Maria Frances Lauterbach, 20, preg msg marine 12/19/07

[KittyMom]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,321188,00.html

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A pregnant Marine based at Camp Lejeune has been missing since before Christmas, and the Onslow County Sheriff's Department is investigating her disappearance.

Authorities say 20-year-old Maria Frances Lauterbach was reported missing Dec. 19 by her mother, who was the last person to speak with her, on Dec. 13. Her cell phone was found Dec. 20 near the main gate at Camp Lejeune.

She is with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group and is about eight months pregnant.

The sheriff's department said Lauterbach's mother reported that her daughter was supposed to testify about an incident she witnessed on base.

"There are several findings and pieces of evidence that have been discovered that cause law enforcement to be concerned with the circumstances surrounding Maria's disappearance," the sheriff's department said in a news release.

The State Bureau of Investigation also is working on the case.

First Lt. Richard Ulsh, a public affairs officer with the 2nd Marine Logistics Gropu, verified that Lauterbach is on active duty. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy investigators are cooperating with the investigation, he said.

[Grande]

http://i4.tinypic.com/6pi7nmg.jpg

[KittyMom]

http://www.wect.com/Global/story.asp?S=7594784&nav=2gQc

Pregnant Marine Reported Missing

Posted: Jan 8, 2008 03:31 PM EST
Updated: Jan 8, 2008 05:26 PM EST

ONSLOW COUNTY -- The Onslow County Sheriff's Office is on the lookout for clues to the whereabouts of a Marine who is 8-months pregnant.

On December 19, the Sheriff's Office was contacted by Mary Lauterbach, the mother of 20-year-old Maria Frances Lauterbach of Dayton, Ohio.

Mary Lauterbach reported her daughter as a missing person.

Maria is describe as a 20-year-old white female of 2MLG, Camp Lejeune living in Midway Park, NC.

She said that her daughter is stationed at Camp Lejeune and that she was very suspicious that something bad may have happened to Maria.

Maria's mother added that Maria was a witness in an incident that had occurred on the base and that Maria was supposed to testify in the proceedings.

The SBI and NCIS have been called in to assist and they are continuing to provide technical and investigative assistance.

There are several findings such as her car at a bus station that cause law enforcement to be concerned with the circumstances surrounding Maria's disappearance.

The Sheriff Ed Brown says he is personally offering a $500 reward in order to track her down.

Reported by Kelli O'Hara

[SavannahStar]

Just read this myself and was about to post it.

I wonder why this case hasn't been publicized before this?:confused:

[KittyMom]

Just read this myself and was about to post it.

I wonder why this case hasn't been publicized before this?:confused:

I can't believe that it hasn't made the news considering she is 8 months pregnant.

She was on active duty, last heard from on 13dec and reported msg by mom on 19dec....Why did no one on base not report her missing? Afterall, she was 8 months along. She could've been in a medical crisis. :waitasec:


Am I wrong in thinking that active duty personnel have jobs on base during the day?

[KittyMom]

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/01/marine_missinggirl_080108/

By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Jan 9, 2008 6:09:14 EST

Authorities are looking for a 20-year-old pregnant Marine who has been missing from her post at Camp Lejeune, N.C., for more than three weeks.

Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach was a witness to an incident that occurred on base and was due to testify about it, according to sheriff’s officials in Onslow County, N.C. Sheriff’s and Marine Corps officials declined to provide any more details regarding the incident for which Lauterbach was scheduled to testify.

She is a native of Dayton, Ohio, and is eight months pregnant.

Lauterbach was last heard from on Dec. 14, when she spoke to her mother by telephone, sheriff’s officials said. Several days later, her mother, Mary Lauterbach, of Dayton, contacted the Onslow County Sheriff’s Department to file a missing persons report. The mother was “suspicious that something bad may have happened to her daughter,” sheriff’s officials said in a prepared statement.

Investigators found her cell phone discarded near the main gate at Camp Lejeune on Dec. 20. No calls have been made on the phone since Dec. 14, sheriff’s officials said.

Bank records show a withdrawal from her account on Dec. 14. Ten days later, on Christmas Eve, records show “suspicious activity” on her account, investigators said.

In addition, the sheriff’s department’s statement said: “There are several findings and pieces of evidence that have been discovered that cause law enforcement to be concerned with the circumstances surrounding Maria’s disappearance.”
She drives a blue Hyundai Sonata, which also remains missing.

Lauterbach joined the Marine Corps in June 2006 and has not been deployed overseas. She is currently assigned to the Group Consolidated Administration Center, Service Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Marine officials at Camp Lejeune declined to provide any further information on Tuesday.

Lauterbach is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds, with blond hair, blue eyes and a Marine Corps tattoo on her upper right arm, according to sheriff’s officials.

Lauterbach’s friends and family have created an online page at Facebook.com, labeled “Help us find Maria Lauterbach.”

“All of us love you and we miss you,” wrote her sister, Anne Lauterbach, on the page. “Please come home!!!”

[Grande]

I can't believe that it hasn't made the news considering she is 8 months pregnant.

She was on active duty, last heard from on 13dec and reported msg by mom on 19dec....Why did no one on base not report her missing? Afterall, she was 8 months along. She could've been in a medical crisis. :waitasec:


Am I wrong in thinking that active duty personnel have jobs on base during the day?

I can't help but wonder if this is a contributing factor in the lack of media attention or public plea's for information;

"Maria's mother added that Maria was a witness in an incident that had occurred on the base and that Maria was supposed to testify in the proceedings."

http://www.wect.com/Global/story.asp?S=7594784&nav=2gQc

[KittyMom]

http://www.wjbf.com/midatlantic/jbf/news_index/entertainment_news.apx.-content-articles-NCT-2008-01-09-0036.html

Wednesday, Jan 09, 2008 - 12:49 PM Updated: 01:59 PM
By Tawanda Carlton

The search continues this afternoon for a missing marine who could give birth any day now.

No one has seen or heard from 20 year old Maria Lauterbach since December 14th.

Police tell us she is now 8 and half months pregnant.

They also say there are several red flags that are causing concern.

First her cell phone was found on the ground near the main gate at Camp Lejeune on December 20th.

There have been reports of "suspicious activity" on her bank account.

On Monday night her car was found at the Onslow County bus station.

Her mother lives in Dayton, Ohio-- she is actually the one who called authorities in Onslow county to report her disappearance.

Lauterbach's mother says her daughter is a lance corporal, with the Second Marine Logistics Group.

Another interesting fact is that Maria was a witness to an incident that happened on the base-- and she's scheduled to testify in court.

That's another reason investigators believe her disappearance is suspicious.


The SBI and NCIS are also helping, with this investigation.



If you know anything about her disappearance, please call your local law enforcement agency.


This site has a photo of Maria in her uniform.

[KittyMom]

http://www.myfoxwghp.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5437177&version=3&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

Last Edited: Wednesday, 09 Jan 2008, 1:52 PM EST
Created: Wednesday, 09 Jan 2008, 1:46 PM EST

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) -- The Marine Corps said it is cooperating fully with the Onslow County Sheriff's Office in the disappearance of a pregnant Marine.

Officials at Camp Lejeune said Wednesday that they are hopeful for the safe return of 20-year-old Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach.

Authorities said Lauterbach disappeared before Christmas and that her cell phone was found December 20 near the main gate at Camp Lejeune. She is about eight months pregnant.

The Montgomery, Ohio native is with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group of the II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Camp Lejeune officials said Lauterbach joined the Marine Corps in June 2006 and was trained as a personnel clerk.

[KittyMom]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jLAxQfkotgyOSgs3LXmXYW6hy6PgD8U2HULG2

20 minutes ago

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — A 20-year-old pregnant Marine who was expected to testify about something she witnessed on base has been missing since mid-December, authorities said.

The Marine Corps said Wednesday it is cooperating fully with the Onslow County Sheriff's Office in the disappearance of Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach, who is about eight months pregnant.

The sheriff's office has said Lauterbach's mother reported that her daughter was supposed to testify about an on-base incident.

"There are several findings and pieces of evidence that have been discovered that cause law enforcement to be concerned with the circumstances surrounding Maria's disappearance," the sheriff's department said in a statement.

Sheriff's investigators did not return calls seeking additional comment Wednesday, and it was not clear what Lauterbach was expected to say in testimony.

The State Bureau of Investigation also is working on the case. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy investigators are cooperating with the investigation, said First Lt. Richard Ulsh, a public affairs officer with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group.

Authorities say Lauterbach, originally from Montgomery, Ohio, was reported missing Dec. 19 by her mother, who last spoke with her daughter on Dec. 13. Her cell phone was found Dec. 20 near the main gate at Camp Lejeune.

Lauterbach is assigned to the 2nd Marine Logistics Group of the II Marine Expeditionary Force. Camp Lejeune officials said she joined the Marine Corps in June 2006 and was trained as a personnel clerk.

The caption for the photo at left...
From Left, Lt. Col. Scott Jack, military council, Maj. Fred Galvin, Fox company commander and Mark Warple, civilian counsel, arrive on Camp Lejeune on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2007, for the second day of a court inquiry examining a March 4, 2007 incident in which Marines of Marine Special Operations, Fox Company are accused of opening fire on a crowded highway, killing as many as 19 civilians and wounding 50 others. (AP photo, Chuck Beckley)


:shock: If Maria never went overseas, how was she a witness to this? They must've put the wrong caption with this story.

[Roamer]

My apologies if this offends anyone, but it wouldn't be the first time one of the services kept something from the public, whether they're doing their own investigating, or trying to cover up something.

Believe me, I'm not slamming the service, or any branch of it. My mom and dad were both career military.

This is totally IMO.

[KittyMom]

My apologies if this offends anyone, but it wouldn't be the first time one of the services kept something from the public, whether they're doing their own investigating, or trying to cover up something.

Believe me, I'm not slamming the service, or any branch of it. My mom and dad were both career military.

This is totally IMO.

I was thinking the same thing. I mean, how else do you explain that she was missing so many days and no one from the based contacted her mom to let her know. This is going to be an ugly one IF the truth is ever released.

[Claudia]

I was thinking the same thing. I mean, how else do you explain that she was missing so many days and no one from the based contacted her mom to let her know. This is going to be an ugly one IF the truth is ever released.

Is there any chance that because she was so far along in her pregnancy that she was on leave? Maybe that's why they didn't report her missing on the base. If she was on leave, they wouldn't know she was missing. :z0tdntknw:

I'll tell you what, though. If my mom couldn't get me on the phone for just ONE day, she'd be calling someone to check on me! I am just surprised it took so long for her mom to think there was a problem, especially considering how far along she was in her pregnancy. Maybe they didn't have the kind of relationship that my mom & I do - I call her every day, at least once.

[KittyMom]

Is there any chance that because she was so far along in her pregnancy that she was on leave? Maybe that's why they didn't report her missing on the base. If she was on leave, they wouldn't know she was missing. :z0tdntknw:

I'll tell you what, though. If my mom couldn't get me on the phone for just ONE day, she'd be calling someone to check on me! I am just surprised it took so long for her mom to think there was a problem, especially considering how far along she was in her pregnancy. Maybe they didn't have the kind of relationship that my mom & I do - I call her every day, at least once.

You would think that with her being so far along there would be at least one person in her life (baby's daddy, close friend, mom, sister, co-worker) that would call to see if she'd gone into labor. I'm smelling fishsticks.

[Claudia]

You would think that with her being so far along there would be at least one person in her life (baby's daddy, close friend, mom, sister, co-worker) that would call to see if she'd gone into labor. I'm smelling fishsticks.

You would think, wouldn't you?
If there was no one, then that's really sad.
Something is definitely up.

[ChickyGirl]

Maybe she didn't witness the incident, but was a witness at the trial because of something she was told.

Pure speculation. Maybe one of the Marines on trial was her boyfriend/baby's daddy until he told her what happened over there.

The mother said she was a loner and she knew of no boyfriends. Odd.

MOO

[ChickyGirl]

I don't think there is a date when that incident occurred. Something stinks that's for sure. imo

[KittyMom]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2279410/

Investigators declined to discuss a possible "significant other" or the father of Lauterbach's baby.

She lived in the Midway Park housing area, which isn't on base but is reserved for Marines. Deputies have searched the home and questioned some roommates.

Investigators are still waiting to talk with at least one male roommate who might be deployed, Brown said, adding the man could be considered a person of interest.



Lauterbach also was scheduled to testify in a criminal case after being the victim of an on-base crime, he said, declining to elaborate.



hmmm...roommates, and no one noticed she was missing or wondered where she was?

[sunstar]

I'm following this on Nancy's show for the 2nd time tonight, and I just can't believe Maria just left ~ especially after talking to her mom and mom planning on coming to visit that weekend. I'm really also thinking now that the baby father might be someone of superior rank to her and why mom can't comment further when asked about the baby father only saying that Maria didn't have a boyfriend. Something's sure not right with this whole story. :shock:

[sunstar]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2279410/
hmmm...roommates, and no one noticed she was missing or wondered where she was?
I think the roommate noticed she was gone the next day. The military couldn't file a missing persons report for a few days though. What's curious too is the bank activity around the time she disappeared.

[sunstar]

My apologies if this offends anyone, but it wouldn't be the first time one of the services kept something from the public, whether they're doing their own investigating, or trying to cover up something.

Believe me, I'm not slamming the service, or any branch of it. My mom and dad were both career military.

This is totally IMO.
Oh, no offense here! I'm thinking more of covering up something, and I'm very much pro-military, but there are ranks in the service, and she was only a LCpl ~ what if the baby father were of a higher rank? They shouldn't have been "together", know what I mean?

[Grande]

Sunstar, thanks for the updates.

I didn't catch Nancy, I may try later.

[sunstar]

Sunstar, thanks for the updates.

I didn't catch Nancy, I may try later.
Her transcript for tonight's show isn't up yet, but go here and check back for it ~

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ng.html

[Grande]

Her transcript for tonight's show isn't up yet, but go here and check back for it ~

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/ng.html

Will do, thank you.

[sunstar]

Will do, thank you.
You're most welcome! :) I'm just hoping that Maria and her baby are found ~ soon.

[Buddeelove]

On Greta tonite...no one including her family seemed to know who the father is and she was (maybe) going to be a witness. This does not sound good for her and up until the 14th of Sec. she would speak with her mom 3 times a day. Not good I am afraid

[Buddeelove]

They found her car this Monday at the bus station and it was stated it was not their last weekend

[Sunny]

Did anyone watch Dan Abrams last nite on MSNBC he talked about Marie Lauderbach and he had a reporter on that said that Marie was suppose to testify and that she was attacked and was suppose to testify about it. So it sounds like Marie was in the center of the investigation and Now she is missing I smell a coverup by the Marines and isn't it strange No one will say who the Father is?? The reporter said that Marie's Mom says that she is Bi Polar and is often alone, this mother knows alot more then she is saying! I am waiting for the transcript from last nites show to come up there is something hinky about this case!! IMO
Here is the link to the vdeo from last nites show I can't bring it up for some reason puter slow this mornin, maybe someone can get it to work it is Dan Abrams talking about this case,about Marie Lauderbach...............
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22581056#22581056

[Audie]

Fox news are fixin to have a story on Miss Lauterbach (sp?). I've been waiting for almost 2 hrs for this story. It'll probably be 2 min long, lol.

[Grande]

Did anyone watch Dan Abrams last nite on MSNBC he talked about Marie Lauderbach and he had a reporter on that said that Marie was suppose to testify and that she was attacked and was suppose to testify about it. So it sounds like Marie was in the center of the investigation and Now she is missing I smell a coverup by the Marines and isn't it strange No one will say who the Father is?? The reporter said that Marie's Mom says that she is Bi Polar and is often alone, this mother knows alot more then she is saying! I am waiting for the transcript from last nites show to come up there is something hinky about this case!! IMO
Here is the link to the vdeo from last nites show I can't bring it up for some reason puter slow this mornin, maybe someone can get it to work it is Dan Abrams talking about this case,about Marie Lauderbach...............
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22581056#22581056

She was attacked? :shock:

Let's hope this isn't a result of that incident. Sounds to me like the alleged assailant would have plenty of motive to silence the witness, Maria in this case.

Maria, :1222423:

[hinman]

I'm following this on Nancy's show for the 2nd time tonight, and I just can't believe Maria just left ~ especially after talking to her mom and mom planning on coming to visit that weekend. I'm really also thinking now that the baby father might be someone of superior rank to her and why mom can't comment further when asked about the baby father only saying that Maria didn't have a boyfriend. Something's sure not right with this whole story. :shock:
I watched this last night and I found it odd that nobody knew who the father was of the baby, noone knew when she was due. Come on she has to have friends. It just seemed odd to me that everything they asked the anser was no one knows.

