Marine indicted in murder, robbery, theft

[unhappycamper]

Marine indicted in murder, robbery, theft
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jan 24, 2008 12:35:20 EST

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A grand jury indicted a Marine corporal Thursday with first-degree murder in the death of a pregnant colleague, but a prosecutor said he wouldn’t seek the death penalty if the man is arrested in Mexico.

Authorities believe Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean has fled to his native Mexico, which refuses to send anyone back to the U.S. unless provided assurances they won’t face the death penalty.

“This agreement to not seek the death penalty applies only if he is arrested in and extradited from Mexico,” said Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson. “The choices presented to me were either a possible life without parole sentence, or the defendant living in Mexico the rest of his life and never brought to trial.”

The remains of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, were found with those of her fetus earlier this month in a fire pit in Laurean’s backyard. Lauterbach, who had once accused Laurean of rape, had been missing since mid-December. Military investigators are still working to identify the father of Lauterbach’s unborn child, Hudson said.

Before Laurean fled from Jacksonville in early January, he left a note for his wife, Christina, that said Lauterbach slit her own throat with a knife, and he then buried her in the woods near their home. Detectives have rejected that claim, and an autopsy found that Lauterbach died of blunt force trauma to the head.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_laurean_080124/