Slain Marine's Suspected Killer In Mexico?

Authorities Say Fugitive's Movements Tracked Through Texas, Indications He Went Over Border

(CBS/AP)  U.S. law enforcement has said that the fugitive Marine wanted in the murder of a Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach may have fled to Mexico.

Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean's movements have been tracked through Texas and there are indications that he likely crossed the southwest border.

Lauterbach, the 20-year-old Marine whose remains were found along with those of her child in suspected killer Laurean's backyard, had told victims' advocates at Camp Lejeune that she didn't consider her colleague to be a threat.

Lauterbach alleged in May that Laurean had raped her in March and April. A pregnancy test soon after was negative, Marine Corps officials said Tuesday, but a test in June was positive. Doctors estimated the date of conception was May 14.

Corps officials said Lauterbach met with prosecutors in November and said she no longer believed Laurean was the father. Lauterbach, who grew up in Vandalia, 10 miles north of Dayton, disappeared in December.

Authorities confirmed Tuesday that remains found over the weekend in a fire pit in Laurean's yard were those of Lauterbach and her child. Dr. Charles Garrett, the Onslow County medical examiner, said Lauterbach, who was eight months pregnant when she vanished, died of "traumatic head injury due to blunt force trauma."

The autopsy did not answer all the questions about the circumstances of Lauterbach's death, said county prosecutor Dewey Hudson. Detectives are still unsure whether she gave birth before her death and of the identity of the father, he said.

Now for the first time since Lauterbach was seen more than a month ago, the military is answering charges they could have done more to prevent her death, reports CBS News correspondent Jeff Glor.

Naval investigators concluded the purported sexual encounter in March was not criminal, said Paul Ciccarelli, an agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The pair had a second sexual encounter about two weeks later that didn't include any threats, force, violence or coercion, he said.

"She asked him to stop, and he did stop," Ciccarelli said, saying that was the account Lauterbach gave to officials.

He said she still considered both to be incidents of rape, and that Lauterbach's regimental commander treated her allegations seriously. Her commander was intent on taking the case to an Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury proceeding.

Laurean never violated a military protective order directing him to stay away from Lauterbach, continued to report for work on time in the weeks after her disappearance and denied having any sexual contact with her, said Col. Gary Sokoloski, the judge advocate general officer for the II Marine Expeditionary Force.

"At no time did she indicate that she was threatened by Cpl. Laurean," Sokoloski said. "When she was asked if she felt threatened by Cpl. Laurean, she said she did not feel threatened."

The Marines also say she left a note before she disappeared saying she was tired of Marine life and was going away, reports Glor.

Authorities believe Laurean fled Jacksonville early Friday after leaving a note in which he admitted burying Lauterbach's body. But Tuesday, they said he is believed to be hiding and no longer needs to travel quickly or far to avoid capture.

"We believe it's certainly possible, based on him being out there for this long, and not having any sightings, that he is getting help," said Onslow County Sheriff's Capt. Rick Sutherland. "We think we have a handle on all his contacts, but there could be someone else out there helping."

Authorities towed Laurean's pickup truck on Tuesday after finding it abandoned at a motel parking lot in Morrisville, not far from where it was seen by witnesses in Durham, about 150 miles northwest of Jacksonville. It will be taken back to Onslow County to be processed by the State Bureau of Investigation, Ciccarelli said.

It was unclear how long the truck had been at the Microtel Inn. Sherrie Joyner, who works the front desk, said Laurean never checked in.

Lauterbach's ATM card was found at a bus station in Durham, and authorities received reports from several witnesses Sunday who said they saw Laurean at a bus station in Shreveport, La. Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown has said detectives have been unable to confirm the Louisiana sightings.

In his note, Laurean alleged that Lauterbach committed suicide by cutting her own throat. Brown rejected that idea even before the medical examiner weighed in, citing blood spatters on the ceiling and a large amount of blood on a wall in Laurean's home as signs of a violent confrontation.

Authorities believe Lauterbach was slain around Dec. 15. Officials have offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to Laurean's arrest and have posted or plan to post billboards with his picture in cities including Columbus, Ohio; Tampa, Fla.; and Las Vegas.

[vivianr1]

This marine, told people he would flee to Mexico to avoid being arrested. How do we know, that he didn''t say that to throw people off. If I had commited a crime, I would not tell people where I was going. Here we are looking all over Mexico and he could be here hiding. If he is in Mexico he will blend well, he looks Mexican.

[snowidow]

RE: Post by Iceman_1960 at 4:50 PM : Jan 16, 2008

"Laurean, who remains a fugitive, is charged with first-degree murder in the killing. The FBI has said it is likely that Laurean, a 21-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, has fled to his native country of Mexico.

The FBI is working with Mexican authorities to locate Cpl. Cesar Laurean, who is originally from Guadalajara."

[rowdytexan2]

He''''s probably just searching for the real killer...



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by FeelFree1 at 02:12 AM : Jan 17, 2008

You mean like O.J.?

[flreason]

An AP news story reports that Laurean told friends he would escape to Mexico to avoid being convicted of raping Lauterbach. It would appear that he believed he was the father of the baby, or else he would have welcomed a DNA test that would, along with her history of bi-polar disease, have created reasonable doubt in a court-martial proceding. With reasonable doubt, there would have been no need for him to run.

[troubled5]

One last question. Do you get the reward money for finding Cesar Laurean''s body?

