Missing pregnant Marine was killed, sheriff says

[Akoto]

Source: CNN

JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina (CNN) -- Missing pregnant Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach has been killed, Onslow County sheriff said Friday.

Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach last spoke to relatives in the Dayton, Ohio, area on December 14.

The suspect in the case is a senior officer whom Lauterbach had accused of assault, Sheriff Ed Brown said at a news conference Friday.

The suspect is not in custody, Brown said.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/11/missing.marine/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

---

Updated with CNN article.

[xultar]

1. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK

[liberalnurse]

49. Her family is in my

voting Precinct!:grouphug: :cry:

[peace13]

2. Oh no!

That is so sad.

[Fierce]

3. So sad.

That poor woman.

[Fresh_Start]

4. Poor woman

all the BS about her being a habitual liar....
do habitual liars have superhuman powers so they can bury themselves, if not - someone else might not be such an upstanding citizen

[goodgd_yall]

44. Trumped up to weaken her testimony.

I actually hadn't heard that she was called a habitual liar. Glad I didn't---I don't think I could have handled the character assassination on top of suspecting she was killed.

On edit: Apparently her mother called her a habitual liar. She did a good job for the defense there.

[girl gone mad]

82. Yeah, what was up with her wicked witch stepmother..

all over the news yesterday calling this poor girl bipolar and a pathological liar? I'm guessing mommy dearest has something of her own to hide.

[0007]

5. Where is the son-of-a-bitch that killed her? n/t

[Hell Hath No Fury]

6. Sexual assault and now murder.

Nice going, Officer. :mad:

Shit,was this really any surprise???

[MaineDem]

8. I was hoping she had run away.

:cry:

[Maine-ah]

94. me too, MaineDem.

the poor girl, and little baby who was so innocent. Makes me want to :puke:

[leftynyc]

20. I don't think a corporal is

an officer but my knowledge of this is limited to old MASH episodes.

[Recursion]

35. Thre reporter's knowledge is probably limited to M*A*S*H episodes too

A corporal is a "non-commissioned officer", but NCO's are never called "officers" except by non-military reporters in news stories...

[leftynyc]

50. Thanks for the info

What is a non-commissioned officer versus a regular officer?

[Recursion]

53. A commissioned officer has a "commission"

Which is (and I'm not kidding here) a declaration by the Congress of the US that he or she is a gentleman or lady.

Below commissioned officers are warrant officers, who hold a "warrant" to their post from the President

Below commissioned and warrant officers are non-commissioned officers, who hold neither a commission nor a warrant. Their ranks all have "sergeant" (Army/Air Force/Marines) or "petty officer" (Navy) in them, with the exception that Marine corporals are also NCO's (at least in the Marines, you can distinguish NCO's by the red stripe down their pants in the dress uniform, and the sabre-type sword they carry)

[goodgd_yall]

45. No surprise here

But I suppose there are still remnants of the population who think an marine corporal is above doing such a thing.

Where I live, there was a deadly assault on a hiker along a bike trail, committed by 2 local soldiers. There was this sensation of shock that they committed such an act. I don't get it.

Edited to correct rank.

[MaineDem]

7. Damn it!

Condolences to her family.

[NOLALady]

9. This is so awful. I was hoping that she was in hiding

somewhere.

A culture of violence.

[rodeodance]

11. someone tried to hide her. -her body.

[Shakespeare]

27. And the baby she was carrying, which was evidence.

Why, oh why, won't the MSM do an expose on the shocking rate of sexual assault of women in the military. x(

[MaineDem]

10. here's a link

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/11/missing.marine/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

[Akoto]

12. Thank you. I've updated the OP. n/t

[countryjake]

13. Her murderer had hired three attorneys...he is now on the lam...

They have a team out searching for the spot where she's been buried, right now. She was eight and a half months pregnant, hometown is Dayton, Ohio.

The suspect was last scene yesterday, evidently they'd been trying to talk with him all of this time, which explains all the lawyers he'd hired. He is a Marine Corporal. It sounds like the Marines are really being defensive in this case; some Navy lawyer is now saying that he was not considered a flight risk, that the victim had a friendly relationship with her alleged rapist, before she disappeared.

(edited to add)

This press conference is still going on...really long...I don't know why they aren't giving a description or name or picture of the suspect. Both the Navy lawyer and the sheriff sound very convinced that he's the alleged killer.