[Sunny]

She was attacked? :shock:

Let's hope this isn't a result of that incident. Sounds to me like the alleged assailant would have plenty of motive to silence the witness, Maria in this case.

Maria, :1222423:
That is what I am thinking also she may not be found from what I remember about Camp La Jeune there are alot of woods around there. I hope they find her. I will be watching Fox news for Updates today.
Also last nite on Abrams show they talked about interviewing the roommate of Maria's who has recently been deployed that maybe she knows something??

[Grande]

Sheriff: Missing Marine was to testify as crime victim

(CNN) -- A pregnant Marine missing from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, was the victim of a crime and was to testify about it, the Onslow County sheriff told CNN affiliates.

Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach was eight months pregnant when she went missing on December 14.

A search is under way for 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, who has been missing from Camp Lejeune since December 14.

Sheriff Ed Brown told CNN affiliate WECT that other people in the military could be involved with the Marine's disappearance and that they may have tampered with her car and cell phone.

Brown told WRAL that investigators want to talk to a male roommate of Lauterbach's who may be on deployment and could be considered a person of interest in the case.

"Until you can interview him and eliminate, you still consider them as key people of concern," the sheriff said.

Lauterbach's phone was found at a Camp Lejeune gate on December 20. Her car was found at a Jacksonville bus station on Monday, the sheriff told WECT. But the car was not there during the weekend, he said.

"The more that we have suspicious things come up, the more concern we have that something is not right in this lady's disappearance," Brown said. Watch sheriff explain why authorities are concerned »

Lauterbach, of Montgomery, Ohio, was eight months pregnant when she went missing and may have recently given birth or be about to, Brown told CNN affiliate WITN.

Mary Lauterbach, the Marine's mother, reported her missing on December 19, and told the sheriff's department "that she was very suspicious that something bad may have happened to her daughter," the department said in a news release. Watch Lauterbach's mom say what raised her concerns »

Mary Lauterbach told the Dayton Daily News on Wednesday that she last spoke to her daughter on December 14 in what she called "a very normal conversation."

The mother told CNN affiliate WDTN that later that day she got a phone call from her daughter's roommate saying Maria had left their house. Calls she made to her daughter's cell phone after that went unanswered, Mary Lauterbach told the Dayton newspaper.

Investigators told the Marine Corps Times that a withdrawal from Lauterbach's bank account was made on December 14 and said there was "suspicious activity" on the account 10 days later.

The Raleigh News and Observer, citing Brown, reported that Mary Lauterbach said her daughter phoned home or her relatives up to 12 times a week and the mother became concerned when she did not hear from her daughter for five days.

A Facebook page established to help find Lauterbach says she was last seen December 14 in Jacksonville. "Call mom!!! You know the number," the page says. "All of us love you and we miss you. Please come home!"


The page contains pleas for contacts from fellow Marines and friends of Lauterbach in Ohio.

Lauterbach is a personnel clerk assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, the Marine Corps said. She joined the service on June 6, 2006.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/10/missing.marine/

[Roamer]

I hope they're looking really hard at whoever committed the crime against her. Someone didn't want her to testify, IMO.

Someone with a baby due any day, who stayed in constant touch with her family, wouldn't just disappear.... unless she went into hiding from someone.

[KittyMom]

Did anyone watch Dan Abrams last nite on MSNBC he talked about Marie Lauderbach and he had a reporter on that said that Marie was suppose to testify and that she was attacked and was suppose to testify about it. So it sounds like Marie was in the center of the investigation and Now she is missing I smell a coverup by the Marines and isn't it strange No one will say who the Father is?? The reporter said that Marie's Mom says that she is Bi Polar and is often alone, this mother knows alot more then she is saying! I am waiting for the transcript from last nites show to come up there is something hinky about this case!! IMO
Here is the link to the vdeo from last nites show I can't bring it up for some reason puter slow this mornin, maybe someone can get it to work it is Dan Abrams talking about this case,about Marie Lauderbach...............
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22581056#22581056

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2279410/

Lauterbach also was scheduled to testify in a criminal case after being the victim of an on-base crime, he said, declining to elaborate.

Pure speculation on my part but I wonder if the pregnancy were a result of the attack? That may explain why no one knows who the father is. Does anyone know if paternity can be tested before birth? Years ago, you had to wait for the baby to be born, I wonder if that has changed?

[KittyMom]

I hope they're looking really hard at whoever committed the crime against her. Someone didn't want her to testify, IMO.

Someone with a baby due any day, who stayed in constant touch with her family, wouldn't just disappear.... unless she went into hiding from someone.

Does the military have a witness protection program?

[KittyMom]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2282672/

Stepmother: Missing Marine Assaulted by Officer

Posted: 20 minutes ago
Updated: 8 minutes ago

Camp Lejeune — A pregnant Marine who disappeared three weeks ago from Camp Lejeune was assaulted by a superior officer, her stepmother told investigators.

Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach 20, was reported missing on Dec. 19, authorities said. Her car was found Monday night at a bus station near base – investigators said it hadn't been there long – and they found her cell phone on N.C. Highway 24.

According to documentation attached to a search warrant in the case, Lauterbach's stepmother told investigators that Lauterbach had been assaulted by a superior officer.

Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said previously that Lauterbach had been the victim of an on-base crime and was scheduled to testify in the case, but he declined to provide details of the case.

Lauterbach, a member of the 2nd Marine Logistics Group, was 8½ months pregnant when she was last seen and could already be past her due date, authorities said.

She lived in the Midway Park housing area, which isn't on Camp Lejeune but is reserved for Marines. Deputies have searched the home and questioned some roommates. Investigators were still waiting to talk with at least one male roommate who might be deployed, Brown said.

In a somewhat cryptic statement released Thursday morning, the sheriff said an intensive investigation by his department, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service has developed "a more detailed picture" of Lauterbach and her disappearance.

"At this time, I am not completely 100 percent resolved to which way this investigation may go," Brown said in the statement. "I do believe the answer is near."

Brown has scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference to discuss the case. Watch it LIVE on WRAL.com.

Reporter: Mike Charbonneau
Web Editor: Matthew Burns
Copyright 2008 by WRAL.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[Sunny]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2279410/



Pure speculation on my part but I wonder if the pregnancy were a result of the attack? That may explain why no one knows who the father is. Does anyone know if paternity can be tested before birth? Years ago, you had to wait for the baby to be born, I wonder if that has changed?

WOW kITTY THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT i WAS THINKING THAT THE FATHER IS BEHIND THIS AND MAYBE HE IS A HIGH RANKING OFFICER AND THT IS WHY THEY ARE SO TIGHTLIPPED ABOUT IT.
I am also wondering if the Mom knows who it is I hope she had told LE as to What she knows. Oh I didn't know that her roommate was a male i hope they will be talking to him whereever he is and how long ago was he deployed sounds like not to longago maybe he knows something as to her whereabouts anyway it doesn't sound good for Maria. I would think if you wanted to know paternity you could get it before the baby was born, I maybe wrong but I think a father can find out??

[Grande]

Kitty, from the article you posted;

"According to documentation attached to a search warrant in the case, Lauterbach's stepmother told investigators that Lauterbach had been assaulted by a superior officer."

:shock:

[Sunny]

Does the military have a witness protection program?
Oh I bet the answer is Yes they could hide a witness in a volitile case and that could be what is going on~~ but her Mom when she talked to her said everything was Ok and Maria was looking forward to her mom coming before the birth of the baby and her Mom said she seemed fine like nothing was wrong when she talked to her??? But maybe Maria couldn't tell her Mom anything??

[KittyMom]

Kitty, from the article you posted;

"According to documentation attached to a search warrant in the case, Lauterbach's stepmother told investigators that Lauterbach had been assaulted by a superior officer."

:shock:

I don't know that much about the military, but does "superior" mean someone with a higher rank or someone she worked under?

[Sunny]

Kitty, from the article you posted;

"According to documentation attached to a search warrant in the case, Lauterbach's stepmother told investigators that Lauterbach had been assaulted by a superior officer."

:shock:
I think the lady that I saw on Dan Abrams last nite was Maria's Mom not a step mother Maria looks just like her. Her Mom seemed to be blaming it on Maria's being Bi Polar don't know what that has to do with her missing she kept saying Maria was a LOANER TOO!:shock::serious:

[Sunny]

I don't know that much about the military, but does "superior" mean someone with a higher rank or someone she worked under?

SUPERIOR OFFICER WOULD BE REFERRING TO SOMEONE IN COMMAND I BELIEVE?? Someone Higher up then Maria in ranking.

[KittyMom]

Oh I bet the answer is Yes they could hide a witness in a volitile case and that could be what is going on~~ but her Mom when she talked to her said everything was Ok and Maria was looking forward to her mom coming before the birth of the baby and her Mom said she seemed fine like nothing was wrong when she talked to her??? But maybe Maria couldn't tell her Mom anything??

I guess I'm thinking with her being pregnant and ready to deliver that someone in charge would notify her mom that she was okay. But, then again, if she is "hiding" I guess she's supposed to hide from everyone. :waitasec:

[KittyMom]

I think the lady that I saw on Dan Abrams last nite was Maria's Mom not a step mother Maria looks just like her. Her Mom seemed to be blaming it on Maria's being Bi Polar don't know what that has to do with her missing she kept saying Maria was a LOANER TOO!:shock::serious:

I'm confused. Was she blaming her being missing or the assault on the bi-polar disorder?

[Roamer]

I wonder if this is the reason her roomie was recently deployed. Because he knew who the SO was and couldn't testify against him, maybe?

[KittyMom]

I wonder if this is the reason her roomie was recently deployed. Because he knew who the SO was and couldn't testify against him, maybe?

He would have to be very high in rank to pull enough strings to get someone sent overseas, right? That is so scary.

[Claudia]

Sheriff: Missing Marine was to testify as crime victim

(CNN) -- A pregnant Marine missing from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, was the victim of a crime and was to testify about it, the Onslow County sheriff told CNN affiliates.

Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach was eight months pregnant when she went missing on December 14.

A search is under way for 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, who has been missing from Camp Lejeune since December 14.

Sheriff Ed Brown told CNN affiliate WECT that other people in the military could be involved with the Marine's disappearance and that they may have tampered with her car and cell phone.

Brown told WRAL that investigators want to talk to a male roommate of Lauterbach's who may be on deployment and could be considered a person of interest in the case.

"Until you can interview him and eliminate, you still consider them as key people of concern," the sheriff said.

Lauterbach's phone was found at a Camp Lejeune gate on December 20. Her car was found at a Jacksonville bus station on Monday, the sheriff told WECT. But the car was not there during the weekend, he said.

"The more that we have suspicious things come up, the more concern we have that something is not right in this lady's disappearance," Brown said. Watch sheriff explain why authorities are concerned »

Lauterbach, of Montgomery, Ohio, was eight months pregnant when she went missing and may have recently given birth or be about to, Brown told CNN affiliate WITN.

Mary Lauterbach, the Marine's mother, reported her missing on December 19, and told the sheriff's department "that she was very suspicious that something bad may have happened to her daughter," the department said in a news release. Watch Lauterbach's mom say what raised her concerns »

Mary Lauterbach told the Dayton Daily News on Wednesday that she last spoke to her daughter on December 14 in what she called "a very normal conversation."

The mother told CNN affiliate WDTN that later that day she got a phone call from her daughter's roommate saying Maria had left their house. Calls she made to her daughter's cell phone after that went unanswered, Mary Lauterbach told the Dayton newspaper.

Investigators told the Marine Corps Times that a withdrawal from Lauterbach's bank account was made on December 14 and said there was "suspicious activity" on the account 10 days later.

The Raleigh News and Observer, citing Brown, reported that Mary Lauterbach said her daughter phoned home or her relatives up to 12 times a week and the mother became concerned when she did not hear from her daughter for five days.

A Facebook page established to help find Lauterbach says she was last seen December 14 in Jacksonville. "Call mom!!! You know the number," the page says. "All of us love you and we miss you. Please come home!"


The page contains pleas for contacts from fellow Marines and friends of Lauterbach in Ohio.

Lauterbach is a personnel clerk assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, the Marine Corps said. She joined the service on June 6, 2006.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/10/missing.marine/

Why would the roommate call to tell her mother she had left the house? How weird is THAT?

[KittyMom]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,321692,00.html

North Carolina authorities are reviewing "suspicious activity" Thursday that appeared on a missing pregnant Marine's bank records nearly a week after she was reported missing.

Maria Frances Lauterbach, 20, was reported missing Dec. 19 by her mother, who was the last person to speak with her, on Dec. 13. It is not clear why the disappearance wasn't made public earlier.

Lauterbach is based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and due to give birth any day.

Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown told FOX News that there could be a development in the case later on Thursday.
The sheriff's department is reviewing "sensitive information" from activity on Lauterbach's bank account Christmas Eve, nearly a week after she was reported missing on Dec. 24, according to a report in the Jacksonville Daily News.

Click here to read the report.

“Bank records indicate the victim made a withdrawal on 12-14-07. There was suspicious activity on her account on 12-24-07, but none since,” according to information from the Sheriff’s Department.
RelatedStories
Disappearance of Pregnant Marine Probed by North Carolina Authorities Her cell phone was found Dec. 20 near the main gate at Camp Lejeune. Lauterbach is with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group.

Investigators are calling her disappearance suspicious, saying her mother reported that Lauterbach was going to testify about an incident she witnessed on base.

"There are several findings and pieces of evidence that have been discovered that cause law enforcement to be concerned with the circumstances surrounding Maria's disappearance," the sheriff's department said in a news release.

The Onslow County Sheriff’s Department found Lauterbach's abandoned car Monday night, according to a report in the Jacksonville Daily News.

Lauterbach's blue 2006 Hyundai Sonata was found at the Jacksonville Bus Station.

First Lt. Richard Ulsh, a public affairs officer with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group, verified that Lauterbach is on active duty. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy investigators are cooperating with the investigation, he said.

OMGosh!!!! Please tell me someone didn't do something terrible to her and then clean out her acct on Christmas EVE?????!!!!

[KittyMom]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/10/missing.marine/index.html

CNN affiliate WRAL reported Thursday that the stepmother's allegations were contained in documents attached to a search warrant in the case.

The sheriff told CNN affiliate WECT that other people in the military could be involved with the Marine's disappearance and that they may have tampered with her car and cell phone.

Brown told WRAL that investigators want to talk to a male roommate of Lauterbach's who may be on deployment and could be considered a person of interest in the case.

"Until you can interview him and eliminate, you still consider them as key people of concern," the sheriff said.

Lauterbach's phone was found at a Camp Lejeune gate on December 20. Her car was found at a Jacksonville bus station on Monday, the sheriff told WECT. But the car was not there during the weekend, he said.

[Grande]

I would venture to guess the assault Maria was the victim of was a sexual assault. Common sense would suggest the child was probably the assailants. JMO.

It is the discovery of Maria's vehicle on Monday that re-ignited the search, imo. My instincts tell me there was probably forensic evidence in her vehicle when it was discovered.

News Conference scheduled for 2pm today with further details.

[KittyMom]

I was listening to the news conference on FOX and heard a reporter say that the family was saying she was raped by a senior officer and asked the Sheriff if that were true. He wouldn't answer.

The roommate is flying back to the US. Sheriff said that they knew that the roommate had been monitoring the case and they wanted to know if that was as a roommate or for other reasons.

[KittyMom]

http://www.wcnc.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8U379000.html

01/10/2008

By MIKE BAKER / Associated Press


Military officials have ordered the roommate of 20-year-old pregnant Marine who disappeared in December to return from training in California to answer questions about the case.

Sgt. Daniel Durham is believed to be the last person to speak with the missing lance corporal, who is about eight months pregnant. He will return to Camp Lejeune as soon as possible, Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said Thursday.

Brown said investigators had information that Durham, who was the missing Marine's roommate, was monitoring developments in the investigation from afar. But Brown did not describe Durham as a suspect, adding that the case remined a missing persons investigation.

"We do feel like he has answers and importance in being back here," Brown said.

According to search warrants filed this week, the missing Marine's stepmother has told investigators that her stepdaughter "claimed she had been raped by a senior officer at her command, and that the investigation had gone sour." But the woman's mother also said her stepdaughter was bipolar and had a history of conplusive lying.
The Associated Press had previously identified the missing Marine, before the allegations of sexual assault became public. The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of sexual assaults.

