Marines: Slain Woman Didn't Cite Threats: Marine Corps Spokesmen Defend the Handling of the Case of

Jan 16, 06:14 AM

Jan. 16--JACKSONVILLE -- Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach told Camp Lejeune officials several months ago that she did not feel threatened by the Marine she accused of raping her and who is now a suspect in her slaying, Marine Corps spokesmen said Tuesday.

Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, 21, charged with first-degree murder, is the object of a national manhunt. His abandoned truck was discovered Tuesday in Morrisville.

Responding to criticism that Lauterbach did not receive adequate protection, base officials gave the first full explanation of the case since it drew national attention last week.

They said authorities issued protective orders for Lauterbach and moved her to another working area away from Laurean. But they said there was no reason to arrest or detain Laurean, who denied sexual conduct with the woman.

Lauterbach, who was about eight months pregnant when she disappeared in December, also said she did not think her pregnancy resulted from two incidents in which she accused Laurean of rape, according to Col. Gary Sokoloski, the judge advocate general for the II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune.

Sokoloski said Lauterbach did not report problems with Laurean while the rape accusations were being investigated.

"At no time did she indicate she was threatened by Corporal Laurean," he said.

Onslow County sheriff's investigators found her badly burned body and a fetus Friday in a shallow grave in the backyard of Laurean's home near Jacksonville. District Attorney Dewey Hudson, Onslow's chief prosecutor, said Tuesday that an autopsy has confirmed her identity and determined that she died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head. He said additional review would be needed to determine who fathered the baby and whether it was born and then killed.

If there is evidence the child died after being born, Hudson said, Laurean could be charged with a second murder count.

Also Friday, Laurean disappeared hours before his wife gave investigators a note in which he wrote that Lauterbach killed herself and that he buried the body.

A Raleigh-Durham International Airport police officer found Laurean's black four-door Dodge truck about 1 p.m. Tuesday, parked behind the Microtel Inn in Morrisville, yards from Interstate 40 and just across the highway from the airport. Onslow County investigators called airport officials Tuesday afternoon and asked them to look there, said airport spokeswoman Mindy Hamlin. Onslow investigators arrived shortly before the truck was taken away.

It was the second piece of evidence to turn up in the Triangle. A passer-by found Lauterbach's ATM card near the Greyhound bus station in Durham on Saturday.

At the news conference at Camp Lejeune on Tuesday, Lt. Col. Curtis Hill, a spokesman for the II Marine Expeditionary Force, presented a 33-page explanation of how the rape accusation and Lauterbach's disappearance had been handled. While he and others expressed sympathy over Lauterbach's death, they also said base officials did not know about many aspects of the case being handled by the Onslow County Sheriff's Office until Jan. 9, several weeks after Lauterbach was reported missing by her mother in Ohio.

Hill said base officials thought Lauterbach had taken voluntary unauthorized leave. He said her roommate gave his unit officers a handwritten note that said she could not tolerate the Marine Corps any more and was going away.

According to Hill's account, Lauterbach on May 11 reported two sexual incidents, one on March 26, 2007, and another two weeks later. He said that a military protective order that required Laurean to stay away from her was issued and that she was referred for counseling. A test in May indicated she was not pregnant, but another in June showed positive.

In a May 18 interview, Laurean denied having sexual contact with her.

Authorities said she later said she had a sexual encounter with Laurean at work that was "not criminal in nature" because there was no force, violence or blackmail involved.

Sokoloski said he could not discuss whether Lauterbach named or accused anyone else of causing her pregnancy. He said the case is still under investigation.

Lt. Gen. Keith Stalder, commander of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, said in a statement that he is satisfied with actions of Laurean's commanders in the case.

jerry.allegood@newsobserver.com or (252) 752-8411

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