Search for Laurean Turns to TV

Jan 19, 10:31 AM

Jan. 19--With the man accused of killing a pregnant Marine and burying her burned body in his backyard still on the run, local investigators have turned to "America's Most Wanted" to help track him down.

Camp Lejeune Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean, 21, has been charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, the woman who had accused him of rape in 2007.

The Onslow County Sheriff's Department has been working with "America's Most Wanted" since last week to profile Laurean on the show, which airs tonight at 9 on Fox.

The show will have surveillance footage of a man law enforcement thinks is Laurean at an ATM on Dec. 24, shopping and other photos and images not seen in the news yet, according to producers of the show.

Capt. Rick Sutherland and Detective T.J. Cavanaugh with the Sheriff's Department will be standing by tonight to speak to viewers who call the hot line with credible tips.

Investigators and producers with the show have been in Onslow County for several days going over the case, visiting the crime scene and interviewing witnesses in preparation of the show tonight.

Producers have been watching the story since Sheriff Ed Brown's first press conference on Jan. 8, when he said he needed help from the news media to find Lauterbach.

"We are different than the rest of the media," said Angeline Hartman, a correspondent for the show.

"We profile fugitives, and we help catch them."

Hartman said "America's Most Wanted" is in it for the long haul.

"When the satellite trucks are gone, we will still have people looking for Laurean," she said. "We work with investigators behind the scenes to get the bad guy."

Steph Watts, a producer for the Fox News show "On the Record," said he was frustrated with "America's Most Wanted" holding on to video of Laurean.

"Our show goes out to 2 million people, and we have markets in Mexico. The faster this footage is shown, the faster Cesar Laurean might be caught," he said.

Advanced images of Laurean were released to news media, including The Daily News, at 6 p.m. Friday. The images include a head shot and a still shot from video taken on Dec. 24 of a man the Sheriff's Department believes is Laurean at an ATM where $400 was taken out of Lauterbach's account with her ATM card.

Brown said Friday the Sheriff's Department partnered with "America's Most Wanted" because he knew from past experience that the show got results.

In 1990, Onslow County residents Scott Gasperson and his fianc e, Phyllis Aragona, were kidnapped from their home and taken to the pawnshop Gasperson owned. Eventually the pair was shot execution-style.

Brown said law enforcement was close to exhausting its investigative resources when "America's Most Wanted" pitched in to help in the search.

Tips generated by an episode of the show led authorities to the Dominican Republic, where three of the four killers were located. The other one was arrested in New York City. Gary Fernandez; his son, Orlando Fernandez; Maria Monserrate; and her son, Eli Nain Ocasio, are all serving life sentences for the crimes.

"America's Most Wanted" returned to eastern North Carolina in 1997 to try and track down the suspects in another double-homicide: Havelock pawnshop co-workers James Lucas Smith IV and John Phillip Mattmiller were beaten to death during a robbery. Normally, the show only profiles identified fugitives on the run but made an exception in the case, the show's producers said. Despite dedicating five minutes to the crime on national TV, the show and law enforcement came up empty and no arrests have been made in the case.

The show also aired a 15-second item on Pvt. Frederico Pimienta, a Camp Lejeune Marine accused of killing another Marine in Afghanistan in 2005. Pimienta fled the U.S. but was apprehended in Spain. He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his roommate.

While "America's Most Wanted" will focus on the manhunt for Laurean, questions beyond his whereabouts still surround Lauterbach's death.

In other developments in the case:

The Sheriff's Department continues to call Christina Laurean a "cooperating witness" but will not rule out the possibility she may be charged for some crime related to Lauterbach's death at some point. However, the Sheriff's Department maintains they have no plans to charge anyone else in the death.

"We are not contemplating charging anyone else," Sutherland said at press conference Friday morning.

Christina Laurean knew about the Lauterbach's death the day before she told authorities, according to affidavits, and neighbors continue to say she knew about the painting in the house.

Law enforcement has not been able to say how long Cesar Laurean's truck was parked at a hotel near Raleigh-Durham International Airport and an unmanned Greyhound bus station.

"As far as we can determine, he left his house at around 4 a.m. Friday morning," Sutherland said, adding there has been no information to cause him to rule out the Sunday morning Shreveport, La., sightings.

The paternity of the unborn child, found dead with Lauterbach on Jan. 11, has yet to be confirmed. Lauterbach had accused Cesar Laurean in May of raping her in March and April. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service said it planned to compare DNA of the child when it was born with Laurean to see if he was the father. But Lauterbach changed her story on Laurean being the father of the baby in November, according to the Marine Corps.

"We have asked for a DNA profile from the Marine Corps," Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson said on Friday, adding he had yet to receive conformation whether the Marines had provided the requested information.

The II Marine Expeditionary Force public affairs office, which was asked questions about the DNA profile and for other clarification in the case, told The Daily News that there will be not further comment on the investigation at this time.

"You have the timeline and the extent of information we are currently providing," said Lt. Col. Curtis Hill, public affairs officer for the II Marine Expeditionary Force.

Several of Laurean's neighbors are telling media outlets, including The Daily News, that the Laureans hosted a bonfire party on Dec. 24, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.

"A lot of comments are being made by neighbors and a lot of people are commenting on what they say the neighbors said, but we would not reveal anything that we have uncovered during our investigation about that until the appropriate time, if there is one," Sutherland said Friday.

Investigators continue to receive tips as to Laurean's whereabouts on a daily basis -- including unconfirmed reports he has been spotted in the western part of the country. They are also busily going over the physical evidence in the case and interviewing possible eye-witnesses.

Contact police reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534. To comment on this story or to read others' comments go to jdnews.com.

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