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.

Brown, along with Paul Ciccarelli, a spokesman for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, confirmed that Laurean was the Marine previously accused by Lauterbach of raping her. That military probe was ongoing, but Ciccarelli said that Laurean had not been considered a flight risk in that case. Ciccarelli indicated there was reason to believe Lauterbach and Laurean had some type of relationship after she filed the report accusing him of rape, perhaps even as recently as last month.

Ciccarelli also said that information about Lauterbach's death and burial came to Ciccarelli in the last 24 hours from a former Marine. That information was passed on to the sheriff's office.

Brown said that Laurean has three attorneys, but they are shielding him from questioning.

"I've talked to his attorneys," Brown said. "His attorneys won't let us talk to him."

Authorities faced tough questions about why so much time had elapsed between the missing person's report and the revelation that Lauterbach was dead without Laurean being questioned about her disappearance. Brown said that authorities had contacted Laurean and that the Marine said he would come to the sheriff's office, but then canceled.

"I won't be coming down because my lawyers said you can't go down to talk to them," Brown said, quoting Laurean.

Laurean, a Nevada native, is believed to have left Friday around 4 a.m., giving him an eight-hour jump on authorities. He has not been charged in Lauterbach's death. He is believed to be driving a black 2004 extended Dodge pickup truck with North Carolina license plates.

Laurean, who has never been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, joined the Marines in 2004 and was trained as a personnel clerk, according to a Marine Corps release. That is the same position Lauterbach reportedly held. He was promoted to his current position in 2006 and has received various commendations. His military status now is considered "Unauthorized Absence."

The Jacksonville Daily News, citing property tax records, reported that a Cesar A. and Christina S. Laurean own a house in Jacksonville, N.C., near the area where authorities were searching for Lauterbach's body.

Lauterbach's family was hopeful that she was still alive. Lauterbach's mother, Mary Lauterbach, pleaded Friday on "Good Morning America" for her daughter to come home.

"Maria, whatever might have happened, any decisions you might have made, we just want to see you. Please come home. We love you, please come home," Mary Lauterbach begged.

"She needs to come home. It's not just my daughter, it's my grandchild I am concerned for," said Mary Lauterbach, who told authorities in North Carolina that she adopted Maria when the girl was a toddler.

Lauterbach was expected to give birth next month.

"I do think this case is going to be a bizarre ending. When I say 'bizarre' I say more than just a death and a burial," says Sheriff Brown.