Pregnant Marine believed deadBy Andrew Tilghman and Trista Talton - Staff writers
Posted : Friday Jan 11, 2008 19:11:59 EST
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A pregnant Marine who vanished nearly a month ago is believed dead and buried in a shallow grave near Camp Lejeune, N.C., and authorities are searching for the key suspect — a man she had accused of raping her last year, authorities said Friday afternoon.
Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach, 20, last seen Dec. 14 when she was eight months pregnant, had accused a fellow Marine, Cpl. Cesar Armando Lauren, of raping her last year, a Naval Criminal Investigative Service official said.
Investigators said they had found a site described as an underground cavity in Lauren’s back yard. Authorities planned to begin slowly scraping the earth with garden tools Saturday morning.
She was scheduled to testify at an Article 32 hearing on the rape charges in December when she disappeared, said Paul Ciccarelli, the NCIS special agent-in-charge at Camp Lejeune.
Lauterbach’s body had not been found when officials disclosed her death shortly before 1 p.m. on Friday, though authorities said they had “tangible evidence” and were actively looking for her grave in a nearby “wooded residential area,” off well-traveled Gum Branch Road in Onslow County.
Rest of article at:
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/marine_missingmarine_update_friday/