[wtmusic]

14. Let's hope justice is served

Goddamnit. These bastards have to be held accountable. :grr:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

15. I had a feeling she had been murdered

Now how will they cover things up? Will they find a scapegoat, or will the officer accused of raping her be charged with murder now?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

16. Dead and found buried in a shallow grave

And a superior officer has been named as a suspect in the investigation.

[Squatch]

18. A corporal is not an officer

[Lone_Star_Dem]

19. That was the direct quote from AP

I left it as is just in case it turned out to be a different person. I've found others since that say they're seeking a "fellow Marine she had accused of raping her" so I think it was an error in the update by AP.

Edit: It was the NYT and not the AP.

Sheriff Ed Brown of Onslow County, North Carolina, announced at a news conference just now that Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach was dead, with her body found buried. He also named a superior officer as a suspect in the investigation.
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/tale-of-the-missing-marine-whos-also-pregnant/?hp

[Tempest]

29. The superior officer is suspected of raping her

And being father of the baby.

That's why he's under investigation.

He's not the guy suspected of killing her.

[leftynyc]

51. You mean

one man is accused of raping her and another is accused/suspected of killing her? Are they connected?

[Tempest]

59. The investigation is now trying to see if there's a connection

She was going to testify about the superior officer in the investigation but disappeared.

She was friends, or something else with the guy suspected of killing her.

The guy that killed her may have been trying to protect the superior officer. The timing of her murder (just before she was to testify) is suspicious.

[leftynyc]

67. And which one is missing?

The (alleged) rapist or the (alleged) murderer?

[salin]

68. I read this several times - it reads like the suspect, a lance corporal is also

the person that she accused of raping her. In the current item (updated) it does not refer to a "high ranking officer" in the story.

[Highway61]

17. Dear God

There is just too much shit covered up anymore...it's just staggering. If we knew HALF of what was REALLY going on...our heads would be spinning. Poor thing...how horrible.

[Xithras]

21. Damn. I was sure she'd just taken off.

The family's description of her history, the bus ticket, the situation, it all fit. It looked like she'd just run off.

Then again, maybe that's what her killer was hoping for.

[goodgd_yall]

43. Knowing she was supposed to testify against someone, I figured she was killed.

[Xithras]

54. I expected threatened, but not killed.

I fully expected them to find her and discover that she'd fled because of threats or intimidation.

The real question, of course, is why this guy would have killed her. By all accounts the investigation into the rape accusation had hit a wall, and it didn't look like he would face charges over that. My understanding was that he was realistically facing a demotion, at worst, for sleeping with a subordinate...certainly not a good thing career-wise, but a slap on the wrist compared to a rape allegation and hardly something to kill someone over.

This has just been an odd case from the beginning.

[goodgd_yall]

56. The sheriff mentioned "twists and turns"

So this is probably more complex than we now are aware.

[Recursion]

80. Let's see... fraternization, unplanned pregnancy, family treating her like monsters

There's probably a lot of this story we aren't hearing, and in the end it isn't really our business.

[goodgd_yall]

87. How about military FUBAR?

I don't think it's fair to accuse the family as being "monsters." Only the mother and uncle have made statements and the uncle, a psychiatrist, was very sympathetic.

[Kelvin Mace]

22. What was the name of the NC soldier

who was charged with a sex crime after she withdrew her complaint against fellow soldiers for raping her? Happened back in the Fall.

[countryjake]

23. Do you mean in this specific case?

I hadn't heard anything about that. The guy who is now on the run, who she had accused of rape and is the chief suspect in her murder, is named Cpl. Cesar Armando Lauren.

[Kelvin Mace]

25. No, not this case, another

Back in the Fall (I think) a female soldier in NC had reported being raped by a fellow soldiers. She reported the incident, but was pressured into dropping the charges after the investigation had begun. The military then charged her with a sex crime based on her statement about the rape.

[Lance_Boyle]

58. she was not pressured to drop the charges

she dropped the charges on learning that the justice system in this country gives the accused the right to confront their accuser(s) in a court of law. She did not want to face that confrontation, and dropped her case. There is a world of difference between that and "being pressured to drop the charges."

[goodgd_yall]

88. How do you know she wasn't pressured?

Besides, the case was going forward and that's when Laurean took action.

