Cesar Laurean captured

[thedrifter]

Cesar Laurean captured
Search of Jacksonville residence leads to key information
April 10, 2008 - 9:17PM
BY LINDELL KAY AND HEATHER GALE
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Cesar Laurean, a fugitive Camp Lejeune Marine accused of killing a pregnant colleague, has been captured in Mexico by Mexican authorities and the FBI nearly three months to the day after fleeing Onslow County.

Information leading to Laurean's apprehension was gathered from electronic communication devices seized about two weeks ago from the house in Jacksonville where Christina Laurean has been living since her husband vanished, confirmed Dewey Hudson, district attorney for the 4th Prosecutorial District that includes Onslow County.

Prosecutors remain convinced that Laurean's wife, Christina Laurean, was not involved in the death of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, Hudson said, but investigators have been gathering evidence that she had been in contact with him since he fled Onslow County.

Capt. Rick Sutherland of the Onslow County Sheriff's Department declined to comment on that part of the investigation.

Amy Thoreson, spokesman with the Charlotte FBI field office, said Laurean was caught without incident and was being moved to Mexico City for extradition.

Magdalena Guzman, a spokeswoman for Michoacan state prosecutors, told The Associated Press that police carrying out an anti-kidnapping operation stopped Laurean as he wandered on a street in the rural township of Tacambaro, Michoacan, because they thought he looked suspicious.

When they realized he didn't speak Spanish well, they became even more suspicious and ran his name through a computer, learning he was wanted for Lauterbach's slaying.

"You know my name. You know who I am," Laurean told The Associated Press while being held at the Michoacan state Attorney General's Office in Morelia, the state capital.

Asked if he wanted to say anything, Laurean simply said "Proof," but wouldn't explain. Asked what he would do next, he replied, "do I have a choice? ... I don't know."

An Onslow County grand jury indicted Laurean on a first-degree murder charge in January for the killing of Lauterbach. He fled his Half Moon community home Jan. 11, just hours before investigators discovered charred human remains in a fire pit in the back yard of Laurean's home. The remains were later identified as those of Lauterbach and her unborn child.

An autopsy report listed Lauterbach's death as being the result of blunt force trauma to the head.

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, a Mexican national, fled Onslow County in his truck and boarded a bus in the Durham area. He was spotted at a bus station in Shreveport, La., mailed letters to his wife from Houston the next day and then crossed over into Mexico at Laredo, Texas, the following day, according to the FBI.

Onslow Sheriff Ed Brown said he was "elated" that Laurean was in custody and said he was grateful to U.S. and Mexican authorities for all their hard work.

"I credit the press which brought attention to the story and made it hard for Cesar to go anywhere and not have people recognize him," he said.

Federal agents will extradite Laurean back to Onslow County to face the first-degree murder charge, the FBI said.

"The FBI and its law enforcement partners brought to bear all of our domestic and international resources to find a man wanted for murder," said Nathan Gray, the FBI special agent in charge of the investigation.

Gray said the FBI would do everything in its power to ensure Laurean is brought back to Onslow County as quickly as possible to answer the charges against him.

"There is an appeals process that could take as long as a year," Hudson said.

The Sheriff's Department, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Interpol and the Mexican government worked with the FBI to find and arrest Laurean, Gray said.



The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Marine killing suspect caught in Mexico

By TRACI CARL, Associated Press Writer
52 minutes ago

A Marine suspected of killing a pregnant colleague told police he slept in fields and survived by eating fruit that he found during a three-month manhunt that ended with his arrest in western Mexico, authorities said.

FBI agents and police in the small town of Tacambaro arrested Cpl. Cesar Laurean on Thursday. He is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, whose burned remains were found in January in the backyard of his home near Camp Lejeune.

Bearded, thin and chained at the wrists and ankles, Laurean spoke briefly with The Associated Press while being held at the Michoacan state Attorney General's Office in Morelia, the state capital. He appeared slightly disoriented and stared straight ahead, his eyes occasionally filling up with tears as he answered a reporter's questions in terse phrases.

"You know my name. You know who I am," Laurean said. Asked if he wanted to say anything, Laurean answered, "Proof," but wouldn't explain.

Asked what he would do next, he replied, "Do I have a choice?... I don't know."

The FBI said Laurean, 21, is awaiting extradition to the U.S., although local prosecutors in North Carolina cautioned the process could take a year or more if he decides to fight it.

Magdalena Guzman, a prosecutors' spokeswoman, said police carrying out an anti-kidnapping operation stopped Laurean as he wandered on a street because they thought he looked suspicious.

When they realized he didn't speak Spanish well, they became even more suspicious. After running his name through a computer — and recognizing his distinctive tattoos — they realized Laurean was wanted in the United States to face charges in Lauterbach's death.

Guzman said Laurean told the arresting officers he had only 10 pesos — about $1 — in his pocket when arrested.

U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza said in a statement that "Laurean fled to Mexico early this year in the hope of avoiding justice" and called the arrest "a clear message to all would-be fugitives from U.S. law that Mexico will not provide them refuge."

Laurean, of Las Vegas, was born in Guadalajara, but family members there have said he moved to the U.S. more than 10 years ago. He had told members of his unit that he would flee to Mexico if it appeared he would be found guilty. Authorities believe he entered Mexico on a bus on Jan. 14.

Lauterbach and Laurean were both personnel clerks in the same logistics unit at Camp Lejeune, an expansive coastal North Carolina base that is home to roughly 50,000 Marines. Detectives believe Laurean killed Lauterbach, who was 20 and eight months pregnant, on Dec. 14 after forcing her to remove money from her bank account.

Detectives have said Laurean left behind a note for his wife in which he denied killing Lauterbach but admitted to burying her remains. In the note, Laurean said Lauterbach committed suicide by cutting her own throat.

Authorities rejected the assertion, saying evidence indicates Lauterbach died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Lauterbach accused Laurean of rape last spring, a charge he denied and one that Naval investigators were unable to corroborate. Even though Lauterbach later told investigators she did not feel Laurean posed a danger or threat to her, the pair was separated on base. The Marines have said their regimental commander was intent on taking the case to a hearing that could have led to a trial.

Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson has agreed not to seek execution in order to win the cooperation of Mexico, which refuses to send anyone back to the U.S. unless provided assurance they will not face a death sentence.

