Candlelight Vigil For Slain Marine

Police Release Image Of Fugitive At ATM Using Slain Marine's Bank Card

(CBS/AP)  More than 300 people gathered Friday night to remember a 20-year-old pregnant woman whose body was found in a shallow pit in the backyard of a fellow Marine whom she had accused of rape.

The crowd gathered at a park for a candlelight vigil for Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach.

"It truly touches me to see that so many people cared about this young woman," said Cristal Romeo, 21, who organized the vigil.

Among those who attended was Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown.

"The stress to find her and her unborn baby is stress I have not felt in a long time," Brown said. "It is very tragic and I was very much hoping to announce that she had been seen alive on the first day, but six hours later, we had the terrible discovery of her death."

Those who attended the 45-minute ceremony could sign a banner for Lauterbach at the entrance to the baseball field at the park. The banner, and the gifts left during the vigil, will be sent to Lauterbach's family in Ohio.

Authorities say Lauterbach died of blunt force trauma to the head, possibly a crowbar, around Dec. 15 and are searching for Corporal Cesar Armando Laurean, 21, who police believe may have burned Lauterbach's body and buried her in his back yard.

A naturalized U.S. citizen born in Mexico, Laurean is believed to have fled to Mexico, hiding from an arrest warrant that charges him with Lauterbach's death.

CSI investigators are looking over the suspect crowbar for clues and forensic testing.

Onslow County sheriff's investigators released a photo Friday that they believe shows Laurean using Lauterbach's ATM card. Investigators had earlier said an unidentified man had used the ATM card on December 24.

Lauterbach had accused Laurean of rape in May, a charged he denied to military investigators. Her burned remains were found last week.

[beehive21-2009]

This really sucks,why kill the girl? Kill yourselves, next time,lowlife.RIP,poor thing.

[barbaraf4]

"Lauterbach had accused Laurean of rape in May, a charged he denied to military investigators. Her burned remains were found last week."

Sounds like the good ''ol boy network at work. He denied raping her and he went free. If I were her parents (except for that white trash stepmom), I''d file a civil suit - her rights were denied.

[gmond]

I am more outraged by the fact that he used her atm card than by the fact that he killed her. That really proves him to be nothing but a callous, selfish POS undeserving of any consideration.

[Krazcarl]

Again I''m not a rocket scientist but aren''t you thrown in the brig or at least resticted to base if the charges are serious. I understand some slackness in the field but stateside any feedback????

[libra127]

"I am more outraged by the fact that he used her atm card than by the fact that he killed her."Posted by gmond at 01:50 PM : Jan 19, 2008

Care to explain that comment ? Don''t you think your priorities are a little screwed up ? I certainly do. He had a right to take her one and only LIFE (and that of her baby) but no right to take her money ? Huh ?

[itgranny]

This is sad, terrible, I hope they catch the bum that did this.

But also sad and terrible is the fact that 24 other soldiers (more than 1 a day!) have died this month because WE have asked them to die for us. Are WE sure we''re doing the right thing. Why aren''t they getting talked about? Seems the people campaining are all hush hush about the war. They don''t want to talk about it and neither does the press.

[Netterz]

Selfish uncarig monsters like this one care nothing for other living things, well enough other people. They would never consider harming themselves at the expense of others, no more than he thought of using her ATM card, not to mention how he must have gotten the pin#. For anti-social personalities such as this one,he cares for nothing but his own well being. The woman he raped, or his own unborn child mean nothing to him. I just hope that if they dont get him before he crosses into Mexico, that the Mexican Gov''t tosses him back, which they most likely will, they dont need any more of the murdering kind in there country either.

