Possible Sighting Of Marine Murder Suspect

Police Say He Was On Greyhound In Louisiana; $25,000 Reward Offered For Information

(CBS/AP)  Authorities offered a $25,000 reward Monday for information leading to the arrest of a key suspect in the death of a 20-year-old pregnant Marine.

Federal authorities are also working to post billboards nationwide with the picture of Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, wanted in the slaying of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, who had accused him of rape.

Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said Monday that federal marshals have spoken with Laurean's family, but still haven't found him. Lauterbach's ATM card was found at a bus station in Durham, about 150 miles northwest of Jacksonville, and witnesses had reported seeing his black four-door pickup truck in the Raleigh and Durham area, Brown said.

"We have answered a whole lot of questions about Mr. Laurean, except where he is," said Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown. "There will always be lingering questions until we get the final, true, clear picture of what happened."

Lauterbach's friends say they immediately suspected Laurean but the question is, why didn't police? Lauterbach was last heard from on December 14th and was officially reported missing December 19th. But CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor reports that it took 18 days for the sheriff's department to narrow its focus to Laurean - despite the ongoing military rape investigation.

Brown said detectives were still not positive that witness reports placing Laurean on Saturday night at a bus depot in Shreveport, La., were accurate. Brown said those reports were unclear as to whether the man believed to be Laurean boarded a bus that was headed to Texas, or left the station.

One of the biggest concerns facing authorities is that Laurean, who speaks fluent Spanish, may try and slip across the Mexican border, reports CBS' The Early Show.

"The search for Laurean is earthwide," Brown said.

Brown declined Monday to discuss in detail what authorities had learned from Laurean's family, but did confirm he and his wife have an 18-month-old daughter. He again said that Laurean's wife is cooperating with authorities, and confidently predicted that Laurean will be caught.

Laurean's in-laws, Bruce and Debby Shifflet, told The Early Show that their daughter Christine spoke with Laurean. They say she asked him to turn himself in for the sake of the family.

"He said, he didn't want to go to the pen for this," Bruce Shifflet told The Early Show. "He was remorseful, but he left anyway."

The potential sightings in Louisiana came a day after authorities said they recovered what they believe to be the burned remains of Lauterbach and her unborn child from a fire pit in Laurean's backyard, where they suspect he burned and buried her body.

Lauterbach disappeared sometime after Dec. 14, not long after she met with military prosecutors to talk about her April allegation that Laurean raped her. Naval investigators said Saturday the rape case was progressing, the fellow personnel clerks had been assigned to different buildings, and that Laurean had been under a protective order to stay away from Lauterbach.

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FBI Info On Laurean

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Brown said Monday that police believe she was killed on or about Dec. 15, and state authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Laurean, 21, of the Las Vegas area, on murder charges. The FBI is also seeking him on a warrant charging him with to unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Detectives believe he fled Jacksonville before dawn Friday, and said he left behind a note in which he admitted burying her body but claimed she cut her own throat in a suicide. Authorities received Laurean's note about the purported suicide from Laurean's wife, whose family has described her as "heartbroken."

Brown has challenged Laurean's assertion that Lauterbach killed herself, citing what he described as evidence of a violent confrontation inside Laurean's home - blood spatters on the ceiling and a massive amount of blood on the wall.

"I thought he was a man of character and it's obviously he is just a coward taking off on his family and leaving," Bruce Shifflet told The Early Show. "This is just a tragedy for both families."

Lauterbach's mother reported her daughter missing Dec. 19. She had been placed on "unauthorized absence" status by the Marine Corps and was listed that day in a national law enforcement database as a "missing person at risk."

The military has long been accused of mishandling sexual assault reports, and there are now some protective measures in place, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.

Earlier in the Iraq war, revelations that there had been more than 100 sexual assault cases in Kuwait, Iraq and the rest of the Persian gulf coupled with complaints from female service members that the male-dominated chain of command did not take their allegations seriously, brought charges from Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, that victims of a sexual assault in the military face far more obstacles in getting the help that she or he needs, reports Martin.

Naval investigators said authorities didn't consider Laurean a threat to Lauterbach, or later a flight risk, because they had indications the pair were on friendly terms. Laurean later refused to meet with investigators and left town without telling his lawyers where he was going.

Sheriff Brown told Glor that he doesn't expect the suspect to give up and go quietly.

When asked what Lorean could be capable of, Brown answered, "Based on what I saw in that grave, anything."

"You're never gone for good when law enforcement is after you," Brown said Monday. "It may be two days or two weeks, ten days or ten years, but you're never gone for good."

[iceman_1960]

"Marine Murder Suspect Sighting Confirmed"


I knew the guy was an Alien.