Brown declined to comment on the rape allegations detailed in the search warrant, as did officials at Camp Lejeune.


hmmmm....:eyebrow1qb:

[Grande]

And there it is;

Jan. 10, 2008, 2:08PM
Documents: Missing Marine claimed rape
By MIKE BAKER Associated Press Writer
© 2008 The Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A pregnant Marine who vanished last month before she was to testify in a military probe claimed "a senior officer ... had raped her and that the investigation had gone sour," according to new court documents.

The woman made the allegation to her stepmother, who also told investigators looking for the 20-year-old lance corporal that her stepdaughter was bipolar and had a history of compulsive lying, the documents filed this week state.

Military officials said Thursday they had ordered the missing Marine's roommate, Sgt. Daniel Durham, to return from training in California to answer questions about the case.

Durham is believed to be the last person to speak with the lance corporal. He was to return to Camp Lejeune as soon as possible, Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said.

Brown did not describe Durham as a suspect, adding that the case remained a missing persons investigation.

"We do feel like he has answers and importance in being back here," Brown said.

According to search warrant affidavits filed this week, the stepmother has told investigators that her stepdaughter "claimed she had been raped by a senior officer at her command, and that the investigation had gone sour."

The Associated Press had identified the missing Marine before the allegations of sexual assault became public. The AP generally does not identify people who allege they are victims of sexual assault.

Brown declined to comment on the rape allegations detailed in the search warrant, as did officials at Camp Lejeune.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/5444230.html

[KittyMom]

I'm going to assume that a Sgt is higher than a lance corporal???

[KittyMom]

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/01/10/ap4517794.html

Military officials said Thursday they had ordered the missing Marine's roommate, Sgt. Daniel Durham, to return from training in California to answer questions about the case.



Did I make a stupid assumption that the guy was overseas??? This says he is in California.

[Grande]

I'm going to assume that a Sgt is higher than a lance corporal???

One rank higher I believe.

[KittyMom]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/10/missing.marine/index.html

JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina (CNN) -- The Onslow County sheriff Thursday pleaded with pregnant missing Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach to come forward and get help.

"Regardless of the circumstances this has got to stop," Sheriff Ed Brown told a news conference Thursday afternoon.

While the sheriff wouldn't say definitively that the 20-year-old Marine is alive, he said he was leaning toward a positive outcome in the case.

"You pray that she's alive," he said.

Lauterbach last spoke to family members in the Dayton, Ohio, area on December 14. They reported her missing on December 19 after being unable to contact her.

Documents attached to a search warrant in the case cite the Marine's mother as saying Lauterbach had been the victim of a sexual assault by a superior officer.

Brown said Thursday his office had not talked to the person accused in that case and referred any other comment to the Marine Corps. Officials at Camp Lejeune, where Lauterbach is based, have not commented on the assault allegations.

Lauterbach may have been due to give birth on January 8, Brown said, and he said if possible she should come forth to get the help and support of family, friends and medical professionals.

"You can't run from those things in life," Brown said in comments directed toward the missing Marine.

Police documents say that shortly before Lauterbach disappeared, her mother had talked to the Marine about giving up the baby once it was born.

Brown said Thursday the Marine Corps is bringing Lauterbach's roommate, Sgt. Daniel Robert Durham, back to North Carolina from a training deployment in California to answer questions.

He described Durham as "a close and friendly associate of this girl."

"We do feel like he has some answers," said Brown, who added that Durham may be the last known person to have talked with Lauterbach. Watch sheriff say why he'll talk with roommate »

So, does he now think that she ran away? :waitasec:

[Roamer]

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/01/10/ap4517794.html



Did I make a stupid assumption that the guy was overseas??? This says he is in California.


I made that assumption also, KM, because I had read "deployed" and took that as overseas.

But why, if the roommate was her rapist, would she have stayed with him?

[KittyMom]

I made that assumption also, KM, because I had read "deployed" and took that as overseas.

But why, if the roommate was her rapist, would she have stayed with him?

Well, the stepmother says she is a compulsive liar...maybe she claimed rape when it really wasn't.

OR

The roommate isn't the father but knows who is and helped Maria hide.

I just don't know what to think of this one.

[Claudia]

Well, the stepmother says she is a compulsive liar...maybe she claimed rape when it really wasn't.

OR

The roommate isn't the father but knows who is and helped Maria hide.

I just don't know what to think of this one.

This is just getting weirder & weirder... :waitasec:

[Grande]

My impression after reading the most recent articles is that there is a chance she is in California with Danny Durham. If that is the case, then we an assume she staged her disappearance with the intentions of not returning hence the location her cell phone was found.

Either way, if she is alive that is clearly a better outcome than the alternative.

[mood*ring]

I was about to post the update but see it is already posted.

I am starting to think that she was assaulted by a higher up or a favorite of a higher up and that she became pregnant, therefore, no boyfriend or significant other.

I have been seeing "significant other" listed. First was "boyfriend", because I guess she is pregnant that is a natural assumption. But now I am seeing "s/o" too.

Maybe the roommate on deployment knows the assailant? or it could be that he deployed around the same time she disappeared.

Am definitely following this case.

They need to see if her passport is missing and if it has been recorded like IF she is hiding out, check Canada/Mexico? Wonder where the suspicios activity was?

[sunstar]

Well, the stepmother says she is a compulsive liar...maybe she claimed rape when it really wasn't.

OR

The roommate isn't the father but knows who is and helped Maria hide.

I just don't know what to think of this one.
Neither do I KittyMom! I'm curious after watching Nancy's show tonight about the step-mother or is she Maria's mother? I've heard her called both or are there two people? The woman last night said she'd talked to Maria about planning to visit that weekend now she's saying Maria is bi-polar and a compulsive liar? :shock:

[sunstar]

This is just getting weirder & weirder... :waitasec:

I so agree! I guess Greta won't be covering it tonight with the presidential debate on now, but I'm lost as to what's going on with this. I'm beginning to wonder if she voluntarily left and had someone use her ATM card, but then Nancy said the person tried to conceal their identity. I also wonder if her car being found at the bus station was a decoy to make LE think she'd run off, or did she really take a bus somewhere at 8 mo. pregnant? Someone on Nancy's show said tonight that Maria was pretty much ready to deliver when she disappeared.

[mia]

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/missing-marine-said-officer-raped-her/20080109165409990001......video footage
By MIKE BAKER,AP
Posted: 2008-01-10 19:43:47
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (Jan. 10) - A pregnant Marine who vanished last month before she was to testify in a military probe claimed "a senior officer ... had raped her and that the investigation had gone sour," according to new court documents.

The woman made the allegation to her stepmother, who also told investigators looking for the 20-year-old lance corporal that her stepdaughter was bipolar and had a history of compulsive lying, the documents filed this week state.



Military officials said Thursday they had ordered the missing Marine's roommate, Sgt. Daniel Durham, to return from training in California to answer questions about the case.

Durham is believed to be the last person to speak with the lance corporal. He was to return to Camp Lejeune as soon as possible, Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said.

Brown did not describe Durham as a suspect, adding that the case remained a missing persons investigation.

"We do feel like he has answers and importance in being back here," Brown said.

According to search warrant affidavits filed this week, the stepmother has told investigators that her stepdaughter "claimed she had been raped by a senior officer at her command, and that the investigation had gone sour."

The Associated Press had identified the missing Marine before the allegations of sexual assault became public. The AP generally does not identify people who allege they are victims of sexual assault.

Brown declined to comment on the rape allegations detailed in the search warrant, as did officials at Camp Lejeune.

[KittyMom]

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/01/marine_missinggirl_080110/

By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jan 10, 2008 19:12:33 EST

A 20-year-old pregnant Marine who has been missing for more than three weeks may have fled her post at Camp Lejeune, N.C., after she withdrew sexual assault allegations against another service member and feared facing charges of making false statements, sources said.
Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach, who was last seen Dec. 14 and may be set to give birth very soon, lodged the allegations last year with Marine Corps officials, but later withdrew the assault charge to investigators, sources said.

Investigators have reason to believe that Lauterbach may have left the area voluntarily, sources said.

Earlier this week, the Onslow County Sheriff’s Department said Lauterbach was a witness to an incident that occurred on base and was due to testify about it. Sheriff’s officials Thursday morning issued a vaguely worded statement about Lauterbach’s disappearance.

“At this time I am not completely 100 percent resolved to which way this investigation may go,” Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said in the statement.

“I do believe the answer is near. Open leads are still being investigated and more witnesses developed and interviewed. All these are bringing us closer to solving the mystery surrounding the disappearance of pregnant Marine, Maria Frances Lauterbach.”

Marine officials have declined to discuss the details of Lauterbach’s disappearance and have referred inquiries to the Sheriff’s Department, which is leading the investigation into the disappearance.

Lauterbach’s mother, Mary Lauterbach, of Dayton, Ohio, contacted sheriff’s officials Dec. 19 because she was “suspicious that something bad may have happened to her daughter,” sheriff’s officials said in a prepared statement.

The pregnant Marine was last heard from Dec. 14, when she spoke to her mother by telephone, sheriff’s officials said.

Investigators found her cell phone discarded near the main gate at Camp Lejeune on Dec. 20. No calls have been made on the phone since Dec. 14, sheriff’s officials said.

Bank records show a withdrawal from her account Dec. 14. Ten days later, on Christmas Eve, records show “suspicious activity” on her account, investigators said.

“There are several findings and pieces of evidence that have been discovered that cause law enforcement to be concerned with the circumstances surrounding Maria’s disappearance,” sheriff’s officials said in a statement earlier this week.

Her car was discovered Monday night at the bus station in Jacksonville, N.C., sheriff’s officials said. It is unclear how long her car, a blue Hyundai, has been parked there.

Lauterbach joined the Marine Corps in June 2006 and has not been deployed overseas, Marine officials said in a statement. She is currently assigned to the Group Consolidated Administration Center, Service Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Lauterbach is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 140 pounds, with blond hair, blue eyes and a Marine Corps tattoo on her upper right arm, according to sheriff’s officials.

Lauterbach’s friends and family have created an online page at Facebook.com, labeled “Help us find Maria Lauterbach.”

“All of us love you and we miss you,” wrote her sister, Anne Lauterbach, on the page. “Please come home!!!”


Staff writer Kimberly Johnson contributed to this report.

[KittyMom]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=4115487&page=1

Sheriff's investigators also revealed in the court documents that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service was looking into the sexual assault allegations and had confirmed that the woman had a history of lying, something that Lauterbach's stepmother had told authorities in addition to her stepdaughter's rape accusations.

The documents also showed questions have been raised about the missing Marine's credibility, with claims she may be bipolar, and indicated that the stepmother and stepdaughter had argued before she disappeared, about whether the Marine should keep the baby or put the child up for adoption. The documents cited by WRAL also indicated that Lauterbach's debit card was used on Christmas Eve to withdraw money by a white man who attempted to cover a surveillance camera with a rag.

[Claudia]

The Today show has a segment about Maria coming up.

[Claudia]

Major press conference at noon today.

I like the sheriff. He refused to comment on her mental state. He said he never met her, and even if he had, he wouldn't speak about things like that (her being a compulsive liar).

[Grande]

Sheriff Expects Missing Pregnant Marine's Roommate Will Provide Break in Case
Friday, January 11, 2008

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,321989,00.html

[KittyMom]

Major press conference at noon today.

I like the sheriff. He refused to comment on her mental state. He said he never met her, and even if he had, he wouldn't speak about things like that (her being a compulsive liar).

Sounds like a fair guy.

[KittyMom]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/11/missing.marine/?iref=hpmostpop

JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina (CNN) -- A pregnant Marine purchased a bus ticket the day she went missing from Camp Lejeune but never used it, the Onslow County sheriff said Friday.

[SavannahStar]

Odd that they don't say where the bus ticket was for. :0009:

[KittyMom]

Odd that they don't say where the bus ticket was for. :0009:

Actually, they did...

Sheriff Ed Brown said the ticket was from Jacksonville, North Carolina, to El Paso, Texas.

[Claudia]

MSNBC reporting Maria is believed to be dead, and the man accused of raping her is the main suspect. Can't find any more info....

[Grande]

MSNBC reporting Maria is believed to be dead, and the man accused of raping her is the main suspect. Can't find any more info....

OMG, NO WAY!

[Grande]

Sheriff: Pregnant Marine Dead, Body Buried

Breaking News Alert on FOX

[Claudia]

OMG, NO WAY!

That's what I said!!!
I thought for sure they were going to find her alive.
My mother was relaying the information to me over the phone, I don't have a TV here with cable, so I can't watch MSNBC right now, and found no updated info on the website.

[Grande]

That's what I said!!!
I thought for sure they were going to find her alive.
My mother was relaying the information to me over the phone, I don't have a TV here with cable, so I can't watch MSNBC right now, and found no updated info on the website.


FOX live stream of Sheriff's presser;

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/player06.html?liveSiteStream&Live_Site_Stream&Live%2520Stream&acc&Live%2520Stream&-1&News&180&&&col

[SavannahStar]

This is the strangest case.......

:1222423:

[StickyBeak]

Looking for Link but she is reported found Dead and buried, the man who was accused of raping her left town this morning per sheriff will look for links

Fox news north carolina

[KittyMom]

Looking for Link but she is reported found Dead and buried, the man who was accused of raping her left town this morning per sheriff will look for links

OMGosh!!! :puke:

[KittyMom]

FOXnews is running a banner on their site. This is so sad.

[Claudia]

A witness told police she was dead & buried.

The suspect left town this morning & refuses to come back to talk to police.

[Grande]

Sheriff stated Maria drove herself to the Bus Station. She was alive at that point obviously and was alleged to have had some sort of relationship with who LE describes as the key suspect in this case AFTER she was reported missing.

[Grande]

Missing Marine Dead, Authorities Say

(January 11, 2008)--Authorities in North Carolina said late Friday morning pregnant Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach is dead.

They said she’s buried in a shallow grave, for which investigators are now searching.

They identified the suspect in the case as a Marine officer whom she accused of sexually assaulting her.

Police earlier were planning to interview a man who lived with her and said he would answer questions that "will shed a lot of light on the case."

Authorities said again Friday Marine Sgt. Daniel Durham isn't a suspect, but police believe he's the last person to speak with the Marine.

She disappeared Dec. 14 ahead of her expected testimony in a military investigation into her claim a senior officer had sexually assaulted her.

Court documents show the investigation went sour amid inconsistencies in the woman's story and allegations that she's bipolar and a compulsive liar.

Search warrants show she was facing a possible discharge from the service.

Lauterbach was eight months pregnant when she disappeared.

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/13708532.html

[Grande]

Sheriff has been referring to the suspect as 'Loren' or 'Lauren'.

[KittyMom]

Watching live News Conference on FOX. Suspect hasn't been seen in 8 hrs. A former marine told what the suspect had done.

I'm really angry with the step-mother. How could she come out and call this young woman a liar on national tv. I can just imagine the "discussion" they had about the baby. This woman should feel very ashamed of herself.

[StickyBeak]

MSNBC reporting, body not recovered. I can't get link for some reason.

[StickyBeak]

Watching live News Conference on FOX. Suspect hasn't been seen in 8 hrs. A former marine told what the suspect had done.

I'm really angry with the step-mother. How could she come out and call this young woman a liar on national tv. I can just imagine the "discussion" they had about the baby. This woman should feel very ashamed of herself.


ITA the wicked step M really put a big gabash on the upcoming inquiry with marines IMO. Making her out to be a psycotic liar, I really started to believe she may have just got out of dodge, until now.

:1222423:

[Claudia]

Watching live News Conference on FOX. Suspect hasn't been seen in 8 hrs. A former marine told what the suspect had done.

I'm really angry with the step-mother. How could she come out and call this young woman a liar on national tv. I can just imagine the "discussion" they had about the baby. This woman should feel very ashamed of herself.

I agree. Just disgusting.

[Grande]

Sheriff: Missing Marine is dead, buried in N.C.

Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach is dead, Onslow County, N.C., Sheriff Ed Brown tells reporters.

Sheriff Ed Brown says they're trying to find the body, which is believed to have been buried. He says the suspect is a member of the Marine Corps she had accused of assaulting her at Camp Lejeune.

The suspect, Cesar Armando Lauren, was last seen about eight hours ago, Brown says. His office has issued an alert to other law-enforcement agencies.

"I just want to cry," Brown says during a news conference.

Posted by Mike Carney at 12:41 PM/ET, January 11, 2008 in Crime

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/01/sheriff-missing.html

[Texas53]

I agree. Just disgusting.

Just because a person may be Bipolar, doesn't mean they always lie. Her step-mother should be ashamed of herself.

I just saw where they found the girl dead and buried.

[KittyMom]

Okay, per NC...

Military does provide a witness protection program and they seek out those in need and offer the service.