[deuelpete]

YOU KNOW I HAVE LIVED 69 YEARS AND SINCE 1973 THE VALUE OF A HUMAN BEING HAS GONE DOWN SINCE ABORTION CAME INTO BEING. I AM CHRISTAIN AND PSALMS 139 TELLS ME ABORTION IS WRONG, EVEING TO HIM HIS BABY MEANT NOTHING TO HIM. ABORTION HAS WARP THEIR MINDS.
SHIRL COOPER

[Krazcarl]

duelpete...you are a religious zealot looking for a free pass to heaven.Peaple have been mudering since time begane read the old testement when Moses freed the slaves and went out to liberate the promiced land when they captured a city they killed everyone it was the first recorded case of genocide they wanted thir land and didn''t want slaves I love ignorant zealots that just read the book to advocate thier politics.

[itgranny]

Yeah duelpete, back in the olden days when this guy would have had a shotgun wedding to marry this woman. Then she would have at least been an honest woman when he killed her.

[deuelpete]

You know who you are and let me tell you I don''t care about what kinds of names you call me because that is not what is important here. When I was a girl growing up you never hardly ever heard of a murder. Now I get on the news everyday and see another child has been kill by a parent. That is very sad.My Lord told me I would be called names because of Him so they just roll off my back. Shirl Cooper Have a good evening.

[deuelpete]

I don''t care what names you call me. My Lord said I would be called names because of Him. As a little girl growing up you never heard of such evil people killing children, and guess what, most of the time its a parent. This is very sad and to think I could not express my feelings without being called names tells me we don''t care about each other. You are very sad person. Please pray for the many children who die like this. Have you all forgotten Lacy?? Shirl Cooper

[gmond]

libra127, what do you not understand? He added insult to injury, and that is an outrage. His victim and her child meant so little to him that he used her own atm card to get rid of her after he killed her. I can never see him using any defense of a crime of passion, temporary insanity, an accident, or whatever other excuse he may dream up to explain his actions. Any remotely possible mitigating circumstances went out the window after he was cold-blooded and callous enough to steal her money to go buy the tools he needed for the disposal of her body. No wonder his wife didn''t come forward right away, she must have been too much in shock knowing what he had done.

[Krazcarl]

Was reading on yahoo news yesterday the mother CLAIMS she encouraged her to file rape charges then tells the marines shes a pathalogical lier no wonder this young woman was confused,. Still all you military folks aren''t you thrown in the Brig or at least restricted to base if your accused of a serios crime??

[Krazcarl]

trb124u...Thank for the clarification it was confusing sounds like old stepmom had some jealousy issues?

[b-easy63]

Maybe someone will go to Mexico and give this guy a ride back to the USA and drop him off at the Sheriffs Office in North Carolina.
It Could Happen!
Then again he might just turn up dead in Mexico. Heck everybody has friends in Mexico, and more friends than this Sleaze bag Murderer.

Posted by beecuster at 07:50 PM : Jan 20, 2008


If he did it, then he killed a white American girl--can you really imagine the Mexican community getting much up in arms over the death of a Gringa?

Wonder who else we naturalized that is a time bomb waiting to join our other looneys--then skip away back to the "old country".

[b-easy63]

EVEING TO HIM HIS BABY MEANT NOTHING TO HIM. ABORTION HAS WARP THEIR MINDS.
SHIRL COOPER

Posted by deuelpete at 03:22 PM : Jan 20, 2008


When a man rapes a woman, why should he care about what happens to the seed he spits into her and forces her to endure? Of course he did not care about the child--why would he? At least 1/2 of that child was a part of a woman he did not care about. People have abortions because they do not want their genetics to grow into fruition or humans--the odds are--if someone wants to stop their own genetics from existing--it is probably a good thing to accomodate them. WE don''t need any other monsters or suboptimal people destined for Darwin Awards. Get a clue.

[b-easy63]

Yeah duelpete, back in the olden days when this guy would have had a shotgun wedding to marry this woman. Then she would have at least been an honest woman when he killed her.

Posted by itgrammy at 06:17 PM : Jan 20, 2008


Nope--wouldn''t have happened not even in the olden days--because the creep was already married to someone else when he raped her.