[iceman_1960]

"Naval investigators said authorities didn''t consider Laurean a threat to Lauterbach, or later a flight risk, because they had indications the pair were on friendly terms. Laurean later refused to meet with investigators and left town without telling his lawyers where he was going."

He is going to flee the country.

[iceman_1960]

Internet Explorer informs me that the prior posts cannot be displayed until I post this message because "line 358 has an undetermined string constant"

*** ????

No wonder Firefox is increasingly displacing IE.

[excoachken]

When caught, is he tried by the State of North Carolina or the Marine Corps? If it were me, and I knew the Marines would try my case, I might decide to visit Dr. Kervorkian, instead.

[rushlimpdrug]

The guy is thinking outside the box:
he is making a run for the border.

Like Walsh says on his "America''s Most Wanted" show:
"Let''s catch this creep"

[akpals]

So, was this guy the father of the unborn baby, or was it someone else? If the father was someone else, where is he? And why was she at his house anyway, where was his wife when he had time to have her over for a visit, kill her, and burn her body?

[Krazcarl]

You mean they sighted him and didn''t shoot him southern boys are usally a bit more adventurous than that or did someone think they saw him and waited for a while to contact police???

[harrydoghiny]

As tragic as this story is, it is NOT national news.
Our media seems to think this type of thing is more important than Iraq, the CIA tapes or the firing of the US attorneys. Do your job, CBS, if I want to watch Nancy Grace, I''ll tune to CNN.

[iceman_1960]

"The guy is thinking outside the box:
he is making a run for the border."
- Posted by rushlimpdrug at 11:41 AM : Jan 13, 2008

No question about it.

He isn"t heading to Mexico for Salsa lessons.

"JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - AP - 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 as federal officials said they had issued a fugitive warrant for his arrest."

[walt1944-2009]

It has been rumored that the Marine suspect in the killing of Lauterbach and the unborn featus has been seen on a bus in Louisiana and heading for Texas.

It is believed that Laurean may be headed to the border in an attempt to get into Mexico, thus working against the flood of illegals coming OUT of Mexico. However, the alternate theory is that Laurean maybe heading for the Texas Bush White House to beg the Emperor to land him a job at Blackwater, and have the mercenaries send him to Iraq where he can let himself really "GO"!!!!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!

[Krazcarl]

You have to be a dumb a*s to escape a excution on a greyhound bus when your the news story of the day now you know he''s guilty and an idiot who thinks he''s smarter than everyone else he ain''t headed to Texas hes headed to Mexico and get out of the country put the dog {Chapman} on the case we''ll have him in 24 hours!!!

[tucano2]

Whatever happened with enforcement of the TRO?
There was a TRO, wasn''t there?
Apart from being tragic the whole story smells fishy.

[flreason]

Hi Tucker:

I see you''re starting to sweat bullets at the prospect of having to eat that coffee cup. LOL. Seems like you''re going for the Alberto Gonzalez defense. Do you really think that repeating over and over that it never happened is going to make it so? Are you also going to deny the DNA evidence if it proves positive, both for the identity of the corpse and of the paternity of the fetus?

BTW, considering how little credence you give the news reporting, the fact that they were clueless about military ranks shouldn''t surprise you. Unfortunately, news sources are so focused on getting a story out first, they fudge on background stuff that a fifth grader could find on the Internet in two minutes.

[pmalcpoet]

What makes this national news is the fact that after Lauterbach filed rape charges with the Marines, they harassed her continuously until she recanted her accusation, just recently. But it was to get them off her back, she had told the truth from the beginning. If the military had listened to her perhaps she would still be alive. My hope is that there will be an inquiry into the way the military, and the Marines in particular, continue to harass servicewomen who file rape charges against their fellow service members.

[Krazcarl]

TRO?????

[whatithink-2009]

kittykatzmom,

I might have missed something but where does it say he is a foreigner? I thought you had to be an American to join the Marine Corp. I''m confused.

[Krazcarl]

Nancy_niave...OOOh burned mine,,,:-)

[blondmadison]

Just because he is of hispanic origins does not make him a foreigner. He is a legal American, no matter where his family came from. Marines do not take foreigners who are illegals. Duh.

Whose name was the bus ticket in? He has to be using someone else''s name to purchase a bus ticket because they could locate his name thru Greyhound computers in seconds. They could also locate the murdered Marine''s name in seconds too if the bus ticket was in her name. He had to be the one who took funds out of her account on two different occassions after she was dead.

The wife cannot be blind deaf and stupid not to notice blood all over the walls and ceiling and something buried in the backyard.

