Searchers Find 'Burnt Human Remains'

Jan. 12, 2008 — -- Investigators searching for missing and pregnant Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach found what "appeared to be burnt human remains" in the backyard of a fellow Marine she once accused of raping her, a North Carolina district attorney said Friday.

"Inside the house, police found evidence of violence and traces of blood on the walls, all of which has turned what had been a missing person case into a murder investigation, the local sheriff said.

"We think we have found what will [contain] the skeletal remains of Maria Lauterbach," Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson told The Associated Press.

Investigators continue to dig in the backyard of Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean this morning.

"In the search of the property, the cartilage of the property, a cavity was discovered in the backyard. That cavity was preliminarily examined very slightly. ... We have no plans to look anywhere else," Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said.

Laurean's neighbor Richard Alander said "about 16 days ago he [Laurean] asked to borrow a shovel from me," and afterwards Alander remembered seeing a "mysterious burn pile" in the yard.

Laurean, 21, who Lauterbach, 20, had accused of raping her at their Camp Lejeune military base, is the prime suspect in the deaths of Lauterbach, 20, and her unborn son and should be considered dangerous, Brown said. The sheriff said Laurean fled the area about 4 a.m. Friday.

It is unclear whether Laurean is the father of the unborn baby.

"Right now, we're looking at him as a key suspect in her disappearance and her death," Brown said at a news conference.

The sheriff said at that time that deputies were also searching for what he called a "shallow grave" in a rural area where investigators believed Lauterbach's body was dumped.

Brown didn't say how Lauterbach was killed but said physical evidence had emerged indicating Lauterbach's death and Laurean's involvement.

Lauterbach was last seen Dec. 14 and was reported missing by her mother Dec. 19. Since Lauterbach's disappearance, police have found her cell phone and car at a bus stop. They determined that Dec. 15 she had bought a bus ticket to El Paso, Texas. An unidentified man used her ATM card at a Marine credit union on Christmas Eve while trying to cover the surveillance camera. Authorities could not confirm the man's identity.

On Thursday, authorities summoned Sgt. Daniel Durham, Lauterbach's former roommate in Marine housing near the base, from San Diego to meet with police. Durham is not a suspect in the case, but provided details that helped the investigation.