Tipped by the note, and not long after authorities went public in their search for the Lauterback, detectives discovered the charred remains of the missing Marine and her fetus in a shallow grave in Laurean's backyard.

Phone messages seeking comment left at Lauterbach's parents' home in Vandalia, Ohio, with Lauterbach's uncle Pete Steiner, and with family attorney Chris Conard were not immediately returned late Thursday.

Another family attorney, Merle Wilberding, said Lauterbach's mother, Mary, received the call from the FBI informing her of the arrest with "shock and surprise."

"She's been living with Cpl. Laurean being on the run ... and living without an expectation that he was going to be captured any time soon, so when the word came it really caught her by surprise, and she's still trying to let it all sink in," Wilberding told WDTN-TV in Dayton, Ohio.

A woman who answered the phone at the home of Laurean's father-in-law, Bruce Shifflet, near Prospect, Ohio, hung up without commenting when told of the arrest.

___

Associated Press writers Estes Thompson in Raleigh, North Carolina and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Fugitive Marine in custody in Mexico
From Staff and Wire Reports
CHARLOTTE - Mexican authorities and FBI special agents have fugitive U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean in custody in Mexico, three months after he disappeared amid allegations that he killed a pregnant colleague.

Federal authorities say Laurean was found in Morelia, a city in Michoacan state in the southeastern part of the country.

Laurean is wanted in connection with the January slaying of a fellow Marine at Camp Lejeune, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach of Ohio. The woman, who was eight months pregnant, and her fetus were found buried in Laurean's backyard in Jacksonville, authorities said.

The victim had accused Laurean of raping her, and Marines were investigating the charge when she was slain.

No details of the arrest were released Thursday night, but federal authorities confirmed in a news release that agents are awaiting his extradition to Onslow County to face murder charges. Officials will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. today at the Onslow County Sheriff's Office.

Nathan Gray, FBI special agent in charge of the Charlotte office, praised interagency cooperation for the successful manhunt.

"The FBI and its law enforcement partners brought to bear all of our domestic and international resources to find a man wanted for murder," Gray said in the news release. "Laurean's swift arrest in Mexico was due to the diligence and dedication of the Mexican government and our law enforcement partners. ... This was truly an international effort, and we will do all we can to ensure Laurean is brought back to Onslow County as quickly as possible to answer the charges against him."

Lauterbach disappeared Dec. 14. On Jan. 11 of this year, investigators discovered her charred remains in a shallow grave in Laurean's backyard.

The Onslow County Sheriff's Office filed charges against Laurean for the murder of Lauterbach, and a state arrest warrant was issued Jan. 12. Federal officials charged Laurean that day with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, and a federal warrant was issued for his arrest.

Earlier Thursday, the Associated Press reported that an Ohio congressman had chided the Marine Corps for what he called a lack of urgency in investigating Lauterbach's rape allegation. Experts called for greater protection of such victims.

Rep. Michael Turner, who submitted questions to the Marines on behalf of the woman's Ohio family, said the Corps took seven months to investigate her allegation that she was raped by Laurean while they were stationed at Camp Lejeune, and that it resulted in little action.

"The actions taken by the Marine Corps to protect Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach were totally inadequate," said Turner, a Republican whose district includes the Lauterbach's home in Vandalia.

Lt. Gen. R.S. Kramlich, director of the Marine Corps staff, said in a letter released Wednesday in response to Turner's questions that the Marines took appropriate steps to fully investigate the sexual assault allegations.

Kramlich said Lauterbach had told investigators she did not feel that Laurean posed a danger or threat to her.

The Lauterbach case follows a pattern, said Anita Sanchez, spokeswoman for the Miles Foundation, a private group that works with victims of crimes in the military, on Thursday.

"Some of the common threads include failure to protect the victim adequately, the victim remaining in the same vicinity as the alleged assailant," Sanchez said.

Scott Berkowitz, founder and president of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, said rape victims should not be prevented from transferring away from a military base where an attack occurred.

Kramlich said Lauterbach was assigned to a different work area, two miles away from where Laurean worked. And he said Lauterbach did not request a transfer to another base.

(Staff writer Titan Barksdale and news researcher Lamara Williams contributed to this report.)

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Sheriff: Law enforcement eliminated Laurean's resources
Suspect sought help, but did not find it
April 11, 2008 - 2:17PM
BY LINDELL KAY, HEATHER GALE AND JENNIFER HLAD
DAILY NEWS STAFF

The efforts of law enforcement to eliminate fugitive Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean's resources led to his "impoverished state" of living in a tiny wooden cabin and having 10 pesos in his pocket when he was captured in Mexico on Thursday, authorities said.

Laurean, accused of first-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of a pregnant colleague, was arrested walking to an Internet cafe, where authorities said he had been using a computer to ask for help from his family - including his wife, Christina Laurean. She refused to send money, local investigators said.

Laurean left his wife - also a Marine who has been ordered not to discuss the case - behind when he fled Onslow County in mid-January, after becoming the focus of the investigation into the disappearance of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach. Hours after Cesar Laurean ran, the charred remains of Lauterbach and her unborn child were discovered buried in a fire pit behind the Laureans' Half Moon community home.

Lauterbach had accused Cesar Laurean of rape and was in the third trimester of pregnancy when she was killed. Authorities have not released the paternity of the baby.

District Attorney Dewey Hudson said the Marine Corps was waiting to receive Laurean's DNA, and he knew military authorities were holding off testing any other possible father for Lauterbach's unborn baby.

Investigators had obtained property that contains Laurean's DNA and were prepared to do a test but would likely wait now that he is in custody, said Paul Ciccarelli, special agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in North and South Carolina.

However, Ciccarelli said if the extradition process drags on - which could take from 30 days to two years, officials said - NCIS is prepared to serve a search warrant through Mexican authorities to get a DNA sample.

Christina Laurean cooperated with authorities, but she had also communicated with her husband without telling investigators, said Hudson, the district attorney for the state's 4th Prosecutorial District, which includes Onslow County.

Laurean asked for her help, but she "specifically denied" his requests, because she knew that helping him in any way was against the law, and she told her husband that, Hudson said.