Where was she for a solid month while the Marine was reported missing? Where was she on Dec 14th for example. She was living in the home. He left the note to her in the home, not a mailbox.

What took the wife so long to go to police with the note? Please don''t tell me she was scared because that would be she was busy covering just her own self and that is not acceptable.

www.myspace.com/worldpeacerally2008

[blondmadison]

Posted by kittykatzmom at 06:21 PM : Jan 13, 2008

KittyKatzmom--

A foreigner did not kill Kathleen Savio. A white American policeman is suspected of doing that.

A foreigner did not kill Stacy Peterson, a White American policeman is highly suspected of doing that.

A foreigner did not kill Ms Emerson. A white American man did.

A foreigner did not kill Lisa Stebic. Her White policeman, an American, is suspected of that as she has never been seen or heard from again.

Shut your face about foreigners. We might be more safe in a third world country becasue of American have found they can get away with murder!

[iceman_1960]

What "foreigners" are they talking about ????

Cesar Armando Laurean is an Italian-American.

He"s about as much a "foreigner" as Rudy Giuliani.

He won"t be a foreigner until he crosses into Mexico, where he"ll be an alien Gringo.

[iceman_1960]

"Cesar Armando Laurean is an Italian-American."

I can"t find any biographical data for this "gentleman" on the Internet.

But "Armando" is about as Italian as a name can get.

[iceman_1960]

RE: Post by tuckerndfw at 08:02 PM : Jan 13, 2008

Didn"t General Dwight Eisenhower have an affair with his female chauffeur during WW2 ?

Wait a second... She was a Brit, and he wasn"t a Marine.

That would explain why Eisenhower wasn"t packed off to Leavenworth.

[iceman_1960]

"Conduct unbecoming an officer & gentleman"

I remember when I recommended that film to a good friend of mine at work.

Later he chewed me out after he and his straightlaced wife were exposed to those steamy explicit s*ex scenes between Richard Gere and Debra Winger.

I still laugh about that.

[iceman_1960]

"I believe the movie was called, "An Officer and Gentleman."

I"ve never seen it so I"ll take your word for it."
- Posted by tuckerndfw at 08:25 PM : Jan 13, 2008

Yes.

The perfect movie to show in the barracks.

Unit cohesion guaranteed after that.

[iceman_1960]

That was before Richard Gere started playing sissies in films like "Shall We Dance"

Am I starting to drift off topic here ?

[iceman_1960]

"Iceman_1960 at 08:08 PM : Jan 13, 2008
What statute would that have violated?"
- Posted by tuckerndfw at 08:19 PM : Jan 13, 2008

Many if not all of those you listed. e.g. "62. Article 134, Adultery; (if either of them are married)"

Eisenhower was married at the time.


"Your reliance on fiction seems to severely interfere with your ability to separate fact from fiction."
- Posted by tuckerndfw at 08:19 PM : Jan 13, 2008

Ain"t that the truth...

[iceman_1960]

"I was just reading about Ms. Summersby (Ike"s squeeze) and it appears there was no adulterous relationship.
Lots of rumors and suspicions, but no proof."
- Posted by tuckerndfw at 08:41 PM : Jan 13, 2008

I believe she made a statement confirming the affair on her deathbed.

That has a certain gravitas.

Besides, they made a TV movie about it. Would they have done that if it wasn"t true ?

I rest my case/

[blondmadison]

The Armed Forces need to update their procedures for protecting women in the services to the point that the procedures work. Big Duh going on here.

So far, their "procedures" are lacking in very dangerous irresponsible ways which create the perpetrator to have the edge.

Where was the wife of Cesar for the whole month that the police were searching for her? The pregnant Marine s was murdered in this wife''s home and buried in her back yard. There was blood all over the walls and the ceiling and then the home was painted.

WHERE WAS SHE ALL THAT TIME? She lived there. He left the wife a note inside the home, not in a mailbox. Why did it take her so long to bring the note to the police? Being scared is not an acceptable excuse.

I need some answers to this.

I have known women in the military that feel the system is against them from the start in regards to even a sexual harrassment issue, much less an actual rape. Unfortunately, many of them are completely correct.

It seems to me that this accusation was never taken seriously enough, at the least, the accused should have been confined to quarters.

It also distrubed me when I read, earlier in the week, how they were calling for Maria to call and let people know where she was, and that it was safe for her to come home. It really doesn''t sit right that they didn''t look at the accused home as soon as she went missing.

I am sorry and ashamed the military failed this soldier.

[offtheback]

A "senior officer" would be a colonel or general. A flunky enlisted man (corporal) does not qualify.

