Where is Corporal Laurean???

[Cookiely]

He's smart because if they ever do extradite the government of Mexico will only do it if they remove the possibility of the death penalty from the case.

[Dionne]

He's smart because if they ever do extradite the government of Mexico will only do it if they remove the possibility of the death penalty from the case.

I know a man (I served with in the Army) that did 9 months in Leavenworth for a pound of pot. Then he got a BCD....bad conduct discharge. He told me that Leavenworth military prison was the closest thing to hell on Earth. Imagine going there for life? This would be a suitable punishment for Laurean.

The last I knew....UCMJ has no statute of limitations. USMC can wait forever to get him.

Something to consider.....men that commit horrendous crimes like this....seldom last long in prison.

[Dionne]

Well folks....I got a call from an old friend about 20 minutes ago. We grew up together as military brats and both served our country in numerous capacities.

I should prolly add a disclaimer here. Any of this information could be true/false or misleading. Media has yet to report anything stateside. Apparently there was a brief message intercepted out of old Mexico. Unknown source.

Laurean has been captured/found. Location unknown. Physical condition of Laurean unknown.

The message I received was very short. But from a trustworthy source. The message said...."you were right.....I owe you a six pack".....I had bet my friend they would find him within 30 days.

This could be misinformation. Politics could be at work. Another thought.....Mexicans here in the states are strong family units. Retribution may have had a play.

[Brent]

Well folks....I got a call from an old friend about 20 minutes ago. We grew up together as military brats and both served our country in numerous capacities.

I should prolly add a disclaimer here. Any of this information could be true/false or misleading. Media has yet to report anything stateside. Apparently there was a brief message intercepted out of old Mexico. Unknown source.

Laurean has been captured/found. Location unknown. Physical condition of Laurean unknown.

The message I received was very short. But from a trustworthy source. The message said...."you were right.....I owe you a six pack".....I had bet my friend they would find him within 30 days.

This could be misinformation. Politics could be at work. Another thought.....Mexicans here in the states are strong family units. Retribution may have had a play.

Interesting, I was just thinking the other day how I was very surprised they hadn't found him yet.

[lurkey]

according to Fox News: Jax/Onslow County and Camp Lejeune have an agreement. If the crime occurs on on base, military will prosecute, if the crimes occurs off base, civilian authorities can prosecute. And with all agreements, there are loopholes and the agreement is not binding. So what is the point? Onslow County DA taken the death penalty off the table and they can only prosecute for Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach's death, not for the death of her unborn child. If this report from Fox News is be believed, the military has NOT taken the death penalty off the table and can prosecute for Lance Cpl. Lauterbach AND her unborn child (under federal law).

In other news, a grand jury has indicted Corporal Laurean on five counts related to Lance Cpl. Lauterbach's death -- first-degree murder, financial card theft, attempted financial card fraud, fraud and robbery with a dangerous weapon.

[lurkey]

Mexico Issues Warrant for U.S. Marine

[Dionne]

There is something going on here we are not being told. I do not believe Laurean is a free man. Laurean is worldwide. He made Interpol. Federal Marshalls into Mexico. I'm not buying the media releases. Someone has Laurean. He could be dead.

[Cryomaniac]

There is something going on here we are not being told. I do not believe Laurean is a free man. Laurean is worldwide. He made Interpol. Federal Marshalls into Mexico. I'm not buying the media releases. Someone has Laurean. He could be dead.

I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but there's also a small chance he has joined a Mexican gang. I know that if I ran such a gang, I'd take a risk, for the chance to have a US soldier on my side.

[Dionne]

There is something going on here we are not being told. I do not believe Laurean is a free man. Laurean is worldwide. He made Interpol. Federal Marshalls into Mexico. I'm not buying the media releases. Someone has Laurean. He could be dead.

I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but there's also a small chance he has joined a Mexican gang. I know that if I ran such a gang, I'd take a risk, for the chance to have a US soldier on my side.

