Pregnant Marine died of head injury
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) - January 15, 2008 Dr. Charles Garrett, the Onslow County medical examiner, said
Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, who was eight months pregnant when she
vanished, died from "traumatic head injury due to blunt force
trauma."
Authorities recovered her burned remains, along with those of
her child, over the weekend from a fire pit in the backyard of
Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, a fellow personnel clerk at Camp
Lejeune whom she had accused of rape.
The autopsy did not answer all the questions about the
circumstances of Lauterbach's death, said county prosecutor Dewey
Hudson. Detectives are still not sure if she gave birth before her
slaying, he said.
Laurean, 21, is believed to have fled Jacksonville early Friday
morning, after leaving a note in which he admitted burying
Lauterbach's body. But Tuesday, officials said they think he has
gone into hiding and is no longer on the run.
"We believe it's certainly possible, based on him being out
there for this long, and not having any sightings, that he is
getting help," said Onslow County Sheriff's Capt. Rick Sutherland.
"We think we have a handle on all his contacts, but there could be
someone else out there helping."
In his note, Laurean alleged that Lauterbach committed suicide
by cutting her own throat. Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown has
consistently rejected that idea, citing blood spatters on the
ceiling and a massive amount of blood on the wall found inside
Laurean's home as signs of a violent confrontation.
Officials have offered a $25,000 reward for information leading
to Laurean's arrest and have posted or plan to post billboards with
his picture in cities nationwide, including Columbus, Ohio, Tampa,
Fla., and Las Vegas.
Authorities received reports from several witnesses Sunday who
said they saw Laurean at a bus station in Shreveport, La., but
Brown has said detectives have been unable to confirm their
validity.