Posted by tuckerndfw

Do you have any idea of how the military chain of command works? Or just what you see on tv?
Moron

[jghutto]

After she pressed charges for the rape it would have been logical for the military to have held her in an undisclosed location until the child was born - knowing how many pregnant women are being killed by their unborn child''s father.

[rowdytexan2]

Posted by BlondMadison at 09:29 PM : Jan 13, 2008

Good question!

However, just on my own thinking, had my husband been accused of raping another marine, and she had disappeared, my first instinct would be to get the hell away from him. It''s very possible she wasn''t living with him.

[rowdytexan2]

Tuck, where''s that video? Got your coffee cup handy? Remember?

The girl had accused him of rape, a serious crime! Now she''s dead!

You said you''d make a video of yourself eating your cup!

[rowdytexan2]

Posted by tuckerndfw at 11:33 PM : Jan 13, 2008

Tuck, the article said a senior, not a senior officer, I went back and looked. That can mean many things in the military.

Why would she say she was going to run away? Because she had a crazy stepmother accusing her of lying? Because she was getting no help from the marines in prosecuting this bastward? Had the marines wanted to prosecute this guy, they could have already had a dna sample from that baby when the mother was alive. When she went missing, why didn''t they immediately bring this guy in? Hell, they''re holding prisoners in Gitmo for less information than they had on this guy!!!

And I don''t suspect that the sheriff''s department would release any information that they didn''t suspect was provable information, nor issue an arrest warrant. The guy left a note, for pete''s sakes. She''s dead!

Her death was brutal, there were bloodstains on the ceiling. Hers and the baby''s bodies were burned up...an attempt to destroy dna???

Now Tuck, tell me that rape isn''t a serious crime! This woman is DEAD because of it!!!

[iceman_1960]

"There is no evidence she was the victim of foul play."
- Posted by tuckerndfw at 11:29 PM : Jan 13, 2008

There"s no forensic proof.

Of course there"s evidence. The evidence is being tested and evaluated now.

"The body was charred, and the fetus was in the victim''s abdomen, Brown said, describing the scene... The remains were taken to the Onslow County medical examiner''s office. They will next be sent to the chief medical examiner in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for DNA testing and comparison with dental records."

Evidence. Not yet positive identification.

[feelfree1]

Re: "Naval investigators said authorities didn''t consider Laurean a threat to Lauterbach, or later a flight risk, because they had indications the pair were on friendly terms."

This woman was on "friendly terms" with a man that she accused of raping her?

Nothing done to prevent the accused rapist from killing this alleged victim as well?

This accused rapist/murderer was deemed NOT a flight risk?

Now this guy is at-large?

Nice going Marines!

That''s our military for you- our "best and brightest"- on the job!

We can only hope and pray that he is headed to D.C.

[kaylag04]

"..Especially the nonsense that a corporal is a "senior officer." A corporal is little more than a private, a low ranking enlisted person..."

Absolutely untrue; a Corporal is a Noncomissioned Officer, with all of the general authority and basic responsibilities of any NCO. It is a position of authority, especially to a new Marine or Soldier.

[extremophil]

There he goes now......Let''s get em!!

[motherhen11]

Run, corporal, run!

[mkbjon]

C''mon, the wife had to know SOMETHING. If I come home and my husband is painting a portion of the wall and ceiling, I am going to know that something is up. Plus, burning something in my backyard and then burying it? Surely the odor was strong and it''s not something that he normally does (hopefully). She had to have known the circumstances pertaining to the restraining order, and that the girl went missing. None of these facts clicked in her mind? Yeah, RIGHT.

[labrador_luv]

The US Marines and the US Navy did nothing to help my family when our lives were threatened. Instead, a Marine came to my house and told me that I had better not try anything, or he was going to become involved with my families demise. I had no other choice but to seek legal protection through the Civilian Courts, but when I did that, everything became like a war zone in my Military housing neighborhood, and my family received an eviction notice from the Navy base. My husband was in the middle of the water ready to fire into Iraq. We went through our Congress back home. The eviction was overturned, but we were still harassed and were unable to go outside without the fear of being hurt. The Marine Corp and the Navy gave this Marine permission to harass, just as I feel they did in this case! How long do you think it would take for the %u201CMilitary%u201D to come down on a woman that was accused of a sexual, or really any crime against a fellow soldier, or even civilian? I have a friend that is in the Navy and she is facing this same problem. Her story needs to be in the public eye. We are supposed to fight for America%u2019s freedom, not fight our fellow Americans!