[Kelvin Mace]

31. Ah, found it

http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2007/08/09/rape_herself/index.html?source=search&aim=/mwt/broadsheet

This year's ugly irony award has got to go to the case of 20-year-old Airman Cassandra M. Hernandez, who now faces court-martial after refusing to testify against three men she accused of raping her. Hernandez told WRAL, a CBS affiliate in North Carolina, that she'd been gang-raped by three fellow airmen after a party on May 16, 2006, but chose not to testify after feeling pressured by the Air Force and meeting with one of the defense attorneys without her victim's advocate. In a letter (quoted by WRAL.com) addressed to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Hernandez explained that "under enormous stress and after consultation with the legal office, I made the decision not to testify ... the pressure of the judicial process was too much for me, and I felt like no one was looking out for my interests."

And what is Hernandez's reward for succumbing to intimidation -- I mean legal advice -- from the other side? The Air Force has charged her with committing "indecent acts" with the three men, as well as underage drinking. (As Feministing notes, the definition of indecent act according to military code seems slippery at best.) But that's not even the weirdest part: The three accused officers have been granted immunity in return for their testimony against her. If Hernandez is telling the truth, she's effectively being prosecuted for her own rape.

[countryjake]

32. good god, I'd not heard of that one!

What will her punishment be, stoning?

That case sounds somewhat similar to the problems this Marine had in going forward with her rape charge. From what I can gather, she'd dropped the charge once before, then faced some kind of disciplinary action so she had refiled her case and was to testify for a Grand Jury in late December.

At the press conference, they mentioned that the suspect in her murder had another, unrelated case that had supposedly kept him from being willing to speak with investigators about her disappearance. When the reporters asked what the other case was, they clammed up and began speaking of his civil rights and privacy. The Navy lawyer actually talked over the Sheriff at the mike, when he was trying to answer all the questions the reporters were throwing at him. It went on for more than half an hour.

[Kelvin Mace]

37. I always love how the cops and the military

get so concerned about privacy and civil rights when it is a great shield for hiding their own dirty laundry and misconduct.

Yeah, that was what I was thinking about, the similarities in the cases. I just posted an article on it to my blog if you are interested:

http://www.thoughtcrimes.org

[goodgd_yall]

52. Your so right about the media coverage

and FOX news, which loves to give a lot of time to these kinds of stories, has given minimal coverage to it. Even today, I haven't heard a thing about it (just turned it on for my elderly mother who loves Fox News) and I've had it tuned in for a half hour already.

[Joanne98]

63. Thanx Kevin Mace.

I kinda remember u with a different name .....

[Kelvin Mace]

85. Yeah, I posted under plan9pub

A reference to my publishing company, Plan Nine Publishing (plan9.org) But, some Bev-inspired freepers started harassing my artists and I changed it to avoid problems.

[Ilsa]

71. The prosecutor has gotten his ass chewed out over it.

My husband told me about how this case has been "closed". When the details came out in public, his superiors got all over his ass, per my SO.

[goodgd_yall]

48. Can it get any worse?! n/t

[Ilsa]

70. The prosecutor has gotten his ass chewed out over it.

My husband told me about how this case has been "closed". When the details came out in public, his superiors got all over his ass, per my SO.

[lovuian]

24. And did the Marines help her?

She should have been placed in safety

Another case of young girls being raped this is obviously a rampant problem

[countryjake]

26. They were threatening her with discharge.

Her adopted mother had given her grief over the pregnancy, reported to the press that she had mental problems, military investigators confirmed that, and they were most likely tormenting the poor kid, rather than giving her any help.

Mom called her a "loner" and had a big fight with her on the phone, last they had talked. Yesterday they'd said that she was suffering from bi-polar disorder and probably had just run off, called her a "compulsive liar"...this girl was raked over the coals all of this time that she's been laying dead in the woods...her baby boy would have been born this coming Tuesday.

[lovuian]

28. its typical strategy of US military hide the truth

the problem was the truth was about to be born and his DNA would confirm the father

the typical thing in US is make it look like the person telling the truth is crazy

Her adopted mother sounds awful

Poor child

[countryjake]

30. You should have heard the Navy Lawyer at that press conference...

he was identified as an investigator in her case and he stated several times that "she was friendly" with the man she'd accused of the rape, so they had no reason to believe that he might be a suspect in her disappearance or a flight risk, at all. The guy went on the lam this morning at four am. He'd refused to talk with the Sheriff's Department about her, ever since she went missing, and had hired three attorneys. Sounds as tho HE was the one getting help from the military.