"Communicating with someone who is a fugitive in North Carolina is not against the law," he said. "(To be an) accessory after the fact to a crime, you have to do more than just communicate."

Two weeks ago, investigators seized a computer belonging to Christina Laurean's sister that Christina Laurean was using to communicate with her husband via the MySpace social networking Web site. Evidence recovered from the computer allowed detectives to identify the Internet cafes in Mexico where Laurean was going online, Hudson said.

But Christina Laurean is not a suspect in Lauterbach's homicide and has been prevented from coming forward to speak to the media by the Marine Corps, said her attorney, Jacksonville lawyer Christopher Welch.

"Lance Cpl. Christina Laurean was advised not to discuss circumstances of the case with anyone other than law enforcement officials," said Lt. Col. Curtis Hill, spokesman for II Marine Expeditionary Force, to which both Laureans and Lauterbach were assigned.

Hill also said the Marine Corps most likely would not be involved in the extradition process. He said the public has an unrealistic idea of what the Marine Corps can do to help in that regard.

"When a Marine becomes a deserter, he or she becomes a fugitive, and we turn to federal law to enforce the rules," he said. "We can't just comb the streets to find the people; we aren't authorized to do that."

But Hill said that as a member of the Marine Corps, he was glad to hear Laurean had been taken into custody.

Laurean also repeatedly asked other family members to help him by providing resources after he fled to his native Mexico, where he was arrested in small western town of San Juan de la Vina about 7:15 p.m. EDT.

Sheriff Ed Brown praised the work of U.S. and Mexican authorities for hounding Laurean until he was captured.

"(Laurean) was trying to flee from (authorities), and they brought him down to a dollar in his pocket. That is just a prime example of how good they are," he said.

Brown called the murder of Lauterbach "heinous" and said it "terrorized the minds of our citizens and our community."

But Laurean "is not a trophy" and will be treated like any other inmate when he is brought back to Onslow County, Brown said.

Hudson reiterated that in order to receive a warrant from Mexico for Laurean's arrest, he had to concede the death penalty.

"I will be working closely with the U.S. Department of Justice in order to facilitate Laurean's expeditious return to Jacksonville for trial," he said. "If convicted, Laurean faces a sentence of life without parole for the death of Maria Lauterbach."

According to an affidavit attached to a search warrant filed in January, Laurean told his wife as they drove to their attorney's office on Jan. 10 that Lauterbach visited the couple's home in mid-December, demanded money and told him she planned to leave the area.

He told his wife that he and Lauterbach purchased her bus ticket to El Paso, Texas, but she later returned to the Laureans' home and they began to argue. He claimed Lauterbach produced a knife and slit her own throat, a suggestion that authorities have dismissed because Medical Examiner Charles Garrett said after an autopsy was performed that the cut occurred after her death.

Laurean also told his wife he buried Lauterbach in the woods near their home.

"Obviously this has been a difficult, unanticipated ... situation for Christina," Welch said. "She has done everything the law requires of her. She has shown integrity. She has shown courage."

Hudson said he is confident Christina Laurean still loves her husband.

"From all the evidence I have reviewed, I feel confident that she was torn between what occurred and the love of her husband," Hudson said. "She still has love for him. It's obvious."

The day Laurean was arrested, an Associated Press reporter asked him whether he killed Lauterbach. He answered, "I loved her."



The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Investigators probe Laurean communication
April 11, 2008 - 11:36AM
LINDELL KAY
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Search warrants for the Jacksonville house investigators raided nearly two weeks ago looking for evidence of communication between Cesar Laurean and his wife Christina were sealed by a judge at the time the search occurred.

But Dewey Hudson, district attorney for the 4th Prosecutorial District that includes Onslow County, said law enforcement officials have information that the Laureans were communicating by computer and may have made plans to meet.

Cesar Laurean, captured Thursday evening in Mexico, has been indicted for first-degree murder in the death of pregnant Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach.

The warrants for the home and property were sealed by Onslow County Superior Court Judge Charles Henry at the time the search occurred, according to a court official.

Laurean was arrested Thursday evening wandering a street in Tacambaro, Mexico by the FBI and Mexican authorities - nearly three months after fleeing Onslow County. Authorities said they had zeroed in on his location by seizing computers at the home of Christina's sister, where she stayed for some time after her husband fled.

Prosecutors continue to say Christina Laurean was not involved in the death of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach.

Bearded, thin and chained at the wrists and ankles, Laurean spoke briefly with The Associated Press while being held at the Michoacan state Attorney General's Office in Morelia, the state capital. He appeared slightly disoriented and stared straight ahead, his eyes occasionally filling up with tears as he answered a reporter's questions in terse phrases.

"You know my name. You know who I am," Laurean said. Asked if he wanted to say anything, Laurean answered, "Proof," but wouldn't explain.

When Mexican authorities who stopped Laurean, they realized he didn't speak Spanish well and became suspicious.

Laurean told the arresting officers he had only 10 pesos - about $1 - in his pocket when arrested.

Laurean, of Las Vegas, was born in Guadalajara, but family members there have said he moved to the U.S. more than 10 years ago. He had told members of his unit that he would flee to Mexico if it appeared he would be found guilty of rape. Authorities believe he entered Mexico on a bus on Jan. 14.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Laurean e-mail to sheriff asks for immunity from military prosecution
Law enforcement efforts reduced financial resources
April 11, 2008 - 2:17PM
BY LINDELL KAY, HEATHER GALE AND JENNIFER HLAD
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Cesar Laurean sent an e-mail to Sheriff Ed Brown almost two weeks before he was captured in Mexico, asking whether Brown could provide immunity from military prosecution if Laurean returned to Onslow County.

"I know they will convict me with no evidence, I can't risk Leavenworth or a chain gang," Laurean wrote in the e-mail sent March 30. The e-mail was traced by authorities to the region in Mexico where Laurean was arrested Thursday, Brown said.

Laurean, a Marine corporal accused of first-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of pregnant colleague Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, had been on the lam since Jan. 11.

Brown replied to the e-mail, saying he felt compelled to be honest and could not guarantee immunity, but "turning yourself in would be a positive step, the wisest thing you could do."

Laurean was arrested walking to an Internet cafe, where authorities said he had been using a computer to ask for help from his family - including his wife, Christina Laurean. She refused to send money, local investigators said.