You've got that right. Good possibility.

[lurkey]

The main suspect in the killing of pregnant fellow Marine Maria Lauterbach has been captured, the FBI says. per CNN

Per Fox News, they captured him in Mexico.

more later as news comes

[Ed Mahmoud]

according to Fox News: Jax/Onslow County and Camp Lejeune have an agreement. If the crime occurs on on base, military will prosecute, if the crimes occurs off base, civilian authorities can prosecute. And with all agreements, there are loopholes and the agreement is not binding. So what is the point? Onslow County DA taken the death penalty off the table and they can only prosecute for Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach's death, not for the death of her unborn child. If this report from Fox News is be believed, the military has NOT taken the death penalty off the table and can prosecute for Lance Cpl. Lauterbach AND her unborn child (under federal law).

In other news, a grand jury has indicted Corporal Laurean on five counts related to Lance Cpl. Lauterbach's death -- first-degree murder, financial card theft, attempted financial card fraud, fraud and robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Mexico will not extradite without a guarantee that the death penalty is off the table. Life in a military prison is the next best thing.

[lurkey]

He was caught because he contacted his wife through his sister-in-law's (wife's sister) computer. mmmmm, kind of stupid . . . .

[brunota2003]

FBI arrests suspect in slaying of Marine

By ESTES THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer 31 minutes ago

RALEIGH, N.C. - A Marine wanted in the brutal slaying of a pregnant colleague who had accused him of rape was arrested in Mexico, the FBI said late Thursday. The FBI's office in Charlotte said special agents and Mexican authorities arrested Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean, who is charged with murder in the death of Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach. The FBI did not say when or where in Mexico Laurean was arrested, but said he is awaiting extradition to the U.S.

"Laurean's swift arrest in Mexico was due to the diligence and dedication of the Mexican government and our law enforcement partners," Nathan Gray, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Charlotte office, said in a statement.

"This was truly an international effort, and we will do all we can to ensure Laurean is brought back to Onslow County (N.C.) as quickly as possible to answer the charges against him."

Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson said after Laurean's arrest was announced that "it could be a year or two" before authorities can bring the personnel clerk back to North Carolina if he decides to fight the extradition process.

"The extradition process is one where you have a right to appeal," Hudson told The Associated Press. "I have no idea whether he would waive extradition."

LINK: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080411/ap_ ... ing_marine

[lurkey]

Laurean e-mail to sheriff asks for immunity from military prosecution
Law enforcement efforts reduced financial resources
April 11, 2008 - 2:17PM
BY LINDELL KAY, HEATHER GALE AND JENNIFER HLAD
DAILY NEWS STAFF

Cesar Laurean sent an e-mail to Sheriff Ed Brown almost two weeks before he was captured in Mexico, asking whether Brown could provide immunity from military prosecution if Laurean returned to Onslow County.

"I know they will convict me with no evidence, I can't risk Leavenworth or a chain gang," Laurean wrote in the e-mail sent March 30. The e-mail was traced by authorities to the region in Mexico where Laurean was arrested Thursday, Brown said.

Laurean, a Marine corporal accused of first-degree murder in the bludgeoning death of pregnant colleague Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, had been on the lam since Jan. 11.

Brown replied to the e-mail, saying he felt compelled to be honest and could not guarantee immunity, but "turning yourself in would be a positive step, the wisest thing you could do."

Laurean was arrested walking to an Internet cafe, where authorities said he had been using a computer to ask for help from his family - including his wife, Christina Laurean. She refused to send money, local investigators said.

The efforts of law enforcement to eliminate Laurean's resources led to his "impoverished state" of living in a tiny wooden cabin and having 10 pesos in his pocket when he was captured, authorities said.

Laurean left his wife - also a Marine who has been ordered not to discuss the case - behind when he fled Onslow County in mid-January, after becoming the focus of the investigation into the Lauterbach's disappearance. Hours after Cesar Laurean ran, the charred remains of Lauterbach and her unborn child were discovered buried in a fire pit behind the Laureans' Half Moon community home.

