Marine Murder
Some key dates in the case of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach and the search for Cpl. Cesar A. Laurean -- the suspect in the death of the 20-year-old pregnant Marine.
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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.
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Laurean joins his current unit, a combat logistics regiment based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
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Maria Lauterbach, of Dayton, Ohio, enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps.
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Lauterbach joins Laurean's unit.
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Lauterbach tells military officials she has been raped.
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Marine commanders assign Lauterbach and Laurean to work
in separate buildings.
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A military protective order is issued against Laurean.
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The protective order is automatically renewed for the first time.
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The order is automatically renewed for the second time.
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Marine commanders submit a request to send the rape case to the military's version of a grand jury.
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Lauterbach meets with military prosecutors to discuss her rape allegation against Laurean.
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Lauterbach's mother last speaks with her daughter.
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Lauterbach's mother reports her missing to police in
Ohio. A missing persons investigation begins in Onslow County, N.C.
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Lauterbach's cell phone is found near the main gate at
Camp Lejeune.
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An unidentified white male attempts to use Lauterbach's ATM card.
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Lauterbach misses a prenatal care appointment.
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The protective order is automatically renewed for the third time.
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Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown is informed about the
case and detectives execute their first search warrant.
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Police search the laptop computer of Marine Sgt. Daniel
Durham, Lauterbach's roommate. Authorities later conclude he is not involved.
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The Marine Corps says it is cooperating with the Onslow
County Sheriff's investigation into Lauterbach's disappearance.
STORY: Read more
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Civilian authorities request Durham be returned from a
training mission in California for questioning.
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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.
STORY: Read more
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Authorities complete an excavation of a fire pit in
Laurean's backyard and issue a warrant for his arrest.
STORY: Read more
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Authorities offer a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Laurean in the death of Lauterbach; federal authorities work to post billboards of the wanted photo nationwide.
LINK: FBI Wanted Poster
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N.C. officials say Lauterbach died of traumatic injury to the head caused by blunt force trauma.
The newest finding contradicts Laurean's claim that Lauterbach killed herself by cutting her own throat.
Authorities find Laurean's truck abandoned at a motel
parking lot in Morrisville, N.C.
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The FBI says they suspect Laurean has fled to Mexico.
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Juan Antonio Ramos Ramirez says Laurean walked into his liquor store in Zapopan, just outside Guadalajara, Mexico, on Jan. 14 or 15. The cousins chatted for 10 minutes about their families. Laurean then told the man that he had to get back to two friends outside, but he might return. He never came back. Days later, Ramos Ramirez saw a TV report that Laurean was wanted in the U.S.
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Laurean is indicted on a charge of first-degree murder. Prosecutors say they will not seek the death penalty against Laurean - but only if he is arrested in Mexico.The country has a policy of refusing to return people to the U.S. who might face a death sentence.
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Lauterbach's remains are accompanied by an honor escort from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to a Dayton, Ohio, funeral home.
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The Interpol-United States National Central Bureau, a component of the U.S. Dept. of Justice, requests the issuance of an Interpol Red Notice seeking the world-wide location, apprehension, and extradition of Cesar Armando Laurean-Ramirez.
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FBI agents and police arrest Laurean in the small town of Tacambaro, in western Mexico. He told police he slept in fields and survived by eating fruit that he found during a three-month manhunt. Bearded, thin and chained at the wrists and ankles, he appeared slightly disoriented and stared straight ahead, his eyes occasionally filling up with tears as he answered a reporter's questions in terse phrases in a brief encounter after his arrest.
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Prosecutors in North Carolina say it
could be a year before Laurean is returned to the U.S. to face a murder charge. Mexican police found him the night of April 10 wandering on a street in a rural Mexican town.
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The attorney for Laurean says his client is fighting extradition to the United States by filing an appeal in a Mexican court. Because Laurean is a dual citizen, an extradition fight could take up to two years.
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Laurean is extradited to North Carolina to face a first-degree murder charge.
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Onslow County Superior Court Judge Charles Henry lifts a gag order he issued in April earlier, saying it didn't meet
constitutional standards to justify barring lawyers and others involved in the case from talking to the media.
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Credits:
AP
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