Assault was reported to investigator in military in April.

Won't comment if suspect is father of child.

There was no MPO (military protection order).

[KittyMom]

I have to ask...was she really bi-polar or did she just have a crazy step mother?

I also suspect that the rape charge was not false and that this girl was scared and intimated.

[StickyBeak]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,321989,00.html

Fox reporting body found. Looking for Black Dodge P/U North Carolina Tag 1522

[KittyMom]

Fox reporter just said that stepmother had adopted MAria. So, have we been hearing from the same woman all this time???

[Claudia]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,321989,00.html

Fox reporting body found. Looking for Black Dodge P/U North Carolina Tag 1522

I didn't see that they had found her, just that they had an approximate location of where she is buried. Not to say I couldn't have missed it, sitting here with no cable!! :girl_sad:

[Grande]

2 Previous known locations for Cesar Lauren;

Spring Valley, CA
North Miami Beach, FL

[KittyMom]

I'm watching FOX...they keep saying she is dead and buried but they haven't said that she's been found.

[StickyBeak]

I didn't see that they had found her, just that they had an approximate location of where she is buried. Not to say I couldn't have missed it, sitting here with no cable!! :girl_sad:


No I misread, apparently they were informed Where body is, just not have located as yet. Article also says they are not releasing Cause of Death.

All this murder and mayhem in one week, don't know if I can stand the news anymore.

[Grande]

<Snip>

"Authorities haven't recovered the body of 20-year-old Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach, but say she's believed to be buried in a shallow grave in a residential area of coastal Onslow County."

http://kjct8.com/Global/story.asp?S=7611268

[StickyBeak]

Sheriff Brown said Witness had physical evidence she is dead. on CNN. developing story

[KittyMom]

http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20080111/APN/801110664/Sheriff_Missing_pregnant_Marine_is_dead_suspect_at _large

Authorities have not recovered the body of 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach, but they believe she is buried in a shallow grave in a residential area of coastal Onslow County, Sheriff Ed Brown said.


Lauterbach met with military prosecutors in December to discuss pursuing rape charges against Lauren, said Kevin Marks, the supervisory special agent for Naval Criminal Investigative Service at Camp Lejeune. He said prosecutors believed they had enough evidence to argue that the case should go to a court martial, the military equivalent of a trial.

Court papers filed this week said the anticipated birth of the baby "might provide evidentiary credence to charges she lodged with military authorities that she was sexually assaulted by a senior military person." Lauterbach was due to give birth next month.


With the assault being reported in April, the baby might very well be a product of it. How sad...being raped, becoming pregnant, and not having your adopted stepmother believing you. Poor kid. :1222423:

[Claudia]

Sheriff Brown said Witness had physical evidence she is dead. on CNN. developing story

What in the world would be physical evidence that she's dead??? :shock:
I can't even bring myself to consider the possibilities!

[KittyMom]

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/01/marine_missingmarine_update_friday/

By Andrew Tilghman and Trista Talton - Staff writers
Posted : Friday Jan 11, 2008 13:40:25 EST

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A pregnant Marine who vanished nearly a month ago is believed dead and buried in a shallow grave near Camp Lejeune, N.C., and authorities are searching for the key suspect — a man she had accused of raping her last year, authorities said Friday afternoon.

Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach, 20, last seen Dec. 14 when she was eight months pregnant, had accused a fellow Marine, Cpl. Cesar Armando Lauren, of raping her last year, a Naval Criminal Investigative Service official said.

She was scheduled to testify at an Article 32 hearing on the rape charges in December when she disappeared, said Paul Ciccarelli, the NCIS special agent-in-charge at Camp Lejeune.

Lauterbach’s body had not been found when officials disclosed her death shortly before 1 p.m. on Friday, though authorities said they had “tangible evidence” and were actively looking for her grave in a nearby “wooded residential area,” off well-traveled Gum Branch Road in Onslow County.

Sheriff Ed Brown of the Onslow County Sheriff’s Department said he believes Lauren fled the area about 4 a.m. on Friday and authorities are looking for him.

Lauren is believed to be driving a black pickup truck with North Carolina plates.

Brown said yesterday he had reason to believe Lauterbach was still alive.

Brown said it was unclear how long Lauterbach has been dead, or whether she was still pregnant at the time of her death.

Authorities have obtained physical evidence linking Lauren to the death, Brown said.

Brown’s office has recently tried to question Lauren, but Lauren refused, saying his lawyers had advised him not to speak to authorities, Brown said. Lauren has three attorneys, he said.

Marines at Camp Lejeune have not commented on the case beyond disclosing that Lauterbach joined the Marine Corps in June 2006 and has not been deployed overseas. She is currently assigned to the Group Consolidated Administration Center, Service Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine officials said.

Lauterbach’s mother, Mary Lauterbach, of Dayton, Ohio, contacted sheriff’s officials Dec. 19 because she was “suspicious that something bad may have happened to her daughter,” sheriff’s officials said in a prepared statement earlier this week. Lauterbach’s baby was due to be born Jan. 12, Brown said.

The pregnant Marine was last heard from Dec. 14 when she spoke to her mother by telephone, sheriff’s officials said.

Investigators found her cell phone discarded near the main gate at Camp Lejeune on Dec. 20. No calls have been made on the phone since Dec. 14, sheriff’s officials said.

Her car was discovered Monday night at the bus station in Jacksonville, N.C., sheriff’s officials said. Sheriff’s officials believe the car has been at the bus station since Dec. 15, Brown said.

Lauterbach’s stepmother told authorities that Lauterbach is bipolar and had a history of compulsive lying, according to search warrant affidavits filed this week. She also told investigators that Lauterbach said “a senior officer ... had raped her and that the investigation had gone sour.”

[KittyMom]

What in the world would be physical evidence that she's dead??? :shock:
I can't even bring myself to consider the possibilities!

Evidence that he would've left with a female???? Sheesh! This is one twisted case.

[KittyMom]

WHERE is the photo of the suspect??? Does the military not have photos on file for its personnel? People could be passing him on the street or in the airport and wouldn't know it.

[Claudia]

WHERE is the photo of the suspect??? Does the military not have photos on file for its personnel? People could be passing him on the street or in the airport and wouldn't know it.

I haven't seen a picture of him, either! You would think that would be kind of important, wouldn't you???

[KittyMom]

I haven't seen a picture of him, either! You would think that would be kind of important, wouldn't you???

I heard the sheriff say that they would get his photo to the news agencies as soon as they could. What's the hold up???

[Isabella]

Evidence that he would've left with a female???? Sheesh! This is one twisted case.This is terrible news, they said buried also, this is very odd. If I heard right they also said we could consider the baby deseased. .jmo

[Sumanadevii]

I can only think of what a horrid blow this must be to her family and friends...to be told one day that she needs a friend and to come home and the next to be told she is dead...The emotions they must be going through...how horrid...

[Isabella]

I can only think of what a horrid blow this must be to her family and friends...to be told one day that she needs a friend and to come home and the next to be told she is dead...The emotions they must be going through...how horrid...That is sad. FOX news said right before the news conf. that we could expect good news, I wasn't prepared for the fact she was dead.

[KittyMom]

I can only think of what a horrid blow this must be to her family and friends...to be told one day that she needs a friend and to come home and the next to be told she is dead...The emotions they must be going through...how horrid...

Considering the fact that you had the stepmother/adopted mother saying she was bi-polar and a compulsive liar and not capable of keeping her baby, I tend to think that the Sheriff and others were led to believe that she had run away. I'd bet the suspect fed those assumptions as well. I think LE was just as surprised as anyone to learn that she was deceased. If her family is surprised, it probably more that something really did happen and not that she was this liar that made up the rape story. All is of course, moo.

[SavannahStar]

I heard the sheriff say that they would get his photo to the news agencies as soon as they could. What's the hold up???

It's really odd.

So much of this case is odd.......we don't even know IF the suspect is the father of the baby. They are pretty mum on that.

[Isabella]

It's really odd.

So much of this case is odd.......we don't even know IF the suspect is the father of the baby. They are pretty mum on that.I agree that hasn't been made clear yet. I did just see on CNN they have camera crews on the scene where they are preparing to dig, looks like a field maybe. .jmo

[KittyMom]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/11/missing.marine/index.html

JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina (CNN) -- Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, the pregnant Marine who was missing from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, is dead, the Onslow County sheriff said Friday.

The suspect in the case is Cpl. Cesar Armando Lauren, 21, a fellow Marine whom Lauterbach had accused of sexual assault, Sheriff Ed Brown said at a news conference Friday.

Lauren is not in custody, Brown said, and a search is on for him. He said Lauren had left the Camp Lejeune area about 4 a.m. Friday, with nearly an eight-hour head start before the hunt for him began.

Authorities were looking for his black Dodge quad-cab pickup with North Carolina license plate TRR 1522, Brown said, adding that Lauren should turn himself in.

"We'll get him one way or the other, somewhere," he told CNN.

Brown said authorities had obtained physical evidence of Lauterbach's death that also linked Lauren to the case. He would not elaborate on that evidence.

Asked how Lauterbach died, Brown would only speak "of an injury to her."

He said investigators are looking for the woman's body in a residential wooded area in Onslow County and hoped to find it before dark Friday.

Brown said investigators learned of Lauterbach's death Friday morning when a former Marine contacted military authorities.
The sheriff had expected a positive outcome in the case earlier in the day.

"I just wanted to cry" when learning of her death, he said.

Paul Ciccarelli, a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, said Lauren had carried on a relationship with Lauterbach after her rape complaint against him.

Lauterbach was to give testimony in a military hearing on the rape charges scheduled for late December, Ciccarelli said.

Ciccarelli said Lauren had not been considered a flight risk.

Lauterbach, 20, last contacted her family in Ohio on December 14 and was reported missing by her mother on December 19.

Documents released by Onslow County authorities on Thursday had indicated Lauterbach may have gone off on her own willingly, perhaps after being upset by a phone call.

The woman's mother, Mary Lauterbach, described having a "firm conversation" with Maria Lauterbach about her unborn child, telling her she should give the baby up for adoption because she is unable to care for it.

"Ms. Maria Lauterbach was telling Mary Lauterbach everything was fine, but Mary Lauterbach had a sense that the statements were not accurate," the report said.

The Marine Corps had brought Lauterbach's roommate, Sgt. Daniel Robert Durham, back to North Carolina from a training deployment in California to answer questions, but Brown said Friday he was not a suspect in her death.

The Onslow County report said Durham told police that he had made his home available to Lauterbach "out of sympathy for her situation" and that the two had shared the home for a short period of time.

Durham said he noticed nothing unusual in Lauterbach's behavior before she disappeared, but he said, "She had been upset by a phone call from her stepmother."

A few items of Lauterbach's were missing, he said -- her car, some cosmetics and clothing -- that led him to believe she may have left willingly. However, Durham told police that Lauterbach was confined to bed most of the time because of her pregnancy and that she "was in no shape for extended outings," according to the reports.

Brown called Durham a close friend.

Brown said Lauterbach may have been due to give birth January 8. The police reports, however, said she was due on February 14 and did not show up for a prenatal medical appointment December 28.

Lauterbach's cell phone was found on a roadside near Camp Lejeune on December 20. Her car was found Monday in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant, Brown said, and apparently had been there since December 15.


Investigators have said a withdrawal from Lauterbach's bank account was made on December 14 and there was "suspicious activity" on the account 10 days later. Police reports said Lauterbach's ATM card was used at a Marine Federal Credit Union by a man who attempted to cover the surveillance camera with a rag while he withdrew money from her account.
Lauterbach was a personnel clerk assigned to Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, the Marine Corps said. She joined the service on June 6, 2006.


They must have some type of bloody clothing or something. Thank goodness this former marine reported what she knew or everyone may have just written this off as a crazy pregnant woman running away. I do feel sorry for Durham. I'll bet he had feelings for her. But the Christmas Eve atm action...oh, how low would it be if the suspect killed her and then bought some other female a Christmas gift with her money. :puke:

[KittyMom]

It's really odd.

So much of this case is odd.......we don't even know IF the suspect is the father of the baby. They are pretty mum on that.


There is this...

http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20080111/APN/801110664/Sheriff_Missing_pregnant_Marine_is_dead_suspect_at _large

Civilian court papers filed this week said the anticipated birth of the baby "might provide evidentiary credence to charges she lodged with military authorities that she was sexually assaulted by a senior military person." Lauterbach was due to give birth next month.

[KittyMom]

Cesar Armando Lauren
21 years old, 5'9", 160 lbs.
Black hair, brown eyes
Residence: 103 Meadow Trail, Jacksonville, N.C.
Driving a black 2004 quad cab Dodge pick-up
NC License tag #TRR1522

[KittyMom]

Live coverage of search

http://www.wral.com/news/video/2289787/

[african grey]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/11/missing.marine/index.html



They must have some type of bloody clothing or something. Thank goodness this former marine reported what she knew or everyone may have just written this off as a crazy pregnant woman running away. I do feel sorry for Durham. I'll bet he had feelings for her. But the Christmas Eve atm action...oh, how low would it be if the suspect killed her and then bought some other female a Christmas gift with her money. :puke:

I have read the news reports at least 4 times this afternoon and still have not been able to make sense of this. The first time I heard about this case was yesterday and I keep up with the news all the time. Why did they not put this out to the public so someone could maybe tell them something? Strange case this one is.

JMHO
AG

[Sumanadevii]

I am getting this errie feeling that something is happening that is still being hidden...and it just may be a cover up ...who is the official that she claims raped her? and just how high up in rank? and just how far would the military go to hide it? Perhaps they didnt mean to murder her..but dispose of the baby...

[KittyMom]

I am getting this errie feeling that something is happening that is still being hidden...and it just may be a cover up ...who is the official that she claims raped her? and just how high up in rank? and just how far would the military go to hide it? Perhaps they didnt mean to murder her..but dispose of the baby...


Cpl. Cesar A Lauren is the person she claimed raped her. He refused to talk with detectives on advise of attys and disappeared this morning at 4 am. They are looking for him now.

[KittyMom]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/image_gallery/2289616/

http://www.wral.com/news/local/image_gallery/2289616/

I can't get the pic to publish.

[StickyBeak]

http://www.jdnews.com/news/case_54273___article.html/marine_durham.htmlhttp://www.jdnews.com/news/case_54273___article.html/marine_durham.html

Hope link works

[Claudia]

http://www.jdnews.com/news/case_54273___article.html/marine_durham.htmlhttp://www.jdnews.com/news/case_54273___article.html/marine_durham.html

Hope link works

Ohhh.... Cesar Lauren is married?? I hadn't heard that yet! Interesting.

[StickyBeak]

Ohhh.... Cesar Lauren is married?? I hadn't heard that yet! Interesting.


More interesting is the fact that His Wife called it in, if I read correctly.

[Claudia]

More interesting is the fact that His Wife called it in, if I read correctly.

:shock: Reallllly? This is one twisted case. I have been picking my jaw up off the floor all day!

[StickyBeak]

:shock: Reallllly? This is one twisted case. I have been picking my jaw up off the floor all day!


I edited "IF the wife called it in" interesting if she is the witness.
Sheriff Brown is stating he is not charging "Murder" the case has too many twists and turns? What the Heck is that? And why would he have 5pm as when he will have the body, just so strange. IMO

[KittyMom]

http://www.jdnews.com/news/case_54273___article.html/marine_durham.htmlhttp://www.jdnews.com/news/case_54273___article.html/marine_durham.html

Lauterbach's uncle, Peter Steiner, a psychiatrist who lives in Louisville, Ky., and had been in Jacksonville in the past week looking into his niece's disappearance, said his niece called her uncle's home at least twice a week, because they were very close.

"She was a very beautiful, athletic young lady. She volunteered to join the Marine Corps. She was very committed to the Marines, and she is being portrayed in a way that does not look well. She was petrified; she has been continually intimidated and harassed by people (Marines). She was not protected; she was not well looked after."


This makes her sound so different from the way her stepmother made her sound.

[candykisses1958]

Sheriff has been referring to the suspect as 'Loren' or 'Lauren'.


Cesar Lauren. So sad for Maria and her baby.:1187603408.CR.Mothe

[candykisses1958]

http://www.jdnews.com/news/case_54273___article.html/marine_durham.htmlhttp://www.jdnews.com/news/case_54273___article.html/marine_durham.html



This makes her sound so different from the way her stepmother made her sound.

Yes, I think that woman did a real disservice to this case. jmo:eyebrow1qb:

[Claudia]

http://www.jdnews.com/news/case_54273___article.html/marine_durham.htmlhttp://www.jdnews.com/news/case_54273___article.html/marine_durham.html



This makes her sound so different from the way her stepmother made her sound.