The efforts of law enforcement to eliminate Laurean's resources led to his "impoverished state" of living in a tiny wooden cabin and having 10 pesos in his pocket when he was captured, authorities said.

Laurean left his wife - also a Marine who has been ordered not to discuss the case - behind when he fled Onslow County in mid-January, after becoming the focus of the investigation into the Lauterbach's disappearance. Hours after Cesar Laurean ran, the charred remains of Lauterbach and her unborn child were discovered buried in a fire pit behind the Laureans' Half Moon community home.

Lauterbach had accused Cesar Laurean of rape and was in the third trimester of pregnancy when she was killed. Authorities have not released the paternity of the baby.

District Attorney Dewey Hudson said the Marine Corps was waiting to receive Laurean's DNA, and he knew military authorities were holding off testing any other possible father for Lauterbach's unborn baby.

Investigators had obtained property that contains Laurean's DNA and were prepared to do a test but would likely wait now that he is in custody, said Paul Ciccarelli, special agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in North and South Carolina.

However, Ciccarelli said if the extradition process drags on - which could take from 30 days to two years, officials said - NCIS is prepared to serve a search warrant through Mexican authorities to get a DNA sample.

Christina Laurean cooperated with authorities, but she had also communicated with her husband without telling investigators, said Hudson, the district attorney for the state's 4th Prosecutorial District, which includes Onslow County.

Laurean asked for her help, but she "specifically denied" his requests, because she knew that helping him in any way was against the law, and she told her husband that, Hudson said.

"Communicating with someone who is a fugitive in North Carolina is not against the law," he said. "(To be an) accessory after the fact to a crime, you have to do more than just communicate."

Two weeks ago, investigators seized a computer belonging to Christina Laurean's sister that Christina Laurean was using to communicate with her husband via the MySpace social networking Web site. Evidence recovered from the computer allowed detectives to identify the Internet cafes in Mexico where Laurean was going online, Hudson said.

But Christina Laurean is not a suspect in Lauterbach's homicide and has been prevented from coming forward to speak to the media by the Marine Corps, said her attorney, Jacksonville lawyer Christopher Welch.

"Lance Cpl. Christina Laurean was advised not to discuss circumstances of the case with anyone other than law enforcement officials," said Lt. Col. Curtis Hill, spokesman for II Marine Expeditionary Force, to which both Laureans and Lauterbach were assigned.

Hill also said the Marine Corps most likely would not be involved in the extradition process. He said the public has an unrealistic idea of what the Marine Corps can do to help in that regard.

"When a Marine becomes a deserter, he or she becomes a fugitive, and we turn to federal law to enforce the rules," he said. "We can't just comb the streets to find the people; we aren't authorized to do that."

But Hill said that as a member of the Marine Corps, he was glad to hear Laurean had been taken into custody.

Laurean also repeatedly asked other family members to help him by providing resources after he fled to his native Mexico, where he was arrested in small western town of San Juan de la Vina about 7:15 p.m. EDT.

Sheriff Ed Brown praised the work of U.S. and Mexican authorities for hounding Laurean until he was captured.

"(Laurean) was trying to flee from (authorities), and they brought him down to a dollar in his pocket. That is just a prime example of how good they are," he said.

Brown called the murder of Lauterbach "heinous" and said it "terrorized the minds of our citizens and our community."

But Laurean "is not a trophy" and will be treated like any other inmate when he is brought back to Onslow County, Brown said.

Hudson reiterated that in order to receive a warrant from Mexico for Laurean's arrest, he had to concede the death penalty.

"I will be working closely with the U.S. Department of Justice in order to facilitate Laurean's expeditious return to Jacksonville for trial," he said. "If convicted, Laurean faces a sentence of life without parole for the death of Maria Lauterbach."

According to an affidavit attached to a search warrant filed in January, Laurean told his wife as they drove to their attorney's office on Jan. 10 that Lauterbach visited the couple's home in mid-December, demanded money and told him she planned to leave the area.

He told his wife that he and Lauterbach purchased her bus ticket to El Paso, Texas, but she later returned to the Laureans' home and they began to argue. He claimed Lauterbach produced a knife and slit her own throat, a suggestion that authorities have dismissed because Medical Examiner Charles Garrett said after an autopsy was performed that the cut occurred after her death.

Laurean also told his wife he buried Lauterbach in the woods near their home.

"Obviously this has been a difficult, unanticipated ... situation for Christina," Welch said. "She has done everything the law requires of her. She has shown integrity. She has shown courage."

Hudson said he is confident Christina Laurean still loves her husband.

"From all the evidence I have reviewed, I feel confident that she was torn between what occurred and the love of her husband," Hudson said. "She still has love for him. It's obvious."

The day Laurean was arrested, an Associated Press reporter asked him whether he killed Lauterbach. He answered, "I loved her."



Click on the link at the right of this story to read the e-mail exchange between Cesar Laurean and Sheriff Ed Brown.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

E-mail exchange between Cesar Laurean and Sheriff Ed Brown
April 12, 2008 - 7:15AM

Editor's note: The following is a copy of the e-mail sent from Capt. Rick Sutherland of the Onslow County Sheriff's Department, in which he included the dates, times and text of an e-mail exchange between Sheriff Ed Brown and then-fugitive Cesar Laurean. The comments in bold were written by Sutherland.



On Sunday, March 30, 2008, Sheriff Brown received an email from an unknown source. The sender purported to be the fugitive Cesar Laurean. The sender claimed that they wanted to open a dialogue with Sheriff Brown to possibly arrange his surrender.

The email appeared to be sent from Mexico and the circumstances surrounding the delivery of the message were consistent with messages known to have been sent from Laurean.

Law Enforcement has NOT verified that this email actually came from Cesar Laurean nor have we been able to eliminate Laurean as the sender. Due to the fact that this could have been a legitimate attempt by Laurean to arrange his surrender, Sheriff Brown responded to the email.

The original email from the unknown sender and the Sheriff's response are attached below.

(The Sheriff's spelling of Laurean's name in the Sheriff's response is in response to the way the sender spelled the name)

_______________________________________







From: Cesar Lauren Lauren



Sent: Sunday, March 30, 2008 12:56 AM

To: Sheriff of Onslow County, NC

Subject: Sir , Can I ask you?

