Is Marine Killing Suspect in Texas?

Jan 16, 01:55 PM

The U.S. Marine suspected of killing Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach may have fled North Carolina for Texas or Mexico, investigators said Wednesday.

WTVD-TV in Raleigh, N.C., reported that law enforcement sources said Cpl. Cesar Laurean's wife in Jacksonville, N.C., had received two letters from Texas.

Lauterbach's body and the remains of her unborn child were found last week in a shallow pit in Laurean's backyard. He disappeared, leaving a letter with his wife claiming that Lauterbach, who had accused him of rape, had committed suicide.

However, a North Carolina prosecutor said Tuesday an autopsy had determined Lauterbach was killed by a blow to the head, probably before she was reported missing in December by her mother.

Lauterbach had obtained a restraining order dated June 26, which expired Sept. 24. It mandated Laurean avoid all contact with Lauterbach in light of her complaint against him.

Laurean's car was discovered Tuesday in a parking lot near the Raleigh-Durham Airport. Lauterbach's ID card was found at a bus station in Durham.

Onslow County Sheriff Ed Onslow said sightings of Laurean at a bus station in Shreveport, La., had not been confirmed. Is Marine Killing Suspect in Texas?
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