I saw that. Like he's describing a totally different person. This is so sad. I bet his description is much more accurate than hers.

[Grande]

Well, the deed to Cesar's home was recorded in October of 2006. The deed is in his name and his wife Christina's. For some reason the deed is recorded to Cesar Laurean NOT Lauren as has been made public. While looking for clarification I came accross a MySpace acct. registered to a Cesar Laurean in Jacksonville, NC where he lives with his wife. I am wondering if perhaps the name has been spelled wrong in all of the published reports. Seems wierd that Cesar would mispell his name when registering for a MySpace acct..

From Cesar's MySpace Acct.:

Male
21 years old
JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina
United States
Last Login: 10/30/2007

Proxy Link: http://www.zend2.com/browse.php?u=aHR0cDovL3Byb2ZpbGUubXlzcGFjZS5jb20va W5kZXguY2ZtP2Z1c2VhY3Rpb249dXNlci52aWV3cHJvZmlsZSZ hbXA7ZnJpZW5kaWQ9MjcxNTg5OTUx&b=31

[candykisses1958]

I saw that. Like he's describing a totally different person. This is so sad. I bet his description is much more accurate than hers.

My sentiments too Claudia.:(

[Grande]

Yep Surname should be Laurean NOT Lauren.

[candykisses1958]

Well, the deed to Cesar's home was recorded in October of 2006. The deed is in his name and his wife Christina's. For some reason the deed is recorded to Cesar Laurean NOT Lauren as has been made public. While looking for clarification I came accross a MySpace acct. registered to a Cesar Laurean in Jacksonville, NC where he lives with his wife. I am wondering if perhaps the name has been spelled wrong in all of the published reports. Seems wierd that Cesar would mispell his name when registering for a MySpace acct..

From Cesar's MySpace Acct.:

Male
21 years old (?)
JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina
United States
Last Login: 10/30/2007

Proxy Link: http://www.zend2.com/browse.php?u=aHR0cDovL3Byb2ZpbGUubXlzcGFjZS5jb20va W5kZXguY2ZtP2Z1c2VhY3Rpb249dXNlci52aWV3cHJvZmlsZSZ hbXA7ZnJpZW5kaWQ9MjcxNTg5OTUx&b=31

The age coincides, so I don't know Grande.

[Grande]

Cesar attended Palo Verde High School in Clark County, Nevada in 2000 - 2004

[Grande]

The age coincides, so I don't know Grande.


Yea, I edited that it was right. That's most definately him. Some of the media reports are getting it right now it looks like.

[KittyMom]

http://www.foxnews.com/js/photoPop.html?0

http://www.foxnews.com/js/photoPop.html?0

photo

[Grande]

http://i8.tinypic.com/731tlz7.jpg

[Claudia]

http://www.foxnews.com/js/photoPop.html?0

http://www.foxnews.com/js/photoPop.html?0

photo

They didn't come up for me! All I had was a gray screen. Blah. :0001:

[Claudia]

http://i8.tinypic.com/731tlz7.jpg

:basic44: Finally!!!

I live in the next state up, I may need to keep my eyes peeled for this guy, ya know? :basic45:



Thanks, Grande!

[KittyMom]

They didn't come up for me! All I had was a gray screen. Blah. :0001:

I'm sorry...I just can't seem to get images to post. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Anyway, Grande posted it above.

Thanks G!

[candykisses1958]

http://www.foxnews.com/js/photoPop.html?0

http://www.foxnews.com/js/photoPop.html?0

photo


Well, he can kiss it all goodbye now. Who do you think the witness is that LE would call her deceased before even locating her body????

I was wondering if maybe his wife could have turned him in....:puke:

[KittyMom]

Well, the deed to Cesar's home was recorded in October of 2006. The deed is in his name and his wife Christina's. For some reason the deed is recorded to Cesar Laurean NOT Lauren as has been made public. While looking for clarification I came accross a MySpace acct. registered to a Cesar Laurean in Jacksonville, NC where he lives with his wife. I am wondering if perhaps the name has been spelled wrong in all of the published reports. Seems wierd that Cesar would mispell his name when registering for a MySpace acct..

From Cesar's MySpace Acct.:

Male
21 years old
JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina
United States
Last Login: 10/30/2007

Proxy Link: http://www.zend2.com/browse.php?u=aHR0cDovL3Byb2ZpbGUubXlzcGFjZS5jb20va W5kZXguY2ZtP2Z1c2VhY3Rpb249dXNlci52aWV3cHJvZmlsZSZ hbXA7ZnJpZW5kaWQ9MjcxNTg5OTUx&b=31

G, I get a proxy at your link. Was this supposed to be his ms page?

[KittyMom]

Well, he can kiss it all goodbye now. Who do you think the witness is that LE would call her deceased before even locating her body????

I was wondering if maybe his wife could have turned him in....:puke:

I think it may have been his wife. LE said the person was a "she", a former marine, and someone that had evidence of Maria's death. Can you imagine how she felt to realized that her hubby had killed the woman he had impregnated possibly thru rape.

Even if Maria lied about it being rape, this guy's marriage was over as soon as that baby was tested.

[KittyMom]

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=271589951

myspace

[sunstar]

I think it may have been his wife. LE said the person was a "she", a former marine, and someone that had evidence of Maria's death. Can you imagine how she felt to realized that her hubby had killed the woman he had impregnated possibly thru rape.

Even if Maria lied about it being rape, this guy's marriage was over as soon as that baby was tested.
I didn't think this would have a happy ending, but how sad that he'd kill his own child ~ if this is all true. :(

:1222423: for Maria and her baby

[Claudia]

I didn't think this would have a happy ending, but how sad that he'd kill his own child ~ if this is all true. :(

:1222423: for Maria and her baby

That's what I keep thinking about, too. That baby was ready to be born. Poor little thing.

I did think this was going to have a happier ending than it did. Obviously wishful thinking on my part.

[Claudia]

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=271589951

myspace

He wasn't too active on there, was he?

[SavannahStar]

I think it may have been his wife. LE said the person was a "she", a former marine, and someone that had evidence of Maria's death. Can you imagine how she felt to realized that her hubby had killed the woman he had impregnated possibly thru rape.
Even if Maria lied about it being rape, this guy's marriage was over as soon as that baby was tested.

Are we even sure yet that's the father of her baby?

[Claudia]

Are we even sure yet that's the father of her baby?

I haven't heard that confirmed yet.

[KittyMom]

http://www.wral.com/news/video/2290979/

Live feed. I see tents set up in a backyard. Looks like some type of LE cars (SUV's or Jeeps) with hatches open.

[Claudia]

http://www.wral.com/news/video/2290979/

Live feed. I see tents set up in a backyard. Looks like some type of LE cars (SUV's or Jeeps) with hatches open.

Thank you!!!

[NewYorkDoll]

http://www.jdnews.com/news/case_54273___article.html/marine_durham.htmlhttp://www.jdnews.com/news/case_54273___article.html/marine_durham.html



This makes her sound so different from the way her stepmother made her sound.

Sure does. WTH kind of family dysfunction was going on here?

This story is a riddle wrapped in an enigma and covered in a shroud. Hopefully all the dots will be connected.

[KittyMom]

They must've found her. They've set up two tents, looks like sheet on the ground, roping off area around tents. Right in the freakin backyard!!!!

[Pixie]

Oh. Just had an awful thought what if the guy's WIFE did it and set him up for it to pay him back for cheating on her? Get rid of other woman, get rid of baby, send husband to jail all in one swoop?


I still think the Mom/step mom was the crazy liar, not Maria.

[Claudia]

They must've found her. They've set up two tents, looks like sheet on the ground, roping off area around tents. Right in the freakin backyard!!!!

OMG - I can't get the video to play!!!

Are you serious? They're in his backyard? :shock:

[Claudia]

Oh. Just had an awful thought what if the guy's WIFE did it and set him up for it to pay him back for cheating on her? Get rid of other woman, get rid of baby, send husband to jail all in one swoop?


I still think the Mom/step mom was the crazy liar, not Maria.

Now that's a twist! With the way this case has been going, I don't even know that it would surprise me!

I totally agree with you about the stepmonster. :mad:

[SavannahStar]

They must've found her. They've set up two tents, looks like sheet on the ground, roping off area around tents. Right in the freakin backyard!!!!

:shock:

Where is this? Online or on TV?

[KittyMom]

OMG - I can't get the video to play!!!

Are you serious? They're in his backyard? :shock:


I don't know if its his yard. There is a pool in the back right behind the home. The yard looks long and the tents are toward the back. There is a tall wooded fence around it.

Go to WRAL.com and look for the live feed right on the front page.

[mood*ring]

I just read that she is more than likely dead. See that it is reported already. I am going to go back to my last page and catch up with the rest of y'all.

[KittyMom]

here is the link to the live feed.
http://www.wral.com/news/video/2290979/


If you can get it to play go here
http://www.wral.com/
You;ll see his face. Look for the link (in red) for the live feed.

[Claudia]

I don't know if its his yard. There is a pool in the back right behind the home. The yard looks long and the tents are toward the back. There is a tall wooded fence around it.

Go to WRAL.com and look for the live feed right on the front page.


That sounds like his house that I saw a picture of earlier today.

I still can't get the feed to play for me, I have a bad connection up here where I am right now. Dang it. I will be out of here in a few & can go get on my other PC where I have a better connection.

[KittyMom]

This must be it all the news trucks are driving up.

[KittyMom]

That sounds like his house that I saw a picture of earlier today.

I still can't get the feed to play for me, I have a bad connection up here where I am right now. Dang it. I will be out of here in a few & can go get on my other PC where I have a better connection.

It's the second home on the street. I'll bet the neighbors are freaking out!!!

Girl go get on a faster link. This is going to be something else. I wonder if Laurean took his weapon with him? He's not getting out this one.

[KittyMom]

The feed just died. But, it is starting to get pretty dark so maybe their going to let the reporters on the ground take over. I bet we get a NC soon.

[Claudia]

The feed just died. But, it is starting to get pretty dark so maybe their going to let the reporters on the ground take over. I bet we get a NC soon.

Oh, dang! I am just leaving now to go downstairs!!! Argh. I missed it. :mad:

[StickyBeak]

WWW.newsobsever.com For some reason I cant cut and paste.

THey are reporting calling off searches for tonight, will resume on saturday.

www.Newsobserver.com

[KittyMom]

WWW.newsobsever.com For some reason I cant cut and paste.

THey are reporting calling off searches for tonight, will resume on saturday.

www.Newsobserver.com

JACKSONVILLE -- Searchers looking for the body of a missing, pregnant Marine found a site in the back yard of the home of the chief suspect in the woman's disappearance but postponed digging until Saturday.
They would not say whether the body was there, but they called off searches in other areas.



OMGosh!!!! It was his house!!!! :puke:

[KittyMom]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2287295/

Despite information from a search warrant affidavit that Lauterbach and her mother, Mary Lauterbach, had a heated exchange over the baby and whether to give it up for adoption, the Lauterbach family released a statement prior to Friday's news conference saying the conversation was pleasant and related mostly to a holiday visit to North Carolina.


Is this the same woman who's been doing all the other talk??? If so, I think the wrong Lauterbach was labeled bi-polar.

[StickyBeak]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2287295/



Is this the same woman who's been doing all the other talk??? If so, I think the wrong Lauterbach was labeled bi-polar.


Seems Like she has been trying to clean up her image. Funny how the room mate said Maria was upset due to a call with step Mother. Why do they call her step mother is she supposedly adopted Maria at 19 mths. Is this just error on media reporting. So sad, one neighbor reported vultures flying around for weeks, even more sickening. I hope they find POI real soon, may never know the story.

[Sumanadevii]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2287295/



Is this the same woman who's been doing all the other talk??? If so, I think the wrong Lauterbach was labeled bi-polar.
She has to back step now..she looks the fool...

and is...

[KittyMom]

Seems Like she has been trying to clean up her image. Funny how the room mate said Maria was upset due to a call with step Mother. Why do they call her step mother is she supposedly adopted Maria at 19 mths. Is this just error on media reporting. So sad, one neighbor reported vultures flying around for weeks, even more sickening. I hope they find POI real soon, may never know the story.

I bet those neighbors are absolutely freaking. I would be. And the poor wife. If she knew nothing of his problems with Maria this has to be a complete shock. But thank goodness she did the right thing by going to LE.

I'd still like to know if he had a weapon. Unless he made it to an airport and overseas in the 8 hr head start he had, I just see him committing suicide before turning himself in.

And all this is jmo...

[mood*ring]

I am watching Fox news right now and they are saying that they have found a burned body in the yard of Cesar. That it was 6 inches below the ground.

[StickyBeak]

I am watching Fox news right now and they are saying that they have found a burned body in the yard of Cesar. That it was 6 inches below the ground.


I read this earlier on another thread/site. It was recanted by LE, have no comment. Earlier LE (Sheriff Brown) mentioned something of a weapon IIRC
but would not clarify. I have driven through NC outerbank areas and burning garbage is not an uncommon site in neighborhoods such as portrayed on the live feed. This is sickening to think the POI could have just casually burned garbage and then buried in a common hole for disposal. I can't wait for clarity.

Prayers for Maria and Baby :1222423:

[mood*ring]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20080112/D8U40SVO0.html

Laurean said in the note that he had nothing to do with her suicide, but that he had buried her body, the person said.

[sunstar]

That's what I keep thinking about, too. That baby was ready to be born. Poor little thing.

I did think this was going to have a happier ending than it did. Obviously wishful thinking on my part.

Nancy is saying that burned human remains have been found in the yard of the suspect.
:(

[Pauli]

Authorities Believe Marine's Body FoundEmail this Story (http://javascript<b></b>:eMail_Friend(540, 540);)Jan 11, 7:46 PM (ET)

By MIKE BAKER
http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/ap/thumbnails//Afghan_Marines_Shooting.sff_NCJAC101_2008010817210 3.jpg (http://apnews.excite.com/image/20080108/Afghan_Marines_Shooting.sff_NCJAC101_2008010817210 3.html?date=20080112&docid=D8U40SVO0)
(AP) From Left, Lt. Col. Scott Jack, military council, Maj. Fred Galvin, Fox company commander and Mark...

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) - Authorities said Friday they believe they found the shallow grave of a pregnant Marine in the back yard of a comrade she accused of rape, and a person close to the case said detectives were tipped off by a note in which the suspect insisted the woman had killed herself.

After some slight digging in a fire pit discovered in the yard of Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, detectives found what "appeared to be burnt human remains," Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson said Friday night.

"We think we have found what will (contain) the skeletal remains of Maria Lauterbach," Hudson said. Authorities placed a tarp and two white tents over the area and planned to begin slowly scraping the earth with garden tools in the morning. Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach, 20, vanished three weeks ago, days after she talked to military prosecutors about a rape case against Laurean. Authorities said Friday that information from another woman, a former Marine, left them certain that she is dead.

That witness is Laurean's wife, a person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation remains ongoing. Before fleeing Jacksonville on Friday, Laurean gave his wife a note said Lauterbach cut her own throat, the person said.

Laurean said in the note that he had nothing to do with her suicide, but that he had buried her body, the person said.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) - Authorities searching for the shallow grave of a pregnant Marine placed a tarp and two white tents over a small patch of ground Friday and planned to begin slowly scraping the earth with garden tools in the morning.

Investigators described the site as an underground cavity in the back yard of a fellow Marine whom Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach had accused of rape.
http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/ap/thumbnails//MISSING_MARINE.sff_OHDAY101_20080111183513.jpg (http://apnews.excite.com/image/20080111/MISSING_MARINE.sff_OHDAY101_20080111183513.html?da te=20080112&docid=D8U40SVO0)
(AP) Mary Lauterbach of Vandalia, Ohio reported her daughter missing Dec. 19. Maria Frances Lauterbach,...
Lauterbach, 20, vanished three weeks ago, days after she talked to prosecutors about the rape case. Authorities said Friday that information from another woman, a former Marine, left them certain that she is dead.

Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown stopped short of saying investigators believe Lauterbach's body had been found; he called the site a "center of interest."

Yet he added, "We feel to search anywhere else to validate our suspicions will be useless. ... We have no plans to look anywhere else."

Megan Melton, who lives about 100 yards from the area, said dozens of vultures had descended on the area in the past few weeks.