Sir,

Can you assure immunity from a military court martial if I come back? , I know they will convict me with no evidence, I cant risk Leavenworth or a chain gang, what can you do for me?



_________________________________________



FROM: Sheriff Ed Brown, Onslow County, North Carolina



SENT: Thursday, April 3, 2008 (11:00 A.M.)

TO: Cesar Lauren Lauren

SUBJECT: Mr. Lauren, Response to e-mail dated Sunday, March 30, 2008 (12:56AM)



Mr. Lauren, Sir:

First assuming the e-mail I received on Sunday, March 30, 2008, 12:56 AM) purported to be from you is authentic (real), I believe it is both honorable and professional to you that I personally respond to your questions.

Mr. Lauren, turning yourself in would be a very positive step, the wisest thing you could do. My opinion is based on experiences observed through my nearly forty years of law enforcement.

Mr. Lauren, you and I have never met so therefore it is not likely you would know how committed I am to being honest and straight up with people, even persons in your situation. I will not lie to you or mislead you relative to your questions in the e-mail I received and you know what those questions are.

My answer, after consulting with District Attorney Dewey Hudson, I cannot assure you immunity from the military court; however, at this time it is the civilian authorities who have charged you and I understand the military is leaving everything up to the civilian authorities. If in fact the e-mail I received is from you and you desire to have a verbal dialogue with me, this is my cell phone number and you may contact me any time: (910)xxx-xxxx) Thank You.



A Caring and Serving Sheriff,



Ed Brown

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Extradition could take weeks — or years
April 11, 2008 - 9:36PM
JENNIFER HLAD
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Extraditing Cesar Laurean from Mexico could take up to two years, but the prisons in Mexico are so horrible that the man accused of murdering a pregnant fellow Marine may actually ask to be sent back to North Carolina, a Texas attorney said.

The extradition process begins when the local district attorney forwards a request for extradition to the secretary of foreign relations for Mexico, said Joseph Gutheinz, a criminal law attorney in Houston. The secretary of foreign relations must then determine whether the request meets Mexican constitution and treaty regulations, Gutheinz said.

In this case, the U.S. does have an agreement with Mexico, Gutheinz said, but the death penalty and Laurean's military history could still be a roadblock.

The Mexican government does not agree with capital punishment, and Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson has signed an agreement promising he will not seek the death penalty if Laurean is extradited from Mexico. But Mexico also does not like to send someone back if they are going to face a military tribunal, Gutheinz said, and the military has been "very quiet" about whether it will be involved in the prosecution of the case.

"What I would have expected the military to say is that as long as the case is prosecuted in Onslow County, we will defer to the DA and not pursue charges," he said. "You would think there would be this communication, and not one word. It's a wall of silence."

After the request is approved, it is sent to the prosecutor general for the state - similar to a district attorney - who will take it to a district court there to start extradition procedures. If Laurean loses that case, he has 20 days to appeal, Gutheinz said.

"I think, when all is said and done, a year or two is reasonable (to assume the process could last)," he said.

Laurean has the right to appeal his extradition because he is a citizen of Mexico as well as the United States, Gutheinz said, and therefore has all the rights of citizens in both countries.

However, Mexico's justice system "is absolutely opposite, in one aspect, to ours," he said: Suspects there are presumed guilty until proven innocent.

Plus, the jails have no sanitation, incredibly bad food and abusive guards and inmates, Gutheinz said.

"Prisoners die there ... because the sanitation is so poor, the nutrition is so poor. This man, after two years - if he stays the whole time, fights extradition and goes through all his appeals - he is going to look like he just came from a Nazi concentration camp. That's the reality of life there. It's very, very harsh," Gutheinz said.

A problem American officials likely are concerned about, he said, is that "one sure way out of a Mexican jail is bribery."

"If he does have enough money, he could bribe his way out of jail," Gutheinz said.

Though it is not clear why Laurean did not fight his arrest, Gutheinz said he may have had his best interests in mind.

By being arrested in Mexico, "he's basically starting the process where the capital punishment will be off the table," Gutheinz said. "He has already won the first round, because now they cannot impose the death penalty."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Mexicans recall Marine suspect in cabin

By TRACI CARL, Associated Press Writer
Sat Apr 12, 12:49 AM ET

People wondered about the bearded stranger with a foreign accent who moved into a rustic cabin weeks ago in the pine-clad mountains surrounding this picturesque village.

Some thought maybe he was a drug trafficker — something not unheard of in these parts. It was not until Friday when they saw Cpl. Cesar Laurean's photograph in the local newspaper that they learned he was a U.S. Marine suspected of killing a pregnant colleague.

Police arrested Laurean, 21, on Thursday as he was walking along the main street in San Juan de la Vina in the municipality of Tacambaro, ending a three-month manhunt. He is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, who had accused him of rape.

Lauterbach's burned remains were found in January in the backyard of his home near Camp Lejeune, a coastal North Carolina base that is home to roughly 50,000 Marines.

FBI Public Affairs Specialist Amy Thoreson said FBI agents were present at Laurean's arrest in Mexico, but it was unclear what role they played.

Bearded and thin, Laurean told police he survived for months largely by eating avocados from the orchard in the mountains where he lived in Michoacan state.

After his arrest Thursday, a slightly disoriented Laurean spoke briefly with The Associated Press while being held by Mexican police.

"You know my name. You know who I am," Laurean said. Asked if he wanted to say anything, Laurean answered, "Proof," but would not explain.

Asked what he would do next, he replied, "Do I have a choice? ... I don't know."

Residents here said Laurean lived in a three-room wood cabin with a corrugated metal roof where he slept on a bed of crushed cardboard boxes. On Friday, there was a notebook on the cabin's floor showing that he kept a diary of his daily exercise routine, including push-ups, sit-ups and crunches. There were two shelves filled with canned tuna, instant soup and candy.

He walked to town daily, greeting those he passed, and spent hours at the local Internet cafe.

"He always seemed really happy to see us. He was serious, respectful," said Tomasa Boteyo, 78, who lived near his cabin.

Then on Thursday afternoon, state police officers drove through town looking for someone, residents say. They spotted Laurean walking toward the Internet cafe.

Lorenza Olayo, 96, who would greet Laurean daily from her front stoop, said he did not fight back when officers grabbed him.

