due to blunt force injury to the head," the report states.
Sources close to the investigation have told The Daily News they believe Lauterbach was killed with a crowbar in Laurean's garage.
Lauterbach's body was so badly damaged from fire and decomposition that her arms and legs were "charred away," and several internal organs were not available for inspection by the state medical examiner who conducted the autopsy.
"The heart is barely recognizable ... the left lung is absent ... the stomach is not recovered," the report states.

The full autopsy report is available by clicking on the link under "Related Multimedia" in the upper right corner of this story.
Contact police reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534.

[Big Jim]

http://www.jdnews.com/attachments/jx...chautopsy1.pdf


Here's the link to the autopsy report...THIS IS WHAT HE DID TO THEM!!! This is why I hope and pray this piece of sh!t is found before he takes his own life!! God, I've never felt so much anger and killing rage for someone I have never met but he deserves a fate worse than death. He deserves the exact same death those two angels suffered...I'd volunteer and love to be the executioner on this one!!

[jahhead88]

'm at a loss for words. This whole thing makes me sick. Before I enlisted in the Marines in the late 1980's; some scumbag thought his girlfriends 4 year old daughter was possessed, and they had to exorcise the evil spirits out of this girl. So, they put her in an over and she burned to death.

Four of the officers who responded to the scene quit their jobs shortly after this incident. What did the scum sucking piece of trash get? Life in prison. Ironic, he got to live after murdering a child. And now, the only way Mexico will help is if their is no death penalty. He murders a pregnant woman and her unborn child, and he is running around as free as a bird, hiding out in Mexico.

Unbelievable. It seems like the criminals get more rights than their victims.

[OLE SARG]

I attribute some of the lackness in sentencing to some of the whacko judges we have nowadays. We need to cull out some of those *******s!!!!!

SEMPER FI,

[jahhead88]

I agree with you Ole Sarg 100%

[hrscowboy]

naw we need to lynch them judges i got the ropes and the horses lets do it cowboy style..

[SGT7477]

'm at a loss for words. This whole thing makes me sick. Before I enlisted in the Marines in the late 1980's; some scumbag thought his girlfriends 4 year old daughter was possessed, and they had to exorcise the evil spirits out of this girl. So, they put her in an over and she burned to death.

Four of the officers who responded to the scene quit their jobs shortly after this incident. What did the scum sucking piece of trash get? Life in prison. Ironic, he got to live after murdering a child. And now, the only way Mexico will help is if their is no death penalty. He murders a pregnant woman and her unborn child, and he is running around as free as a bird, hiding out in Mexico.

Unbelievable. It seems like the criminals get more rights than their victims.

He really thinks he is getting away with it the Man up above will make sure he pays for it dearly.

[MotivatorOfTheGuard]

I wouldn't be suprised if right now, some Recon Devil Dogs are being briefed about a sneaky sneaky op they have to do in Mexico. He'll be free as a bird enjoying the beach, right before some motivator jumps out of the ocean, grabs him, and retreats back into the water. 0321 Expedite style.

[YM SGT ENGLAND]

yea crazy **** lcpl. seen better though

[jahhead88]

I hope they snag his a**.

[thewookie]

They got him.