Authorities suspended their search of the back yard of Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean for the day shortly after 5 p.m. But investigators from the State Bureau of Investigation planned to move indoors Friday night and begin a search for blood and other evidence inside his one-story, brown brick ranch home not far from Camp Lejeune.
http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/ap/thumbnails//MISSING_MARINE.sff_GFX577_20080111172214.jpg (http://apnews.excite.com/image/20080111/MISSING_MARINE.sff_GFX577_20080111172214.html?date =20080112&docid=D8U40SVO0)
(AP) Map locates Camp Lejeune, Onslow County, N.C. and areas related to the disappearance of a pregnant...
The search continued for Laurean, the key suspect. The 21-year-old man from Clark County, Nev., refused to meet with investigators and apparently left the area without telling his lawyers where he was going, the sheriff said.

"They don't know where he is," Brown said. "He's gone."

Lauterbach met with military prosecutors in December to discuss pursuing rape charges against Laurean, said Kevin Marks, supervisory agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service at Camp Lejeune. He said military prosecutors believed they had enough evidence to argue that the case should go to trial.

In court papers filed this week, prosecutors said the anticipated birth of the baby "might provide evidentiary credence to charges she lodged with military authorities that she was sexually assaulted." Lauterbach reported the rape in April and was due to give birth in mid-February, authorities said.

Authorities said they were not concerned that Laurean would flee because they had information the pair carried on a "friendly relationship" even after she reported the assault to military authorities.
http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/ap/thumbnails//MISSING_MARINE.sff_NCRD201_20080111164356.jpg (http://apnews.excite.com/image/20080111/MISSING_MARINE.sff_NCRD201_20080111164356.html?dat e=20080112&docid=D8U40SVO0)
(AP) A plain clothes Onslow County Sheriff's Deputy stands guard at the entrance to Meadow Trail near...
There is no indication Lauterbach asked the military to protect her after she leveled the rape allegations, investigators said.

Detectives received news of Lauterbach's death from an unidentified female witness who is a former Marine, the sheriff said.

Evidence and statements the witness provided made investigators feel certain Lauterbach was dead, Brown said.

"I had my insides knocked out with this negative information," he said. "I was about to cry."

Laurean and Lauterbach worked in the same unit as personnel clerks.
http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/ap/thumbnails//MISSING_MARINE.sff_NCRD105_20080111163916.jpg (http://apnews.excite.com/image/20080111/MISSING_MARINE.sff_NCRD105_20080111163916.html?dat e=20080112&docid=D8U40SVO0)
(AP) Two Onslow County sheriff's deputies restrict traffic on North Byran Road near Jacksonville, N.C.,...
Lauterbach, originally from Dayton, Ohio, was reported missing Dec. 19 by her mother, who last spoke with her daughter on Dec. 14, authorities said. Her cell phone was found Dec. 20 near the main gate at Camp Lejeune, and she missed a Dec. 26 prenatal care appointment.

Lauterbach was assigned to the 2nd Marine Logistics Group of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune. She joined the Marines in June 2006, and had not been sent to either Iraq or Afghanistan.

At the Lauterbach family home in Vandalia, Ohio, a man who identified himself only as a family friend turned away reporters Friday.

The family, in a statement given to WDTN-TV of Dayton, said: "Maria has been a gift for her family and friends. Please understand that the family needs time alone to deal with this tragedy. We wish to thank everyone for their love and concern." ---

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20080112/D8U40SVO0.html

[sunstar]

Nancy sure is irate at the Marines and LE for not doing anything ~ the suspect apparently wasn't even questioned after Maria went missing, and yet he's the same one Maria accused of raping her. I agree with Nancy! This is one of the saddest cases, imo. :sad0119:

[StickyBeak]

Nancy sure is irate at the Marines and LE for not doing anything ~ the suspect apparently wasn't even questioned after Maria went missing, and yet he's the same one Maria accused of raping her. I agree with Nancy! This is one of the saddest cases, imo. :sad0119:

Oh I totally agree, why this was not investigated prior is beyond my imagination. Was it a protocol thing, since the Marines had a file, did the sheriff just drop the ball? What about her Mother calling?

The sheriff in a statement on video early afternoon said that his team was right on, people have made comments apparently due to lack of investigation.

So beyond sad, regardless of who was in juristiction, SOMEBODY, should have investigated and not went with "Oh she is bi polar and a liar".
JMO :lex_10:

[KittyMom]

"she cut her own throat"---horsehockey!!!! Did that dumbbutt think that was believable??? And so he gave her a cremation???

:puke::mad::(

[KittyMom]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jLAxQfkotgyOSgs3LXmXYW6hy6PgD8U41UB80

By MIKE BAKER – 13 minutes ago

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities said Friday they believe they found the shallow grave of a pregnant Marine in the back yard of a comrade she accused of rape, and found evidence inside his house that suggested she had been killed.

Investigators are treating the case as a homicide, said Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown. But a person close to the case said the suspect left a note insisting Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach had killed herself.

After some slight digging in a fire pit discovered in the yard of Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, detectives found what "appeared to be burnt human remains," Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson said Friday night.
"We think we have found what will (contain) the skeletal remains of Maria Lauterbach," Hudson said. Authorities placed a tarp and two white tents over the area and planned to begin slowly scraping the earth with garden tools Saturday morning.

Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach, 20, vanished three weeks ago, days after she talked to military prosecutors about a rape case against Laurean, who remains at large. Authorities said Friday that information from another woman, a former Marine, left them certain that she is dead.

That witness is Laurean's wife, a person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation remains ongoing. Before fleeing Jacksonville on Friday, Laurean gave his wife a note that said Lauterbach cut her own throat, the person said.

Laurean said in the note that he had nothing to do with her suicide, but that he had buried her body, the person said.

But crime scene investigators found blood stains and obvious signs of that a cleanup had taken place inside the home, Brown said late Friday.

"Evidence now is showing that what he claimed happened didn't happen," Brown said.

Laurean's wife Christina is "heartbroken," said her mother, Debbie Sue Shifflet.

"I feel sorry for the other family," Shifflet said. "It's horrible what they're going through. My heart goes out to them."

Authorities on foot and all-terrain vehicles searched Laurean's neighborhood near Camp Lejeune on Friday. Megan Melton, who lives nearby, said dozens of vultures had descended on the area in the past few weeks.

Although the outdoor search was suspended for the night, investigators from the State Bureau of Investigation moved indoors and began a search for blood and other evidence inside his one-story, brown brick ranch home.

The search continued late Friday for Laurean, a 21-year-old from Clark County, Nev., who had refused to meet with investigators and apparently left the area without telling his lawyers where he was going, the sheriff said.

Lauterbach met with military prosecutors in December to discuss pursuing rape charges against Laurean, said Kevin Marks, supervisory agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service at Camp Lejeune. He said military prosecutors believed they had enough evidence to argue that the case should go to trial.

In court papers filed this week, prosecutors said the anticipated birth of the baby "might provide evidentiary credence to charges she lodged with military authorities that she was sexually assaulted." Lauterbach reported the rape in April and was due to give birth in mid-February, authorities said.

In a brief interview with reporters outside the family's home in Vandalia, Ohio, Lauterbach's uncle, Pete Steiner, said the rapist was the father.

Authorities said they were not concerned that Laurean would flee because they had information the pair carried on a "friendly relationship" even after she reported the assault to military authorities. There is no indication Lauterbach asked the military to protect her after she leveled the rape allegations, investigators said.

Steiner, however, said his niece didn't have any kind of relationship with her attacker, and that Lauterbach had been forced to rent a room off base because of harassment at Camp Lejeune.

"She was raped," Steiner said. "The Marines, unfortunately, did not protect her, and now she's dead."

Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Lauterbach was reported missing Dec. 19 by her mother, who last spoke with her daughter on Dec. 14, authorities said. Her cell phone was found Dec. 20 near the main gate at Camp Lejeune, and she missed a Dec. 26 prenatal care appointment.

Lauterbach was assigned to the 2nd Marine Logistics Group of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune. She joined the Marines in June 2006, and had not been sent to either Iraq or Afghanistan. Laurean worked in the same unit, where both were personnel clerks.

Steiner said Lauterbach had four siblings. Worried about the difficulty of raising a child while a single Marine, she had talked with her family about putting the baby up for adoption, he said.

According to court documents filed this week, Lauterbach's mother told investigators that her daughter was bipolar and had a history of compulsive lying. Steiner said the family wanted to give authorities a fair and accurate impression, and that while Lauterbach tended to stretch the truth in stressful situations, "she was not a compulsive liar."

"We're all going to miss Maria horribly," Steiner said. "She was a big part of our lives. What I personally hope comes out of this is that victims of sexual assault in the armed services will be taken more seriously and this will be handled differently in the future."

Associated Press writers Estes Thompson in Jacksonville, Jim Hannah in Vandalia, Ohio, and Dan Sewell in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.

[Pauli]

"she cut her own throat"---horsehockey!!!! Did that dumbbutt think that was believable??? And so he gave her a cremation???

:puke::mad::(

Same thing I was thinking when I read that..

[sunstar]

Oh I totally agree, why this was not investigated prior is beyond my imagination. Was it a protocol thing, since the Marines had a file, did the sheriff just drop the ball? What about her Mother calling?

The sheriff in a statement on video early afternoon said that his team was right on, people have made comments apparently due to lack of investigation.

So beyond sad, regardless of who was in juristiction, SOMEBODY, should have investigated and not went with "Oh she is bi polar and a liar".
JMO :lex_10:

And not only the lack of investigation, but I can't get over her mother's statement either, like trashing her missing daughter who was carrying her grandchild. I'm sure she feels miserable enough about it now that Maria's burned remains have been found.

[sunstar]

Same thing I was thinking when I read that..

LE doesn't believe it either. They did ask him to come back and turn himself in if he wants to tell "his side of the story".

[Iambehaving]

Considering the fact that you had the stepmother/adopted mother saying she was bi-polar and a compulsive liar and not capable of keeping her baby, I tend to think that the Sheriff and others were led to believe that she had run away. I'd bet the suspect fed those assumptions as well. I think LE was just as surprised as anyone to learn that she was deceased. If her family is surprised, it probably more that something really did happen and not that she was this liar that made up the rape story. All is of course, moo.

I'm still trying to catch up for the day... but please tell me I can't be the only one wondering if the stepmother/adopted mother is the bi-polar & compulsive liar?!? With a mother like that saying what she is to the media no wonder this girl wasn't very close to anyone.

:shock:

[sunstar]

I'm still trying to catch up for the day... but please tell me I can't be the only one wondering if the stepmother/adopted mother is the bi-polar & compulsive liar?!? With a mother like that saying what she is to the media no wonder this girl wasn't very close to anyone.

:shock:
I hear you! That's what confused me earlier, one day the mother said she & Maria had talked the night of Dec. 13 or 14 and it was the usual mother/daughter convo with mom planning to come visit on the weekend and the next day it was that Maria was a compulsive liar and bi-polar. What mother would even say that when her daughter is missing and maybe murdered? :shock:

[KittyMom]

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=7613810

Associated Press - January 11, 2008 9:05 PM ET

VANDALIA, Ohio (AP) - The uncle of Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach says the Marine she accused of raping her -- and who is a suspect in her death -- was the father of her unborn child.

In an interview with reporters outside the family's home in Vandalia, Ohio, Pete Steiner denied officials' comments that Lauterbach and Corporal Cesar Armando Laurean carried on a "friendly relationship" after she reported the assault.

He says his niece had been forced to rent a room off base because of harassment at Camp Lejeune (lih-ZHOON').

Steiner says Lauterbach was raped, the Marines didn't protect her, and now, she's dead.

Steiner says he hopes this case means victims of sexual assault in the military will be taken more seriously.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


Had the military simply believed Maria this might be a different story. But, now, a young woman and an infant are dead, another woman is left to live the nightmare, a young man is going to prison for life and the military has a media nightmare on its hands. Sad.

[Claudia]

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=7613810


Had the military simply believed Maria this might be a different story. But, now, a young woman and an infant are dead, another woman is left to live the nightmare, a young man is going to prison for life and the military has a media nightmare on its hands. Sad.

You summed that up perfectly. :1187603408.CR.Mothe

[Sumanadevii]

Well hell...slit her own throat...maybe she even burned her own remains...What a nice package...and the idiot thinks we would believe it???????????????????????????????????????????????? ???

What a bunch of bs.

No one heard the poor girl's cry...her mother...I have no words for her...

[sunstar]

http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=7613810


Had the military simply believed Maria this might be a different story. But, now, a young woman and an infant are dead, another woman is left to live the nightmare, a young man is going to prison for life and the military has a media nightmare on its hands. Sad.
KittyMom, I couldn't agree more! I don't feel sorry for him, but if his wife didn't know anything about this, then I'll agree she's a victim too. :(

[KittyMom]

KittyMom, I couldn't agree more! I don't feel sorry for him, but if his wife didn't know anything about this, then I'll agree she's a victim too. :(

I don't feel sorry for this guy either. But, had the military done its duty to Maria this guy would be sitting in a jail cell right now and after serving time still have something to contribute to society. Now he's just going to be another mouth to feed. And you're right about the wife. I'm assuming she knew nothing about any of this. I guess only time will tell. But, if she was innocent in all this, then I really feel for her. What a total nightmare...to have to be the one to go to LE. Sad, sad, sad.

[KittyMom]

I just read that Cayle Bywater's body was found. What a depressing week.

[KittyMom]

http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=52333

Court records
http://www.amw.com/pdf/lauterbachPDF.pdf

[KittyMom]

"From the court records posted on AMW. Concerning Mr Durham..."He was concerned and did go to his command to report her as missing. The command confirmed Mr. Durham's statement, but also stated that little was done on the military side and no official missing report was filed."

:mad: Nobody cared about the little pregnant girl claiming rape.

[sunstar]

I don't feel sorry for this guy either. But, had the military done its duty to Maria this guy would be sitting in a jail cell right now and after serving time still have something to contribute to society. Now he's just going to be another mouth to feed. And you're right about the wife. I'm assuming she knew nothing about any of this. I guess only time will tell. But, if she was innocent in all this, then I really feel for her. What a total nightmare...to have to be the one to go to LE. Sad, sad, sad.
I believe that she didn't know, at least according to her mother she's heartbroken. I'm surprised Maria just met with the military prosecutors in December ~ so many months later, or had she tried to file charges before? That part I'm confused about.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22608032/

[Claudia]

I believe that she didn't know, at least according to her mother she's heartbroken. I'm surprised Maria just met with the military prosecutors in December ~ so many months later, or had she tried to file charges before? That part I'm confused about.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22608032/

There is one thing really nagging at me - I remember reading in some article, somewhere, that Maria originally said it was a superior officer that attacked her, then she changed her story and said it was this guy, Laurean. I'll try to find where I read that. If that's true, do you think it may be yet another twist in this story?

[mood*ring]

I believe that she didn't know, at least according to her mother she's heartbroken. I'm surprised Maria just met with the military prosecutors in December ~ so many months later, or had she tried to file charges before? That part I'm confused about.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22608032/


Sun I am pretty sure I read that she filed charges in April of 2007. Right after the incident. And if you figure out the timeline. If a baby was conceived in April then she is due in January.

[KittyMom]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2287295/

Posted: Today at 8:46 a.m.
Updated: 24 minutes ago

Jacksonville — A Marine sought in connection with the death of a comrade told authorities in a note that the pregnant Marine, who has been missing for nearly a month, had committed suicide.

A nationwide search was being conducted for Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, who authorities believe might be involved in the death of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach.

Lauterbach, 20, a member of the 2nd Marine Logistics Group at Camp Lejeune, was reported missing on Dec. 19. She was 8½ months pregnant at the time of her disappearance.

A unidentified witness delivered a note to Onslow County authorities early Friday in which Laurean claimed that he had buried Lauterbach in his yard after she committed suicide, Onslow County Sheriff Brown said.

Brown said blood spatters were found several areas inside Laurean's home, including the garage. Someone had tried to clean up the scene and even painted over some of the blood, he said.

Investigators haven't determined if the blood is that of Lauterbach, he said.

"Evidence now is showing that what he claimed happened didn't happen," Brown said.

Investigators also discovered a cavity in Laurean's back yard, which produced a "suspicious situation" that needed to be contained and protected until Saturday morning, when investigators would examine the area, Brown said.

Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson said Friday evening that investigators believe they have found Lauterbach's skeletal remains in the shallow grave.

Laurean, 21, of 103 Meadow Trail in Jacksonville, is not in custody and disappeared shortly after 4 a.m. Friday, Brown said.

"I would like to say to the suspect if he's listening ... it would be best for him to return," he said at a Friday night news conference.

The State Bureau of Investigation and the Marine Corps were assisting in the search for Laurean. He was described as a white man, 5 feet, 9 inches tall and 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was believed to be driving a black 2004 Quad Cab Dodge pickup with North Carolina license plate TRR-1522, authorities said.