She said she did not know why the young man was taken away until she saw his picture in the local newspaper the next day.

Lucio Tapia, 22, said before his arrest, Laurean told him he had just returned from Spain and that his parents were punishing him by making him live on an avocado orchard in Mexico.

Laurean was born in Guadalajara but reportedly moved to the U.S. more than 10 years ago.

"I thought he was a drug trafficker," Tapia said. "There's a lot of drugs here and drug traffickers hide out in the mountains here."

On Friday, Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson said Laurean and his wife, Christina, sent Internet messages to each other through the MySpace social-networking service. Christina Laurean used her sister's computer, which was seized, Hudson said.

Christina Laurean did not break any laws by communicating with her husband as long as she did not provide him with money or aid of any other kind, Hudson said.

Onslow County Capt. Rick Sutherland said Cesar Laurean "repeatedly asked for resources from family members" and that his wife "specifically denied those resource when she was asked."

Christina Laurean fully cooperated with investigators, he said, "and got us to the point where we are today."

The FBI said Cesar Laurean, of Las Vegas, is awaiting extradition to the U.S., although local authorities in North Carolina cautioned the process could take a year or more if he decides to fight it. They encouraged him Friday to waive extradition, saying the process — however lengthy — will inevitably lead to his return. Laurean was being held at a Mexico City prison.

Hudson, the district attorney, agreed not to seek the death penalty against Laurean in order to win the cooperation of Mexico authorities, who refuse to send anyone back to the U.S. unless assured they will not face execution. Hudson said Friday that Mexican law requires an extradition process that will take at least 60 days to complete.

Authorities believe that on Dec. 14, Laurean killed Lauterbach, who was eight months pregnant, after forcing her to remove money from her bank account.

On Friday, Navy investigators said they would wait until Laurean is returned to the United States to perform a paternity test to determine if he was the father of the unborn child, because they want a reliable DNA sample from him.

Lauterbach and Laurean were both personnel clerks in a logistics unit at Camp Lejeune. Detectives have said Laurean left behind a note for his wife in which he denied killing Lauterbach but admitted burying her remains.

In the note, Laurean said Lauterbach committed suicide by cutting her own throat, an assertion authorities have rejected, citing evidence that she died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Maria's mother, Mary Lauterbach, said Friday that a sheriff telephoned her with news of Laurean's capture. She told the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News that she was shopping for prom dress with her daughter Katie when she got the message.

"This has been a terrible tragedy, not only for our family but for Cesar and Christina and Laurean's family," she said as she backed out of her driveway at her Vandalia, Ohio, home.

In a separate statement released through her attorney, Lauterbach added that "nothing can replace the pain" of Maria's death but that her daughter would want justice done.

"There have always been huge question marks in my mind of what actually happened," she told the Dayton newspaper. "I don't know if we'll ever totally know."

___

Associated Press writers James Hannah in Vandalia, Ohio, and Estes Thompson in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Captured Marine's Wife Refused To Help Him
MORELIA, Mexico, April 11, 2008
(CBS/AP) Prosecutors in North Carolina say the wife of a Marine charged with murdering a pregnant colleague refused his pleas for help as he hid from authorities in Mexico.

Onslow County Sheriff's Capt. Rick Sutherland said Friday that Cpl. Cesar Laurean repeatedly asked his family and his wife Christina for resources after he fled in January to Mexico.

CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor reports that even though authorities say Christina Laurean had been communicating with her husband via the website MySpace, she's still considered a cooperating witness in the case. They say she will not be charged with a crime.

Laurean was arrested by FBI agents and police in the western Mexico town of Tacambaro on Thursday night after a three-month international manhunt. Sutherland said cooperation from Christina Laurean "aided us and got us to the point where we are today."

He is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, who had accused him of rape. Her burned remains were found in January in the backyard of his home near Camp Lejeune.

Due to extradition rules, Laurean will no longer be eligible for the death penalty, Glor reports.

Laurean told police he slept in fields and survived by eating fruit that he found while he was on the run, authorities said.

Bearded, thin and chained at the wrists and ankles, Laurean spoke briefly with The Associated Press while being held at the Michoacan state Attorney General's Office in Morelia, the state capital. He appeared slightly disoriented and stared straight ahead, his eyes occasionally filling up with tears as he answered a reporter's questions in terse phrases.

"You know my name. You know who I am," Laurean said. Asked if he wanted to say anything, Laurean answered, "Proof," but wouldn't explain.

Asked what he would do next, he replied, "Do I have a choice? ... I don't know."

The FBI said Laurean, 21, is awaiting extradition to the U.S., although local prosecutors in North Carolina cautioned the process could take a year or more if he decides to fight it.

Magdalena Guzman, a prosecutors' spokeswoman, said police carrying out an anti-kidnapping operation stopped Laurean as he wandered on a street because they thought he looked suspicious.

When they realized he didn't speak Spanish well, they became even more suspicious. After running his name through a computer - and recognizing his distinctive tattoos - they realized Laurean was wanted in the United States to face charges in Lauterbach's death.

CBS's Adrienne Bard in Mexico City says Laurean was arrested with one dollar in his pocket (listen).

U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza said in a statement that "Laurean fled to Mexico early this year in the hope of avoiding justice" and called the arrest "a clear message to all would-be fugitives from U.S. law that Mexico will not provide them refuge."

Laurean, of Las Vegas, was born in Guadalajara, but family members there have said he moved to the U.S. more than 10 years ago. He had told members of his unit that he would flee to Mexico if it appeared he would be found guilty of rape. Authorities believe he entered Mexico on a bus on Jan. 14.

Lauterbach and Laurean were both personnel clerks in the same logistics unit at Camp Lejeune, an expansive coastal North Carolina base that is home to roughly 50,000 Marines. Detectives believe Laurean killed Lauterbach, who was 20 and eight months pregnant, on Dec. 14 after forcing her to remove money from her bank account.

Detectives have said Laurean left behind a note for his wife in which he denied killing Lauterbach but admitted to burying her remains. In the note, Laurean said Lauterbach committed suicide by cutting her own throat.