Here's a report on a statement her mother gave in Vandalia, Ohio...it seems she wouldn't have revealed all that personal info if she'd have known it would be public, but it doesn't excuse why she didn't support her daughter in the rape case:


"Lauterbach made the rape allegation to her mother, who also told investigators looking for her daughter that she was bipolar and had a history of compulsive lying, the documents filed this week state.

Mary Lauterbach said Friday that the day after she reported her daughter missing, an investigator asked her to send him an e-mail telling him "everything she knew" about her daughter.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would become a national press release," she said, referring to information disclosed in court records Thursday.

Lauterbach said she doesn't regret sharing the information. "He needed to know to find her. We have nothing to hide from anyone. We want to find our daughter," she said.

Maria Lauterbach is 2006 graduate of Butler High School and had graduated from the criminal justice program at the Miami Valley Career Center."

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/01/11/ddn011108marineweb.html

[Justitia]

38. When I saw these people on TV, I knew this poor girl had NO ONE in her corner

and that was while she was still MISSING!

Unbelievable! Those people should be ashamed of themselves, who knows what delays were caused by their aspersions???

[BrklynLiberal]

33. What is going on with so many femal soldiers being murdered, raped, and/or just

disappearing under mysterious circumstances...here and on the war front.
Sure makes me feel very cynical.
Would never want to let a daughter of mine join the military.

[Recursion]

76. Male response to PTSD

Which then becomes institutionalized. Unfortunately rape rates have always gone up during wartime, even among men who have not been deployed.

[BrklynLiberal]

92. Another good reason to end wars.....

[maddezmom]

34. so sad

:(

[Lugnut]

36. Dammit.

[nebula]

39. Who has jurisdiction over this case?

does it go to military or civilian court?

[Xithras]

55. Depends on where he killed her.

If he lured her off-base and killed her in those woods, either jurisdiction could potentially take it. The two jurisdictions would have to work that out (presumably any off-base murder started with an on-base kidnapping).

If he killed her on base and just dumped her body in the woods, it's a military matter. He's facing live in Leavenworth with a possibility of parole as a maximum sentence.

[nebula]

60. thanks

either way, it seems she's screwed.

I don't know who's justice system is crappier, North Carolina's or the military's.
All I know is they both suck ass.

[Xithras]

64. Not in this case, I don't think.

The military tends to come down hard on soldiers who murder their fellow soldiers.

[nebula]

69. But perhaps not so hard

when the murdered fellow soldier is a female.

[Recursion]

75. No, he's a corporal; he's screwed if they catch him

A corporal who caused this much media attention will spend the rest of his life turning big rocks into small rocks (yes, military prisons still have hard labor, and even bread and water rations in some cases).

Too bad the Corps (as usual) will do this because of their reputation but not because of the dead (female) Marine.

[nebula]

77. The media isn't making it easier to find him

Strange how the suspect's photo is mysteriously missing from the CNN article in the OP.

I've seen several mainstream articles on this story, but the suspect's photo is curiously missing from 99% of them. Is this because the suspect is white?? Perhaps I might be thinking outloud, but if the suspect was black or hispanic, you know his picture would be plastered all over the place.

Another example, this AP article on Yahoo news:

Pregnant Marine is Dead, Comrade is Sought:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080111/ap_on_re_us/missing_marine

A photo of the suspect is nowhere to be found on the page.

Also, click on the left of the article to see the ABC video report. His mugshot is never placed on the screen during the ABC's entire lengthy, full report on the dead marine. In fact, the reporters spend the majority of their time talking about and emphasizing the victim's alleged history of compulsive lying, bipolar disorder, and unstable mental condition. This seems bizarre to me as to why they are focusing all their time trying to smear a dead woman when her death would seem to vindicate her accusations against the suspect. :-(

Is the US media helping the Marines to cover up or downplay the crime??

[goodgd_yall]

89. I saw his picture on several TV news reports.

[goodgd_yall]

90. Screwed?! He may get the death penalty.

See latest news on CNN.

[Recursion]

93. Well, he's earned it if anyone has

I'm not a big death penalty fan, but there are some cases where I just won't sweat too much about it.