[troubled5]

And another thing. Cesar Laurean did not check into the inn. Did they check to see if the guy whose fingerprints were on the steering wheel and the door handle of the car checked in. And someone said that Cesar took money out of her ATM but all the camera saw was a man covering the lense with a coat or something. Even her cell phone could have been thrown on the side of the road to make it look like a struggle had taken place. How would he keep her in the car when he stopped at a stop sign if he were taking her somewhere against her will?

[watcher269-2009]

Here''s another reason for Republicans to be PROUD of Bush

President Bush exempted the Navy from an environmental law so it can continue using sonar in its anti-submarine warfare training off the California coast %u2014 a practice critics say is harmful to whales and other marine mammals.

The White House announced Wednesday that Bush had signed the exemption Tuesday while traveling in the Middle East. (snip)

%u201CThe president%u2019s action is an attack on the rule of law,%u201D said Joel Reynolds, director of the Marine Mammal Protection Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council. %u201CBy exempting the Navy from basic safeguards under both federal and state law, the president is flouting the will of Congress, the decision of the California Coastal Commission and a ruling by the federal court.%u201D

[watcher269-2009]

This guy should go to Dubai - there is extradition treaty there with the United States.

That is where Cheney is going after he leaves office!

That is where Halliburton moved their Corporate Headquarters.

That is where Micheal Jackson went to live until he won his court case.

All wealthy criminals go there to avoid US courts.

Dubai - not just for Rich Arabs anymore!

[feelfree1]

He''s probably just searching for the real killer...

[troubled5]

Cesar Laurean lives in this house with his wife and child? There is human flesh burning in the back yard. There is a large amount of blood on the walls, reportably for 5 days before anyone reports the pregnant girl missing. Where is his wife while all of this is going on? If they look closely at that blood in the house they may find that some of it belonged to him. Maybe his idea of a triaxial reality didn''t work out as well as he thought.

[navygirl101]

Let''s evaluate the statements...

Marine''s claim the conception date is May 14th... stating that she couldn''t have been pregnant when she was raped which would put her about 7 months pregnant the day she died... However, the coroner states she was 8 months pregnant when she died, which means her allegations of being raped in April would be possibly true...

And, according to Onslow County Sheriff''s department, they believe someone is helping this marine escape...

Living the military lifestyle, I can personally say that if the military wants to find you, they will. IF they don''t want you to be found, you won''t... Wonder why? Maybe because in most rape cases, it is mandatory for the military to separate the accused and the victim, even if it''s possible it was consented. The fact that the male was married was justified enough to slap him with adultery under military law... Hmmm, but that didn''t happen either... Then you have the fact that there are in different pay or rank brackets which is another violation to the UCMJ, also know as fraternization...

With all of that being said, it is very obvious that the Marines are CYA-ing this case (aka Covering your a**). All you have to do to understand this case is look up "Uniform Code of Military Justice". You''ll see there is more than we will probably ever know...

[cop695]

Hey there Troutman, first this guy is a clerk for the marines not straight up infantry, he might of had his 13 weeks of basic training but that does not mean he went to infantry school and is SOC (special operations capable). Yes it is true that all marines can serve as rifleman no matter there MOS but this guy is a clerk not Recon, or special forces or RAMBO.So keep your movie qoutes for the movie critics and the fans of all the Rambo movies.

[akraze]

I''m new here... One thing that keeps irking me about the news, including this website is that they keep putting her picture next to his. She was hurt by him enough and I see no reason to keep linking the two of them. They may be connected because of his horrendous act - but as far as I can see they are on oppostie ends and their pictures should not ever touch. And why did they not search cars going into Mexico if they have concern that he fled there - this is the worst handling of an investigation I''ve heard of in a while... you''ve got the Military investigators who really should have been able to put 2 and 2 together by the date of the article 32 hearing that she didn''t appear for, her mother who I hope has repented as much as one mother possibly could for the disbelief of her daughter, and the Feds who really could have been more proactive when he fled. Honestly though, it is kind of wierd that there was a second contact between them and so it seems to leave one to think that the wife at the very least had to be in the "know" of this sooner that last Friday.

[lorinkundert]

Murder and now Desertion, The military will hunt him down no matter where he goes.

[diencaidau-2009]

Authorities have said his wife, Christina Laurean, is cooperating with authorities and provided them with the note her husband left before skipping town.

[diencaidau-2009]

It would be hard to hit yourself in the head with an object with enough force to render you unconcious, and then commit suicide by slitting your throat. So
why would laurean even write such a note? He admitted
writing the note.

[diencaidau-2009]

The story is very reliable, and would give rise to any reasonable and prudent person to arrive at their
own conclusion.

The wife of Laurean is not on the run, she hasn''t
fled to anywhere.

to the contrary, the wife has publicly commented
and has been most co-operative.

do you really think the mother of laureans children
would really kill an expectant mother 9 months pregnant?

it''s obvious the marine has not yet been tried. In order to do that, he has to be caught first, because he is fleeing.

[rowdytexan2]

Posted by tbweb at 06:27 PM : Jan 16, 2008

They don''t stop you going out, only when you come back in. The Mexican people love us coming over there and spending our money.

Last time I was down there, when we came back in they just looked in the car and we held up our ID. But then that was before 9/11. Haven''t been down there since.

[tbweb]

Slain Marines Suspected Killer In Mexico?

Its possible, we know its easy to come in, so it must be just as easy to go out!

[iceman_1960]

I"m done with you, tucker.

Talking to you is like talking to cement.

You are the dumbest S.O.B. on the face of the earth.

And you are a blatant liar and an anti-Semitic hatemonger.