[labrador_luv]

The US Marines and the US Navy did nothing to help my family when our lives were threatened. Instead, a Marine came to my house and told me that I had better not try anything, or he was going to become involved with my families demise. I had no other choice but to seek legal protection through the Civilian Courts, but when I did that, everything became like a war zone in my Military housing neighborhood, and my family received an eviction notice from the Navy base. My husband was in the middle of the water ready to fire into Iraq. We went through our Congress back home. The eviction was overturned, but we were still harassed and were unable to go outside without the fear of being hurt. The Marine Corp and the Navy gave this Marine permission to harass, just as I feel they did in this case! How long do you think it would take for the %u201CMilitary%u201D to come down on a woman that was accused of a sexual, or really any crime against a fellow soldier, or even civilian? I have a friend that is in the Navy and she is facing this same problem. Her story needs to be in the public eye. We are supposed to fight for America%u2019s freedom, not fight our fellow Americans!

[mundy13]

I too was sexually assaulted by a US Marine. Leaders in the Corps, Air Force and close military friends convinced me to report the sexual assault at a time when I was recovering from my wounds and injuries suffered at the hands of terrorist activities. I was captured, held hostage, tortured, interrogated, poisoned and left to die from my injuries.
I was and I am deeply concerned that our nation has turned over our intelligence to individuals with poor leadership skills.
I kept records and documents to prove that the Naval Criminal Investigation Service and leaders at Camp Lejuene, NC were covering up the sexual assault. I contacted local authorities in Jacksonville, NC to help with my case to provide Justice and Mercy for others like myself.
It is time to take action and hold our Commander in Chief responsible for the actions of his troops. In the article Yamashita, Medina, and Beyond: Command Responsibility in Contemporary Military Operations by Major Michael L. Smidt, (2000) Military Law Review, Vol. 164
In 2000 I was part of a Special Operations researching "humit" intelligence in the field. I was sexually and physically assaulted repeatedly by military personnel. In Jan 22, 2004 the unit commander at Camp Leujene determined that the crimes did not warrant pursuing charges.
When are our leaders going to change the system.

[labrador_luv]

R U KIDDING, BEECUSTER?! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT OUR MILITARY! WHO DO YOU THINK MAKES UP MOST OF OUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS ONBOARD NAVY SHIPS AND KEEPS OUR MILITARY HEALTHY?! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THIS POOR GIRL DID IN THE MARINES? OFFICE JOB! GROW UP! OUR WORLD IS CHANGING AND WOMEN KICK JUST AS MUCH BUTT TO KEEP YOU FREE AS MEN!

[klingon69]

I might have missed something but where does it say he is a foreigner? I thought you had to be an American to join the Marine Corp. I''''m confused.
Posted by whatithink at 06:32 PM : Jan 13, 2008
No, you do not have to be a citizen to join the military. You also are supposed to be a citizen (or have legal status) to work in the US, but that doesn''t stop the illegals.

[mxyzpix66]

tuckerndfw - rape should be a misdemeanor?! like any other assault?! This type of thinking is what''s going on in the Republic of the Congo.

If he''s innocent, why burn and bury the bodies? why run? why not leave the suicide scene, if it was suicide, intact and call the authorities. The evidence would prove that he didn''t touch her then.

Too many questions, and I''m not out for his blood. If he''s innocent, let him walk. If he''s not, then convict him.

[klingon69]

Do you have any idea of how the military chain of command works? Or just what you see on tv?
Moron
Posted by offtheback at 09:59 PM : Jan 13, 2008
Well, I do. It was part of basic training so any enlisted person can recognize the rank of another and salute where appropriate.
My question is was it a senior officer or a senior official?
Even though they are similar they can and do have differing meanings in the service. A senior official can be a civilian working for or with the military. A senior officer must be IN the military, or retired.

[deemsnyd]

The military does not knowingly tolerate criminals in its midst. Anyone who claims otherwise is an ignorant moron.

Posted by tuckerndfw at 12:03 PM : Jan 14, 2008


Maybe in your case, it was handled appropriately, but it may not always be that way?

[labrador_luv]

Okay beecuster, but I understood the comment to read, "Women shouldn''t be in the Military because they are unable to handle the "Good O''l Boy Network" Were you a career Military member? My husband was. We saw many changes through the 20+ years. Women are tuff and I consider myself to be also, but "Good O''l Boys" make it hard to succeed in their "World"

[rushlimpdrug]

The story is inaccurate nonsense.
Posted by tuckerndfw at 11:56 AM

You are STUPID.
Someone kill a pregnant woman, dismembers her, burns the body, buries her and the fetus and you are stuck on a some stupid "detail".
What a fool you are.
You can rinse your brain out in the toilet and flush down the krap so that you can fill it with candy.
Pinata head.
You sound like one of those compassionate conservs.