Lauterbach had accused Cesar Laurean of rape and was in the third trimester of pregnancy when she was killed. Authorities have not released the paternity of the baby.

District Attorney Dewey Hudson said the Marine Corps was waiting to receive Laurean's DNA, and he knew military authorities were holding off testing any other possible father for Lauterbach's unborn baby.

Investigators had obtained property that contains Laurean's DNA and were prepared to do a test but would likely wait now that he is in custody, said Paul Ciccarelli, special agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in North and South Carolina.

However, Ciccarelli said if the extradition process drags on - which could take from 30 days to two years, officials said - NCIS is prepared to serve a search warrant through Mexican authorities to get a DNA sample.

Christina Laurean cooperated with authorities, but she had also communicated with her husband without telling investigators, said Hudson, the district attorney for the state's 4th Prosecutorial District, which includes Onslow County.

Laurean asked for her help, but she "specifically denied" his requests, because she knew that helping him in any way was against the law, and she told her husband that, Hudson said.

"Communicating with someone who is a fugitive in North Carolina is not against the law," he said. "(To be an) accessory after the fact to a crime, you have to do more than just communicate."

Two weeks ago, investigators seized a computer belonging to Christina Laurean's sister that Christina Laurean was using to communicate with her husband via the MySpace social networking Web site. Evidence recovered from the computer allowed detectives to identify the Internet cafes in Mexico where Laurean was going online, Hudson said.

But Christina Laurean is not a suspect in Lauterbach's homicide and has been prevented from coming forward to speak to the media by the Marine Corps, said her attorney, Jacksonville lawyer Christopher Welch.

"Lance Cpl. Christina Laurean was advised not to discuss circumstances of the case with anyone other than law enforcement officials," said Lt. Col. Curtis Hill, spokesman for II Marine Expeditionary Force, to which both Laureans and Lauterbach were assigned.

Hill also said the Marine Corps most likely would not be involved in the extradition process. He said the public has an unrealistic idea of what the Marine Corps can do to help in that regard.

"When a Marine becomes a deserter, he or she becomes a fugitive, and we turn to federal law to enforce the rules," he said. "We can't just comb the streets to find the people; we aren't authorized to do that."

But Hill said that as a member of the Marine Corps, he was glad to hear Laurean had been taken into custody.

Laurean also repeatedly asked other family members to help him by providing resources after he fled to his native Mexico, where he was arrested in small western town of San Juan de la Vina about 7:15 p.m. EDT.

Sheriff Ed Brown praised the work of U.S. and Mexican authorities for hounding Laurean until he was captured.

"(Laurean) was trying to flee from (authorities), and they brought him down to a dollar in his pocket. That is just a prime example of how good they are," he said.

Brown called the murder of Lauterbach "heinous" and said it "terrorized the minds of our citizens and our community."

But Laurean "is not a trophy" and will be treated like any other inmate when he is brought back to Onslow County, Brown said.

Hudson reiterated that in order to receive a warrant from Mexico for Laurean's arrest, he had to concede the death penalty.

"I will be working closely with the U.S. Department of Justice in order to facilitate Laurean's expeditious return to Jacksonville for trial," he said. "If convicted, Laurean faces a sentence of life without parole for the death of Maria Lauterbach."

According to an affidavit attached to a search warrant filed in January, Laurean told his wife as they drove to their attorney's office on Jan. 10 that Lauterbach visited the couple's home in mid-December, demanded money and told him she planned to leave the area.

He told his wife that he and Lauterbach purchased her bus ticket to El Paso, Texas, but she later returned to the Laureans' home and they began to argue. He claimed Lauterbach produced a knife and slit her own throat, a suggestion that authorities have dismissed because Medical Examiner Charles Garrett said after an autopsy was performed that the cut occurred after her death.