Laurean's note prompted an intense search Friday afternoon in a residential area off North Bryan Road in Onslow County that led to the discovery of the back-yard cavity shortly before 6 p.m.

"There's some strong indicators that there's some human remains there," Hudson said.

Brown said he believed the cavity "will eliminate moving any further in looking for the body."

Laurean's wife has been cooperating with authorities in the search of the home and the yard, he said.

Lauterbach met with military prosecutors in December to discuss pursuing rape charges against Laurean, said Kevin Marks, the supervisory special agent for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service at Camp Lejeune. Prosecutors believed they had enough evidence to argue that the case should go to a court martial, he said.

In a search warrant filed this week, prosecutors said the anticipated birth of the baby "might provide evidentiary credence to charges she lodged with military authorities that she was sexually assaulted by a senior military person."

As a corporal, Laurean was one enlisted grade higher than Lauterbach.

Military investigators said they started looking into the rape allegation last April.

Originally from Clark County, Nev., Laurean joined the Marine Corps in September 2004 and was promoted to corporal in September 2006. He was a decorated Marine whose honors included a good conduct medal.

Brown said Laurean refused to speak with detectives, on the advice of his attorneys. Authorities said they didn't consider Laurean a flight risk until Friday because they had information the pair carried on a "friendly relationship" after she reported the assault to military authorities.

Lauterbach's uncle, Pete Steiner, said his niece didn't have any kind of relationship with her attacker and that Lauterbach had been forced to rent a room off base because of harassment at Camp Lejeune.

"She was raped," Steiner said. "The Marines, unfortunately, did not protect her, and now she's dead."

Lauterbach's attacker was the baby's father, Steiner said.

Melinda Artzur, a former Marine who was a close friend of Lauterbach, said the missing Marine was a free spirit who loved sports.

"She almost pretty much always had a smile on her face, very positive. She was a light," Artzur said.

After Lauterbach was reported missing, her cell phone was found on Dec. 20 along N.C. Highway 24, and her car was found Monday night at a bus station near Camp Lejeune.

Brown said the investigation had taken many ups and downs.

He had hinted Friday morning that a positive outcome was still possible. Lauterbach had purchased a one-way bus ticket to El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 15, but she never used it, he said, and investigators and family members said they were unsure if she had run away.

Finding out that the Lauterbach was dead "knocked the air out of my sail," he said Friday afternoon.

"I do think this case is going to be a bizarre ending, and when I say bizarre, I mean more than a death and burial," he said Friday night.

Reporters: Mike Charbonneau, Dan Bowens
Photographers: Tom Normanly, Mark Simpson
Web Editors: Kelly Hinchcliffe, Kelly Gardner, Matthew Burns

[Sumanadevii]

I tend to believe her uncle. He seems the only one that wanted to protect her.

[mood*ring]

I tend to believe her uncle. He seems the only one that wanted to protect her.


Ditto. :1222423: Rest in Peace Maria and Baby.

[mood*ring]

On Nancy Grace tonight, the Sheriff was saying that they will be examining the found body tomorrow.

Tonight on Larry King he said they will be able to determine if she was still pregnant when she was murdered. - This is new.

[mood*ring]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/01/12/ddn011208marinelocal.html

personal info based on local news article.

Her dad, Victor Lauterbach, is an Air Force Reserve master sergeant in the 87th Aerial Port Squadron

Her mother said Maria, who was adopted at 19 months, tended to be a loner. The Lauterbachs have four younger children, too.

"We did adopt her as a toddler. She was taken away from her natural parents," she said.

... Her due date for a baby boy she intended to name Gabriel Joseph was to be Tuesday.

So she was due on January 8. That is my son's birthday.

[emmeblu]

On Nancy Grace tonight, the Sheriff was saying that they will be examining the found body tomorrow.

Tonight on Larry King he said they will be able to determine if she was still pregnant when she was murdered. - This is new.



I heard that also about being able to determine if she was still pregnant tomorrow. For some reason, unless the guy had help, I don't think there is a live baby somewhere. It would be a miracle but I don't think that will be the case. Just so tragic. Obviously, this young female was not protected at all. I just don't see her going to the house of the guy that raped her on her own.

Where the heck has this wife been during all this? Maybe she was afraid of her husband and waited until he took off to report anything.

[Roamer]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/11/missing.marine/index.html

Apparenty, his wife is the witness.
Brown said a witness came forward Friday morning with a statement and evidence that convinced authorities Lauterbach was dead. Brown wouldn't name the witness, or describe Lauterbach's cause of death, except to say she died "from an injury."

Asked whether the witness was in protective custody, Brown said the person does not feel the need for protective custody, as Laurean likely left the county and possibly the state.

A source close to the investigation told CNN the witness is Laurean's wife.

Lauterbach's relatives believe the pregnancy was the result of the alleged rape, Steiner said.

A reporter who asked military officials why Laurean hadn't been taken into custody after Lauterbach reported the alleged rape was told there were indications that Lauterbach and Laurean carried on "some sort of friendly relationship" after she filed the complaint against him.

"The information developed over the last 24 hours leads us to believe that she still had some kind of contact" with him, said Paul Ciccarelli, agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service at Camp Lejeune.

Because of that, Laurean wasn't considered a flight risk, he said.

Steiner disputed that, saying his niece had no relationship with Laurean.

Ciccarelli also said the rape investigation is still active. Watch police face unanswered questions »

Lauterbach disappeared before she was able to testify at an Article 32 hearing -- a kind of military grand jury -- about the sexual assault.

Earlier Friday, Brown said a Marine who returned to North Carolina from California -- Sgt. Daniel Durham, 20, in whose home Lauterbach had been living for a short time -- was questioned, but does not appear to have any link to the death.

Lauterbach had rented a room in Durham's home, off the base, because she had been subjected to repeated harassment by the Marines after reporting the alleged rape, Steiner said. Her car had been keyed and an anonymous person had "slugged" her in the face, he said.

Lauterbach's cell phone was found on a roadside near Camp Lejeune on December 20. Her car was found Monday in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant and had apparently been there since December 15, Brown said.

A bus ticket to El Paso, Texas, was bought in Lauterbach's name on the same day, but Brown said it was never used. See a timeline of the case »

Investigators have said a withdrawal from Lauterbach's bank account was made on December 14, and there was "suspicious activity" on the account 10 days later.


Lauterbach and her mother last spoke about 2:30 p.m. the day Lauterbach disappeared, Steiner said. At the time, she had experienced some contractions. "She was ready to have that baby."

[Jrenee]

I heard that also about being able to determine if she was still pregnant tomorrow. For some reason, unless the guy had help, I don't think there is a live baby somewhere. It would be a miracle but I don't think that will be the case. Just so tragic. Obviously, this young female was not protected at all. I just don't see her going to the house of the guy that raped her on her own.

Where the heck has this wife been during all this? Maybe she was afraid of her husband and waited until he took off to report anything.

ITA, What a horrible crime.
For Maria and the Little Angel Gabriel!:1222423:

[Isabella]

Great updates everyone, thanks. The sheriff said on Greta that the wife did live in the home as far as he knew, now I picture a back yard and wonder when she knew this alleged crime took place, to dig and burn and who knows what else, where was his wife when all this took place. This is a very weird case. .jmo

[mia]

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/marines-remains-believed-to-be-found/20080109165409990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001
cont......with images

"I believe this is going to be a bizarre discovery today," Brown said. "The blood splatters indicate a violent, violent attack."

In a fire pit in the backyard of Laurean's home, authorities found burnt human remains buried up to a foot in ashes and dirt, said Dr. Charles Garrett, the county medical examiner. Once state investigators finish slowly scraping dirt from the site, protected by a tarp and two white tents, the remains will be sent to the state medical examiner's office in Chapel Hill for identification using dental records.

Garrett did not provide any other details, including whether the remains included those of a child.

A nationwide search for Laurean continued Saturday, a day after Brown identified him as the key suspect in the death of 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach. She disappeared in December, just days after meeting with military prosecutors to talk about her allegation that Laurean raped her.

Before fleeing Jacksonville early Friday, Brown said, Laurean left a note that said Lauterbach had "come to his residence and cut her (own) throat." Brown confirmed Saturday that authorities received the note from Laurean's wife, Christina, around 8 a.m. Friday, about four hours after they suspect he fled.

Laurean wrote in the note that he had nothing to do with Lauterbach's suicide, but that he had buried her body, the sheriff said.

Authorities have dismissed the idea that Lauterbach killed herself, pointing to the blood stains and the obvious signs of a cleanup inside Laurean's one-story, brown brick ranch home. Brown challenged Laurean, who has not been charged with a crime, to come forward and defend his claims of innocence.

Brown declined to say whether authorities thought Christina Laurean had a hand in Lauterbach's disappearance.

She is "heartbroken," said her mother, Debbie Sue Shifflet.

"I feel sorry for the other family," Shifflet said. "It's horrible what they're going through. My heart goes out to them."

Brown said Saturday there had been no sightings of Laurean, 21, of the Las Vegas area. He had refused to meet with investigators and left without telling his lawyers where he was going, the sheriff said.

Lauterbach met with military prosecutors last month to discuss pursuing rape charges against Laurean, said Kevin Marks, supervisory agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service at Camp Lejeune. He said military prosecutors believed they had enough evidence to argue that the case should go to trial.

In court papers filed this week, prosecutors said the anticipated birth of the baby "might provide evidentiary credence to charges she lodged with military authorities that she was sexually assaulted." Lauterbach reported the rape in April and was due to give birth in mid-February, authorities said.

Outside the family's home in Vandalia, Ohio, on Friday night, Lauterbach's uncle, Pete Steiner, said the rapist was the father.

Authorities said they had not been concerned that Laurean would flee because they had information he and Lauterbach carried on a "friendly relationship" even after she reported the assault to military authorities. There is no indication Lauterbach asked the military to protect her after she leveled the rape allegations, investigators said.

Steiner, however, said his niece didn't have any kind of relationship with her attacker, and that Lauterbach had been forced to rent a room off base because of harassment at Camp Lejeune.

"She was raped," Steiner said. "The Marines, unfortunately, did not protect her, and now she's dead."

[StickyBeak]

press conference coming up 3:00 pm

WWW.WITN.com

[sunstar]

Arrest warrant issued

updated 11 minutes ago
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - Authorities issued an arrest warrant Saturday for a Marine corporal wanted in the death of a pregnant colleague, whose body they excavated from a fire pit in his backyard.

Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said authorities also recovered the remains of Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach's unborn child.

Authorities said they found evidence inside the house that suggested Lauterbach had been killed, even though the prime suspect left a note insisting she committed suicide, Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22608032/
:1222423:

[Roamer]

I'd sure like to read that they caught this guy. BOLO's say all departments should consider him armed and dangerous.

[sunstar]

I'd sure like to read that they caught this guy. BOLO's say all departments should consider him armed and dangerous.
I'm really wondering which direction he headed in and just how much of a head start he got on LE before his wife talked to them yesterday. His truck has been shown all over the cable news with the license #, so he'd have to get rid of it pretty soon, imo ~ unless he's already in Mexico.

[Roamer]

I read somewhere that she came in with the note 4 hours after he left, sun.

[sunstar]

I read somewhere that she came in with the note 4 hours after he left, sun.
That's what I thought too, but we're assuming that she's telling the truth that it was only 4 hours. After all, he is her husband and she may have had more loyalty to him than she's letting on.

[Roamer]

I haven't read if they were living together or not. If they were, how in the world didn't she know about this before the note? Or is he just covering her by writing it?

[mood*ring]

That's what I thought too, but we're assuming that she's telling the truth that it was only 4 hours. After all, he is her husband and she may have had more loyalty to him than she's letting on.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/11/missing.marine/index.html

Laurean, a 21-year-old from Nevada, is believed to have left the Marine base about 4 a.m. Friday, driving a black Dodge pickup with North Carolina license plate TRR1522, Brown said.

I am thinking that he left post at 4:00 a.m. not home. So I wonder when the wife found the note, I wonder if he went home first, I wonder so many things....

[SavannahStar]

I haven't read if they were living together or not. If they were, how in the world didn't she know about this before the note? Or is he just covering her by writing it?


The sheriff said they did live together.

[Roamer]

Thanks, SS. So, if they lived together, how did she not know about the blood and the body in the backyard? Something's not right here.

[emmeblu]

I really hope there will be more information coming out soon as to why the wife waited on this crime! Something is just not right here. So sad to hear today during the news conference the description the sheriff gave of the baby's little hand. NC also said during news conference that they do not charge murder when it is an unborn child. Hopefully, that law will now change.

[KittyMom]

http://www.charlotte.com/204/story/443403.html

Sept. 13, 2004 - Cesar A. Laurean, of the Las Vegas area, enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is currently wanted in connection with Lauterbach's death.

April 6, 2005 - Laurean joins his current unit, a combat logistics regiment based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

June 6, 2006 - Maria Lauterbach, of Dayton, Ohio, enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Nov. 23 - Lauterbach joins Laurean's unit.

April 2007 - Lauterbach tells military officials she has been raped.

May 12 - Marine commanders assign Lauterbach and Laurean to work in separate buildings.

May 24 - A military protective order is issued against Laurean.

June 25 - The protective order is automatically renewed for the first time.

Sept. 20 - The order is automatically renewed for the second time.

Oct. 22 - Marine commanders submit a request to send the rape case to the military's version of a grand jury.

December - Lauterbach meets with military prosecutors to discuss her rape allegation against Laurean.

Dec. 14 - Lauterbach's mother last speaks with her daughter.

Dec. 19 - Lauterbach's mother reports her missing to police in Ohio. A missing persons investigation begins in Onslow County, N.C.

Dec. 20 - Lauterbach's cell phone is found near the main gate at Camp Lejeune.

Dec. 24 - An unidentified white male attempts to use Lauterbach's ATM card.

Dec. 26 - Lauterbach misses a prenatal care appointment.

January 2007 - The protective order is automatically renewed for the third time.

Jan. 7 - Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown is informed about the case and detectives execute their first search warrant.

Jan. 8 - Police search the laptop computer of Marine Sgt. Daniel Durham, Lauterbach's roommate. Authorities later conclude he is not involved.

Jan. 9 - The Marine Corps says it is cooperating with the Onslow County Sheriff's investigation into Lauterbach's disappearance.

Jan. 10 - Civilian authorities request Durham be returned from a training mission in California for questioning.

Jan. 11 - Authorities believe Laurean flees Jacksonville at 4 a.m. They receive Laurean's note from his wife, Christina, at 8 a.m., and announce four hours later they believe Lauterbach is dead. That evening, the local district attorney says burnt human remains had been found in Laurean's backyard.

Jan. 12 - Authorities complete an excavation of a fire pit in Laurean's backyard and issue a search warrant for his arrest.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[KittyMom]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jLAxQfkotgyOSgs3LXmXYW6hy6PgD8U4L8JG0

Urgency of Search for Marine Questioned
By MIKE BAKER – 2 hours ago

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — For months after a pregnant 20-year-old Marine accused a colleague of rape, her family says, she continued to work alongside her attacker and endured harassment at Camp Lejeune.

In the weeks after she disappeared, they believe, the sheriff's department was slow to act.

As authorities recovered Maria Lauterbach's remains Saturday from a fire pit where they suspect Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean burned and buried her body, her family asked why authorities didn't treat her case with greater urgency.

Naval investigators on Saturday said the pair had been separated on the job, a rape case was progressing and Laurean was under a protective order to stay away from Lauterbach. And Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown insisted his department acted as best they could on the facts available.
"As soon as it went suspicious, we contacted the media and asked for help," Brown said. "The case did not produce enough evidence, other than she was just missing."

On Saturday, her burnt remains, and those of her unborn child, were excavated from Laurean's backyard.

"As well as I could see, the body was much charred," Brown said. "The fetus was in the abdominal area of that adult. ... That is tragic, and it's disgusting."

Authorities have issued an arrest warrant on murder charges for Laurean, 21, of the Las Vegas area. They say he fled Jacksonville after leaving behind a note in which he admitted burying her body.

In his note, Laurean wrote Lauterbach cut her own throat in a suicide, but Brown doesn't believe it and challenged Laurean to come forward and defend his claims of innocence.

Authorities have described a violent confrontation inside Laurean's home that left blood spatters on the ceiling and a massive amount of blood on the wall.

County prosecutor Dewey Hudson said Laurean had been in contact with three attorneys, including Mark E. Raynor, who declined to comment Saturday.

Lauterbach disappeared sometime after Dec. 14, not long after she met with military prosecutors to talk about her April allegation that Laurean raped her.