Authorities rejected the assertion, saying evidence indicates Lauterbach died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Lauterbach accused Laurean of rape last spring, a charge he denied and one that Naval investigators were unable to corroborate. Even though Lauterbach later told investigators she did not feel Laurean posed a danger or threat to her, the pair was separated on base. The Marines have said their regimental commander was intent on taking the case to a hearing that could have led to a trial.

"Our focus as a community and a nation must be on achieving justice for Maria and determining what can be done in the future to provide protection for other women in the military," said Ohio GOP Rep. Michael Turner, who had complained about the Marines' handling of Lauterbach's rape allegations.

Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson has agreed not to seek execution in order to win the cooperation of Mexico, which refuses to send anyone back to the U.S. unless provided assurance they will not face a death sentence.

Tipped by the note, and not long after authorities went public in their search for the Lauterback, detectives discovered the charred remains of the missing Marine and her fetus in a shallow grave in Laurean's backyard.

Phone messages seeking comment left at Lauterbach's parents' home in Vandalia, Ohio, with Lauterbach's uncle Pete Steiner, and with family attorney Chris Conard were not immediately returned late Thursday.

Another family attorney, Merle Wilberding, said Lauterbach's mother, Mary, received the call from the FBI informing her of the arrest with "shock and surprise."

"She's been living with Cpl. Laurean being on the run ... and living without an expectation that he was going to be captured any time soon, so when the word came it really caught her by surprise, and she's still trying to let it all sink in," Wilberding told WDTN-TV in Dayton, Ohio.

In an exclusive interview on CBS News' The Early Show in January, Laurean's in-laws pleaded for him to turn himself in, saying that it would be better for both families rather than him just being caught.

A woman who answered the phone at the home of Laurean's father-in-law, Bruce Shifflet, near Prospect, Ohio, hung up without commenting when told of the arrest.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Laurean Web use tracked
April 13, 2008 - 12:24AM
LINDELL KAY AND MIKE MCHUGH
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean fled Onslow County after a story about the disappearance of the woman he is now accused of killing, and an attached incident report revealing her rape allegation to the public, were viewed on a computer in his home around 4 a.m. on Jan. 11, authorities said.

Laurean was arrested Thursday in Mexico and awaits extradition to Onslow County to face a first-degree murder charge in the bludgeoning death of a pregnant colleague who had previously accused him of rape.

The information that someone in the Laurean home viewed pages related to the search for then-missing Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach on The Daily News' Web site was withheld by investigators until Laurean's apprehension, said Capt. Rick Sutherland of the Onslow County Sheriff's Department.

Investigators held onto the information based on the belief that if Laurean had viewed the site, he would do so again, Sutherland said.

Investigators believe Laurean left his Half Moon community home around 4 a.m., leaving notes with his wife, Christina Laurean - also a Marine who has been ordered not to discuss the case. The notes said that Lauterbach had come to their house at 103 Meadow Trial, became argumentative and slit her own throat, according to an affidavit.

Christina Laurean contacted the Sheriff's Department through her command and, within hours, investigators had found charred human remains buried underneath a fire pit in the backyard of the Laureans' home.

The autopsy that confirmed the remains to be Lauterbach and her unborn child also revealed that Lauterbach died of blunt force trauma to the head, and a cut to her throat was more than likely made postmortem.

The blunt weapon used to kill Lauterbach was a crowbar, according to sources close to the investigation.

The Sheriff's Department confirmed that a possible murder weapon had been turned over to them in mid-January by a witness, but would not confirm what the "item" was.

Laurean left his black Dodge pick-up at hotel in Morrisville, near an unmanned bus station and rode a bus into his native Mexico, federal investigators said.

Laurean had told his wife and fellow Marines he would flee to Mexico - his country of birth - if he thought he would be found guilty of Lauterbach's rape, according to the FBI.

Once south of the border, with his resources dwindling, Laurean contacted family members via the social networking Web site MySpace and asked for help and money.

Laurean had 10 pesos in his pocket and was walking to an Internet caf￩ when he was arrested, The Associated Press reported.

Christina Laurean refused to aid her husband, but did not alert authorities she had been communicating with him, said Dewey Hudson, district attorney for the 4th Prosecutorial District, which includes Onslow County.

Investigators seized a computer belonging to Christina Laurean's sister from her house, where Christina Laurean had stayed some since January, in Jacksonville two weeks ago.

Through court orders signed by Onslow County Superior Court Judge Charles Henry, which precluded disclosure, investigators tracked the Internet service provider addresses of visitors to MySpace.com, jdnews.com and other Internet sites, Sutherland said Saturday.

"The information we obtained from The Daily News' Web site collaborated information we had as to where Laurean was in Mexico," he said.

Elliott Potter, the publisher and executive editor of The Daily News, said the newspaper, through its Internet division, complied with the court order.

"We were disappointed with the nondisclosure portion of the order, since we had been cooperative in providing this information in a timely manner," he said Saturday night. "We considered a challenge to that portion - and discussed the situation with an attorney - but decided not to act unless and until the information was essential to the story."

Laurean's manhunt came to an abrupt end when he was picked up by Mexican authorities after stumbling across an unrelated roadblock in San Juan de la Vina, but the circumstances that put him on that path were the result of investigators closing in, Sheriff Ed Brown said.

The efforts of law enforcement to eliminate Laurean's resources led to his "impoverished state" at the time he was captured, Brown said.

The sender of a March 30 e-mail from an account in Laurean's name and generated from the general location in Mexico where Laurean would later be arrested asked Brown to provide the sender with immunity from military prosecution.

The sheriff's department clarified remarks about the origin of an e-nmail believed to have been sent by Laurean to Brown. The e-mail said, "I know they will convict me with no evidence, I can't risk Leavenworth or a chain gang, what can you do for me?"

In Brown's reply, the sheriff said he could not guarantee immunity, but "turning yourself in would be a positive step, the wisest thing you could do."

Laurean is charged with first-degree murder in civilian court. While the military could technically seek charges at the same time as civilian authorities, legal experts have said such a joint prosecution is not recommended by the military's manual for courts martial and happens rarely and only in unusual sets of circumstances.

Police arrested Laurean as he was walking along the main street in San Juan de la Vina in the Mexican municipality of Tacambaro. He was born in Guadalajara but reportedly moved to the U.S. more than 10 years ago.