Laurean also told his wife he buried Lauterbach in the woods near their home.

"Obviously this has been a difficult, unanticipated ... situation for Christina," Welch said. "She has done everything the law requires of her. She has shown integrity. She has shown courage."

Hudson said he is confident Christina Laurean still loves her husband.

"From all the evidence I have reviewed, I feel confident that she was torn between what occurred and the love of her husband," Hudson said. "She still has love for him. It's obvious."

The day Laurean was arrested, an Associated Press reporter asked him whether he killed Lauterbach. He answered, "I loved her."


E-mail exchange between Cesar Laurean and Sheriff Ed Brown

[brunota2003]

Heh...as expected, from WCTI Channel 12:

Attorney Talks With Laurean
Eastern NC - 6/26/2008
The attorney who will represent Cesar Laurean, if and when he is extradited from Mexico, got an opportunity to talk with Laurean on the phone, but it was not for long.

Attorney Dick McNeil says he is having difficultly communicating with Mexican authorities.

McNeil got a phone call from Laurean last Thursday, but was disconnected after five minutes, and was not called back.

He says e-mails have been sent from Laurean's Mexican attorney, but the extradition process is moving slowly.

[george_r_1961]

Since the crime was one military member murdering another military member I do believe the Marines could prosecute him for the crime. I do think that is the best thing since if he is convicted he will spend the rest of his life at hard labor instead of laying around in a NC prison cell.

I think the Onslow DA needs to swallow his pride and let the USMC take the case.


BTW I am familiar with Gum Branch Rd since my ex gf lived on Jupiter Trail years ago.

[brunota2003]

OT: They had hail estimated to 2 inches in diameter on Gum Branch Rd like a week ago.

[lurkey]

He's back in the States. He was arraigned in Onslow County court today.

[lurkey]

[AP] Cpl. Cesar Laurean was not the father of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach's unborn child. Laurean is charged with Lauterbach's murder.

[lurkey]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/8174158/

Laurean convicted in pregnant Marine's death

GOLDSBORO, N.C. — A former Camp Lejeune Marine was found guilty Monday of killing a pregnant comrade in December 2007 and burying her remains in a fire pit in his backyard.

Jurors deliberated for about three hours before finding Cesar Laurean guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach. Superior Court Judge Osmond Smith sentenced him to life in prison without parole.

Blanca Laurean, one of Laurean's sisters, who attended every day of the two-week trial, remained convinced of his innocence even after he was led off to prison.

"My brother didn't do it," she said.

Lauterbach, 20, was nearly eight months pregnant at the time of her death. She had accused Laurean, who was one of her supervisors, of raping her in the spring of 2007, but later recanted the allegation. Although military investigators couldn't corroborate her claims, they continued to look into the case until her death.

DNA tests conducted after Laurean's April 2008 arrest confirmed that he wasn't the father of Lauterbach's child.

Mary Lauterbach said she plans to use her daughter's death to push the military to provide greater protections to members of the armed services who are victims of sexual assault.

"I truly believe that Maria was the perfect victim," Mary Lauterbach said after the verdict was announced. "Because of her credibility problems, our pleas for help (following her disappearance) were rejected or discounted by everyone."

After being dismissed by the Marines and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, she said, she turned to the Onslow County Sheriff's Office for help. Only then did investigators solve her daughter's disappearance, she said.

Laurean fled Jacksonville hours before Lauterbach's body was found in January 2008 and was arrested three months later in a small town in western Mexico. When he fled, he left behind a note in which he claimed Lauterbach had committed suicide and that he had buried her out of fear.

In his closing argument Monday morning, Onslow County Chief Assistant District Attorney Ernie Lee said Laurean needed to kill Lauterbach to salvage his military career. After initially hatching a plan to have her go AWOL and send her to Mexico so she would be discredited within the Marines, Lee said, Laurean decided he couldn't risk her returning to North Carolina.