[goodgd_yall]

97. Same here n/t

[Recursion]

74. He's liable for conviction in both (that's not double jeopardy)

And what with the media attention I'd imagine both would want a piece of him. Murder is a state crime in north carolina and a federal crime under the UCMJ so they could both try him without breaching double jeopardy.

[KathieG]

40. I too suspected she had been killed...terrible.

Sounds like this girl had no one on her side. I hope the details of both the rape case, and her murder are fully revealed.

[lonestarnot]

41. OMG that's terrible. Especially when the mom has labeled her a chronic liar and

bipolar in the press. Sweet mom there.

[nebula]

47. Maybe thats why she joined the military

at such an early age.

a convenient way for her to get way from her rotten stepmom and/or family.

[Pachamama]

61. My understanding is it was her StepMom who said that, not her Mom...

Regardless of which it was, that's a pretty sad thing when your own family member would say that about you while your pregnant and missing, whether its true or not.

Very sad story....

[nebula]

62. dupe

[lonestarnot]

95. Says more abouy the gooft fucker that said it.

[goodgd_yall]

42. This story sickened me.

I hope they get the f---ing POS.

[damntexdem]

46. The reporting on this whole case has been weird.

Up until 8 this morning, the sheriff's office said they though she was still alive. Now they say they have evidence that she is dead, but they don't have a body.

When I first read about it, I figured she was probably dead. What kind of evidence might they have had otherwise?

[goodgd_yall]

57. Why "Ms. Lauterbach" but Cpl. Laurean (the suspect)?

Noticed this in the CNN report and during the news conference with the Sheriff. WTF?

[Ecumenist]

65. I knew it... This is so sad but it was also pretty clear from the outset.

Poor thing. God bless her, her baby and her family. May her murderer be dragged through the streets by his scrotum and then released into general population.

[Pavulon]

66. Murder by the father

is the most common cause of death of pregnant women in the US. What a terrible story. Just yesterday the mother said she was a habitual liar. i hope that was for a good reason (part of investigation). Sad all around.

[fortyfeetunder]

72. This reeks of an honor killing

Kill the woman to protect the honor of the Marines :sarcasm:

[nebula]

78. US military vs. Sharia law

sometimes you just can't tell the difference.

[goodgd_yall]

73. Body of Cpl. Lauterbach was burned

Her remains were found in the backyard of the suspect's, Cpl. Laurean's, house. I heard on one news report that there is supposedly a letter from the suspect saying something about Lauterbach committing suicide. Most likely this is part of Laurean's coverup plan.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

79. Read the report on CNN site.

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


excerpts::
We think that we have found what would be the skeletal remains ," Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson told reporters.
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.

He repeatedly refused to meet with investigators, finally telling them that his attorney wouldn't let him
Brown said a witness came forward at 8 a.m. Friday 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."
:end:
She went missing Dec14, this afternoon January 11, the marine corp releases the image of the man accused. Looks like the Marines protect their men, but fuck their women, and kill them if need be.

[kurth]

81. Cesar Armando Laurean should do the world a favor and put a bullet through his worthless skull

Fucking scum.

[goodgd_yall]

91. I'd rather see him suffer through a trial and prison

and then...whatever the jury decides.

[Ian David]

83. See related threads

Veterans forum
Authorities Believe Marine's Remains Found
Topic started by unhappycamper on Jan-12-08 04:59 AM (0 replies)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=259&topic_id=9720

General Discussion forum
Pregnant Marine dead, sheriff says; authorities looking for grave
Topic started by helderheid on Jan-11-08 05:16 PM (3 replies)
Last modified by helderheid on Jan-11-08 06:07 PM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=2663023

[Berry Cool]

84. Of all the "pretty missing blonde" stories out there, this one may need to be told most

because it appears to be not just about a lone murderer, but about an entire organization doing its damndest to cover up its own mistakes and leaving a poor young pregnant woman without a friend or protector in this world.

And who was that organization? Part of our proud military.

This is so wrong.

[goodgd_yall]

86. Justice obstructed

It's beyond the usual abduction story for the reasons you described.

[Elspeth]

96. They have been trashing this woman on the news since Friday night

Saying she was "not mentally stable" which is what they ALWAYS say about women who dare to question their penises.

ASSHOLES!