The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Extradition could take weeks — or years
April 11, 2008 - 9:36PM
JENNIFER HLAD
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Extraditing Cesar Laurean from Mexico could take up to two years, but the prisons in Mexico are so horrible that the man accused of murdering a pregnant fellow Marine may actually ask to be sent back to North Carolina, a Texas attorney said.

The extradition process begins when the local district attorney forwards a request for extradition to the secretary of foreign relations for Mexico, said Joseph Gutheinz, a criminal law attorney in Houston. The secretary of foreign relations must then determine whether the request meets Mexican constitution and treaty regulations, Gutheinz said.

In this case, the U.S. does have an agreement with Mexico, Gutheinz said, but the death penalty and Laurean's military history could still be a roadblock.

The Mexican government does not agree with capital punishment, and Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson has signed an agreement promising he will not seek the death penalty if Laurean is extradited from Mexico. But Mexico also does not like to send someone back if they are going to face a military tribunal, Gutheinz said, and the military has been "very quiet" about whether it will be involved in the prosecution of the case.

"What I would have expected the military to say is that as long as the case is prosecuted in Onslow County, we will defer to the DA and not pursue charges," he said. "You would think there would be this communication, and not one word. It's a wall of silence."

After the request is approved, it is sent to the prosecutor general for the state - similar to a district attorney - who will take it to a district court there to start extradition procedures. If Laurean loses that case, he has 20 days to appeal, Gutheinz said.

"I think, when all is said and done, a year or two is reasonable (to assume the process could last)," he said.

Laurean has the right to appeal his extradition because he is a citizen of Mexico as well as the United States, Gutheinz said, and therefore has all the rights of citizens in both countries.

However, Mexico's justice system "is absolutely opposite, in one aspect, to ours," he said: Suspects there are presumed guilty until proven innocent.

Plus, the jails have no sanitation, incredibly bad food and abusive guards and inmates, Gutheinz said.

"Prisoners die there ... because the sanitation is so poor, the nutrition is so poor. This man, after two years - if he stays the whole time, fights extradition and goes through all his appeals - he is going to look like he just came from a Nazi concentration camp. That's the reality of life there. It's very, very harsh," Gutheinz said.

A problem American officials likely are concerned about, he said, is that "one sure way out of a Mexican jail is bribery."

"If he does have enough money, he could bribe his way out of jail," Gutheinz said.

Though it is not clear why Laurean did not fight his arrest, Gutheinz said he may have had his best interests in mind.

By being arrested in Mexico, "he's basically starting the process where the capital punishment will be off the table," Gutheinz said. "He has already won the first round, because now they cannot impose the death penalty."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Mother Remembers Slain Marine as Spunky Athlete


Posted: Apr. 12, 2008
Updated: Apr. 13 11:51 a.m.

DAYTON, Ohio — Fourth-graders remembered a slain marine by running a victory lap during an annual fitness day event she participated in 10 years ago.

About 1,000 Miami Valley fourth-graders ran the lap Saturday in honor of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach at the Spring for Elementary School Day Fitness Challenge.

On Saturday, Mary Lauterbach remembered her daughter as an athletic and spunky fourth-grader who surged ahead from last place during the homestretch to win the 400-meter race in 1998.

The mother released home video to CNN showing Lauterbach at high school soccer games, dribbling the ball and scoring goals. She tells the camera:

"For after high school, I am going to go into the Marines. So I'll probably be doing that for 20 or 25 years, and then hopefully after that becoming a cop."

Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean is suspected in the Dec. 14, 2007, slaying of Maria and her unborn son, whose charred remains were found buried in his back yard in Jacksonville Jan. 11. Laurean was captured Thursday in Mexico after a 3-month manhunt.

In a CNN interview, Mary Lauterbach said her daughter's murder should prompt the Marines to do more to protect women in the ranks who bring forward allegations of abuse.

Lauterbach accused Laurean of rape last April, a charge he denied and one that naval investigators were unable to corroborate. The Marines have said their regimental commander was intent on taking the case to a hearing that could have led to a trial.

Lauterbach said that after she filed charges, an unidentified man assaulted her in a parking lot on base one night and that she suffered other harassment, including her car being keyed.

Even though Lauterbach later told investigators she did not feel Laurean posed a danger or threat to her, the pair was separated on base. Lauterbach and Laurean were personnel clerks in the same logistics unit at Camp Lejeune.
Web Editor: Anne Johnson

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Extradition procedure under way for Laurean
Mexican judge’s recommendation just the beginning
April 14, 2008 - 11:46PM
LINDELL KAY
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean, accused of murder in Onslow County and arrested in Mexico after a three-month manhunt, could not immediately waive extradition back to the United States even if he wanted to, officials say.

"I have heard the rumors that he will be back here in a day or two, but there is a process that will take a certain period of time," said Dewey Hudson, district attorney for the 4th Prosecutorial District, which includes Onslow County.

Laurean - indicted for the first-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach in December and accused of burying her body and that of her unborn child beneath his backyard fire pit - had his first appearance in front of a judge in Mexico over the weekend, said Capt. Rick Sutherland of the Onslow County Sheriff's Department.

The judge recommended extradition, Sutherland said, adding there are steps to be taken and "we do not know what (Laurean) will want to do."

Laurean has representation in Mexico, said Jacksonville lawyer Wally Paramore, who has been appointed as Laurean's attorney by the state's Capital Defender's Office.

He said he hoped to be in contact with Laurean through his representatives there and would then have a better idea of his client's situation.

Laurean was arrested walking to an Internet cafe, where authorities said he had been using a computer to ask for help from his family - including his wife, Christina Laurean, also a Marine, who has been ordered not to discuss the case. She refused to send money to her husband, local investigators said.

The efforts of law enforcement to eliminate Laurean's resources led to his "impoverished state" living in a tiny wooden cabin and having 10 pesos in his pocket when he was captured, authorities said.

Laurean left Onslow County on Jan. 11 after becoming the focus of the investigation into Lauterbach's disappearance, authorities said. An Internet story about Lauterbach's disappearance and an attached investigation report about Lauterbach's rape allegations were viewed on a computer in Laurean's Meadow Trail home about 4 a.m. that day, detectives learned after seizing the computer.

Laurean rode a bus into his native Mexico, according to the FBI.

Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.

Ellie