Her uncle, Pete Steiner, said that Lauterbach — stung by the harassment that eventually forced her to move off base — decided to drop the case the week before she disappeared.
Paul Chiccarelli, the special agent in charge of Naval Criminal Investigative Service at Camp Lejeune, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Marine commanders submitted requests in October to send the case to the military's version of a grand jury. A military protective order had been automatically issued in May and renewed three times.

"Anytime there is a sexual assault allegation involved, that's a standard routine," he said.

Lauterbach and Laurean served in the same unit of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, and court documents indicate Lauterbach's mother told authorities Laurean had threatened her daughter's career.

Steiner said Saturday on ABC's Good Morning America the Marines didn't separate the two personnel clerks, but Chiccarelli said Marine commanders assigned them to separate buildings on May 12.

Neither Brown or Hudson would say Saturday if they would have treated the case differently had they known about the protective order, which they discovered Friday night.

Chiccarelli said sheriff's office investigators were told about the order on Monday.

But Chiccarelli again said investigators didn't consider Laurean a threat to Lauterbach, or later a flight risk, because they had indications the pair were on friendly terms. He declined to detail those indications on Saturday.

Lauterbach's mother reported her daughter missing Dec. 19 — five days after she last spoke with her. By that time, she had been placed on "unauthorized absence" status by the Marine Corps.

"Several steps were taken to contact her via telephone, cell phone, even in person by sending Marines to her residence," said II MEF spokesman Lt. Col. Curtis Hill. "At that time, there was no reason to believe anything other than she had voluntarily placed herself in an unauthorized absence status."

Hill said that Lauterbach also left her roommate a note saying she was "going away" and apologized for "the inconvenience."

An Onslow County Sheriff's employee contacted Naval investigators Dec. 19 after hearing from police in Ohio and listed her as a "missing person at risk" in a national law enforcement database. He met with Lauterbach's roommate the next day, but court documents indicate he was unable to reach the Marine officer who had been notified of her absence, as he was away on holiday leave.

The employee checked ditches along several highways for her car, and asked the State Highway Patrol and several area hospitals if they had had any contact with the missing Marine. None had. He left word with the department radio room to contact him with any developments before leaving Dec. 22 for a vacation.

Steiner said he and his sister, Maria's mother, told authorities they planned to fly to North Carolina around the Christmas holiday, but were advised not to because authorities believed Lauterbach was headed for Dayton.

Believing that authorities "dropped the ball," Steiner said the Lauterbachs eventually decided they could no longer wait. They flew to North Carolina and met with detectives Monday, the same day court documents indicate authorities first discovered Lauterbach's ATM card had been used by a white male on Christmas Eve and she missed a prenatal care appointment on Dec. 26.

Brown also learned about the case Monday. A series of search warrants were filed, and the case went public and he asked for help.

By that point, it was too late. Laurean refused to meet with investigators, and eventually skipped town before dawn Friday without telling his lawyers where he was going.

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

[Justme38]

Thanks, SS. So, if they lived together, how did she not know about the blood and the body in the backyard? Something's not right here.

ITA. I cried when I watched the News Conference this afternoon. What the Sheriff said about the baby's Hand, made me cry even harder. Its sickening how some people are getting to be.

I hope they find that man very quickly.

[Pauli]

You have been moved, Maria now has her own forum so you can have more than one thread as thing develop.

[Sumanadevii]

You have been moved, Maria now has her own forum so you can have more than one thread as thing develop.

Thank you, Harlett

[Sunny]

Thank you Hartlett for making Maria's tragic story a thread by itself!:happy0207::girl_sad::sad0119:
I am so saddened by the events that have unfolded the past two days in this case. I heard Dr. Baden talk on Geraldo last nite and he said you can't burn a body without having forensics there and LE can get alot from the remains that the perp left behind he also said that they will be able to get DNA from the fetus to prove if Laurean is the Father. I couldn't beleive all the blood splatter up to the ceiling in the house.Therer is no way this Wife could have lived in the house not knowing anything.:rolleye0001::rolleyes::eek::eyebrow1qb: This "wife" knows alot more then she is saying afterall the coward left her behind to tell the tale what a Coward! I just hope they find him soon.
-------------------------------
Here is a snip this mornin from Fox News...............
Family of Murdered Pregnant Marine Says Authorities 'Dropped the Ball'
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Maria Frances Lauterbach, 20, a pregnant marine based at Camp Lejeune, has been missing since Dec. 19.

For months after Maria Lauterbach accused a fellow Marine of rape, her family says, she continued to work alongside her attacker and endured harassment at Camp Lejeune. In the weeks after the pregnant 20-year-old disappeared, they believe, the local sheriff's department was slow to act.

As authorities recovered her remains Saturday from a fire pit where they suspect Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean burned and buried her body, Lauterbach's family asked why authorities didn't treat her case with a greater sense of urgency.

But Naval investigators said the pair had been separated on the job, the rape case was progressing and Laurean was under a protective order to stay away from Lauterbach. The county sheriff insists his department acted as best it could on the facts available.

"As soon as it went suspicious, we contacted the media and asked for help," Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said. "The case did not produce enough evidence, other than she was just missing."

Authorities have issued an arrest warrant on murder charges for Laurean, 21, of the Las Vegas area, who authorities said fled Jacksonville after leaving behind a note in which he admitted burying Lauterbach's body. Lauterbach's burnt remains, and those of her unborn child, were excavated Saturday from his backyard.
N.C. Investigators Issue Warrant in 'Disgusting' Murder of Pregnant Marine Cops Find Human Remains in Search for Pregnant Marine Sheriff: Search for Body of Pregnant Marine Halted After Police Find Ditch in Suspect's Yard Documents: Missing Marine Claimed Officer Raped Her, Family Says History of Lying Investigators Seeking Missing Pregnant Marine's Male Roommate Disappearance of Pregnant Marine Probed by North Carolina Authorities Photo Essays
Missing Marine "As well as I could see, the body was much charred," Brown said. "The fetus was in the abdominal area of that adult. ... That is tragic, and it's disgusting."

County prosecutor Dewey Hudson said Laurean had been in contact with three attorneys, including Mark E. Raynor, who declined to comment Saturday.

Authorities have described a violent confrontation inside Laurean's home that left blood spatters on the ceiling and a massive amount of blood on the wall. In his note, Laurean wrote Lauterbach cut her own throat in a suicide, but Brown doesn't believe it and challenged Laurean to come forward and defend his claims of innocence.

Lauterbach disappeared sometime after Dec. 14, not long after she met with military prosecutors to talk about her April allegation that Laurean raped her. Her uncle, Pete Steiner, said that Lauterbach — stung by the harassment that eventually forced her to move off base — decided to drop the case the week before she disappeared.

But Paul Chiccarelli, the special agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service at Camp Lejeune, told The Associated Press that Marine commanders submitted requests in October to send the case to the military's version of a grand jury. A military protective order had been automatically issued in May and renewed three times.

"Anytime there is a sexual assault allegation involved, that's a standard routine," he said.

Lauterbach and Laurean served in the same unit of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, and court documents indicate Lauterbach's mother told authorities Laurean had threatened her daughter's career. Steiner said Saturday on ABC's Good Morning America the Marines didn't separate the two personnel clerks, but Chiccarelli said Marine commanders assigned them to separate buildings on May 12.

Neither Brown nor Hudson would say Saturday if they would have treated the case differently had they known about the protective order, which they discovered Friday night. Chiccarelli said sheriff's office investigators were told about the order on Monday.

But he again said investigators didn't consider Laurean a threat to Lauterbach, or later a flight risk, because they had indications the pair were on friendly terms. He declined to detail those indications on Saturday.
Lauterbach's mother reported her daughter missing Dec. 19 — five days after she last spoke with her. By that time, she had been placed on "unauthorized absence" status by the Marine Corps.

"Several steps were taken to contact her via telephone, cell phone, even in person by sending Marines to her residence," said II MEF spokesman Lt. Col. Curtis Hill. "At that time, there was no reason to believe anything other than she had voluntarily placed herself in an unauthorized absence status."

An Onslow County Sheriff's employee contacted Naval investigators on Dec. 19 after hearing from police in Ohio and listed her as a "missing person at risk" in a national law enforcement database. He met with Lauterbach's roommate the next day, but court documents indicate he was unable to reach the Marine officer who had been notified of her absence, as he was away on holiday leave.

Hill said that Lauterbach also left her roommate a note saying she was "going away" and apologized for "the inconvenience." The roommate also told the sheriff's employee that Lauterbach had taken some personal items, initially leading him to think nothing was amiss.

The sheriff's employee checked ditches along several highways for her car, and asked the State Highway Patrol and several area hospitals if they had had any contact with the missing Marine. None had. He left word with the department radio room to contact him with any developments before leaving Dec. 22 for a vacation.
***MORE AT SITE..................


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,322410,00.html

[chambord]

This is just ghastly. I have had chills reading about this case. That poor woman and her family.

Was her car ever found?

[Roamer]

Yes, Cham. They found the car. Somewhere on here is a thread with pics of crime scene tape around it.

[chambord]

Yes, Cham. They found the car. Somewhere on here is a thread with pics of crime scene tape around it.

Thanks...This is all so sad and unbearable. The news is now confirming they have a sighting of the suspect a few states away. I hope they are succussful in apprehending him.

[StickyBeak]

US marshalls report a sighting of Laurean Shreveport, LA getting off a greyhound bus. www.witn.com

[Justme38]

Morning Everyone. I happen to read foxnews.com this morning, and Maria's family is wondering why they didn't do anything. Before they learned she had died, weren't one of her Family members saying she was a known liar, and they didn't believe the rape story? IMO

[Roamer]

The stepmother was on TV saying she was a "known liar". I didn't hear her actually say she didn't believe the rape story, but she certainly implied it. As someone here said, her mouth should have been taped shut.

[Justme38]

The stepmother was on TV saying she was a "known liar". I didn't hear her actually say she didn't believe the rape story, but she certainly implied it. As someone here said, her mouth should have been taped shut.


I thought I had read that a few days ago. I keep checking Foxnews to see if there is any new news in the case.

[Justme38]

The key suspect in the brutal slaying of a 20-year-old pregnant Marine was spotted in Louisiana and could be headed into Texas, authorities said Sunday.

Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean was seen getting on or off a Greyhound bus in Shreveport, La., Saturday night, said Shreveport police Chief Henry Whitehorn Sr.

"We're working with the U.S. Marshal's Service and other law enforcement agencies trying to locate him," Whitehorn told The Associated Press. "We don't know if he is still in the area. We believe it may have just been a pass through. We received information he may be headed into Texas."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,322410,00.html

[KittyMom]

I want to know how Maria got into Laurean's house. I just don't see her driving there herself. Also, how did Maria's car get back to the bus station? Did Laurean drive it there? If so, who picked him up? Where was the wife at when Maria was killed? How did Laurean clean up the crime scene without his wife's knowledge? Why was Laurean at the base at 4am?

[KittyMom]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jLAxQfkotgyOSgs3LXmXYW6hy6PgD8U4I73O0

"The fetus was developed enough that the little hand was about the size of my thumb," Brown said. "The little fingers were rolled up and this is consistent with what we were looking for, a pregnant lady who is the victim, Maria Lauterbach, and her unborn child."

....

Authorities have described a violent confrontation inside his home that left blood spatters on the ceiling and a massive amount of blood on the wall. It appeared that someone had tried to wash and paint over the blood, Brown said.


:(

[KittyMom]

I get really angry when I read that the family thinks that the Sheriff didn't do things quick enough. What was he supposed to do? He had this young woman's adopted/step monster telling him that she was bi-polar and a compulsive liar. He was going on comments made by the person who reported her missing and supposedly knew her best. Frankly, had she not had her "firm" telephone conversation with Maria on the 13th (the one that her roommate said left her upset), we may not be where we are now.
:mad:

[chambord]

This board does prohibit trashing victims but, imo, the question of whether this young woman is a victim or not is unanswerable at this time. The poster was expressing her opinion. Just as she's allowed. Just as you're allowed. This thread has been pleasant from it's creation. Please do not troll and disrupt the discussion. :nonono: this is always an option.

TIA

Hi there Kitty Mom!

Another tragic death. Reminds me so much of Laci's.

Wanted to thank you for your great time line you posted. It helped a lot in bringing me up to speed.

Just Devasting.

[KittyMom]

Hi there Kitty Mom!

Another tragic death. Reminds me so much of Laci's.

Wanted to thank you for your great time line you posted. It helped a lot in bringing me up to speed.

Just Devasting.

Hiya chambord. ITA about Laci. I thought about the testimony we heard about how long her baby would've lived after death. I believe it would have the same for Maria's baby. The description of the little hand just breaks my heart. :(

[StickyBeak]

Hiya chambord. ITA about Laci. I thought about the testimony we heard about how long her baby would've lived after death. I believe it would have the same for Maria's baby. The description of the little hand just breaks my heart. :(


Sheriff Brown has been criticized, but IMOO this Man has a heart of gold.
Wondering how many heinous situations he has seen in his time and how he sleeps at night after visually witnessing the carnage and scum that confront him in his job. My heart goes out to all those in LE who have to pick up the pieces, make determinations based on their expertise only to be confronted with more and more disgusting lack of caring for humanity brought on by stupidity or selfishness. I am sick to think how disposable our society has become to those who have no care of conscience for human life.

[Isabella]

Sheriff Brown has been criticized, but IMOO this Man has a heart of gold.
Wondering how many heinous situations he has seen in his time and how he sleeps at night after visually witnessing the carnage and scum that confront him in his job. My heart goes out to all those in LE who have to pick up the pieces, make determinations based on their expertise only to be confronted with more and more disgusting lack of caring for humanity brought on by stupidity or selfishness. I am sick to think how disposable our society has become to those who have no care of conscience for human life.Great post StickyBeak, I could not do what LE does, most simply want justice for victims and do the best they can. I pray every time that this is the last case of it's kind, sadly to know it will not be. I hope the justice is swift for Maria and her baby. .jmo

[KittyMom]

Sheriff Brown has been criticized, but IMOO this Man has a heart of gold.
Wondering how many heinous situations he has seen in his time and how he sleeps at night after visually witnessing the carnage and scum that confront him in his job. My heart goes out to all those in LE who have to pick up the pieces, make determinations based on their expertise only to be confronted with more and more disgusting lack of caring for humanity brought on by stupidity or selfishness. I am sick to think how disposable our society has become to those who have no care of conscience for human life.


ITA...I can't imagine doing what LE does. All those that had to witness what Laurean has done will probably not sleep for a while. But, they'll still get out of bed each day and continue to do their jobs. :zm10:

[KittyMom]

Someone posted on a youtube video a very good question. Will Laurean be tried in a military court or in a civilian court? Why was the rape investigated by the military? Does it have anything to do with where the incident happened?

:waitasec:

[mood*ring]

Ok. totally off the wall thought. But the local news here just said that they are searching the house again for more clues, evidence of Laurens home.

It happened before christmas. I do hope that they go through the Lauren's christmas decorations too.

[SavannahStar]

Someone posted on a youtube video a very good question. Will Laurean be tried in a military court or in a civilian court? Why was the rape investigated by the military? Does it have anything to do with where the incident happened?

:waitasec:

The rape occured on the base. Maria reported it to the military, not to civilian LE. IIRC.

[Claudia]

The rape occured on the base. Maria reported it to the military, not to civilian LE. IIRC.

Did Maria report it? I was under the impression that her stepmother or her mother reported it after Maria told her about it.

ITA with you guys about the sheriff - I think he's great. I wish he was the sheriff here.

Oh - and I think we are going to find that Laurean's wife knew something. I don't think there is any way there was that much blood & she didn't know about it. The only way I could see that happening is if she was on a trip when it happened. Otherwise, I think she had to know. Remember the couple that murdered that girl that he cheated with? They were both in the military, different branches. I forgot their names.

[PatC]

Did Maria report it? I was under the impression that her stepmother or her mother reported it after Maria told her about it.

ITA with you guys about the sheriff - I think he's great. I wish he was the sheriff here.

Oh - and I think we are going to find that Laurean's wife knew something. I don't think there is any way there was that much blood & she didn't know about it. The only way I could see that happening is if she was on a trip when it happened. Otherwise, I think she had to know. Remember the couple that murdered that girl that he cheated with? They were both in the military, different branches. I forgot their names.

The only thing that made it feasible to me was when one article I read said that he had cleaned up -- including painting the room.

Of course in MY case the very fact that my husband would, without serious prodding, clean much less paint a room would, in itself, be suspicious, but we have to remember that if he is only 21, chances are his wife is quite young (and naive?) as well.

[StickyBeak]

press conference at 10am Today

www.WITN.com