Jan 24, 2008 1:00 pm US/Pacific
Missing Marine Indicted, Faces 1st Degree Murder
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (CBS) ―
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Cesar Armando Laurean, right, is suspected of killing Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach. (File)
AP
A grand jury has returned five indictments against Cesar Armando Laurean in the death of pregnant Marine Maria Lauterbach.
Laurean has been indicted on first degree murder and fraud charges, among others.
Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Olson said that the first degree murder charge means Laurean could face the death penalty if convicted. However, Olson said he will not seek the death penalty if Laurean is arrested in Mexico.
Olson said he made that agreement because Mexico's government said they would not extradite Laurean, if caught there, if there was a possibility he would face death in the U.S.
"Reluctantly, I agreed to their demand," Olson said. He added that the stipulation only applied to Laurean if he was arrested in Mexico.
Laurean is wanted in the death of Lauterbach, a 20-year-old pregnant colleague who had once accused him of rape.
Earlier this month, investigators found Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach's burned remains, and those of her child, in a fire pit in Laurean's back yard. She had been missing since mid December.
Lauterbach, who was eight months pregnant when she disappeared, had earlier accused Laurean of rape. Before he left, Laurean 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.
An autopsy found that Lauterbach died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Authorities believe Laurean is on the run in Mexico. On Tuesday, a man identified as his cousin said Laurean walked into his liquor store last week, but left without saying where he was headed.
Hudson said the grand jury also charged Laurean with robbery with a dangerous weapon and a charge involving an unauthorized financial transaction involving card theft. The indictment states Laurean forced Lauterbach to remove money from her bank account on Dec. 14, the same day authorities believe he killed her.
But because authorities have determined that Lauterbach's child had not been born at the time of her death, Hudson said, prosecutors could only charge Laurean with one count of murder.
Olson announced at a news conference that additional tests will be conducted to determine the paternity of the fetus, as well as its gender.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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