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A plain clothes Onslow County Sheriff's Deputy stands guard at the entrance to Meadow Trail near Jacksonville, N.C., on Friday, Jan.11, 2008, while deputies restrict traffic in the neighborhood where Marine Cpl Cesar Armando Laurean lives. Laurean is a suspect in the disappearance and death of pregnant Marine Lance Cpl Maria Frances Lauterbach.
A plain clothes Onslow County Sheriff's Deputy stands guard at the entrance to Meadow Trail near Jacksonville, N.C., on Friday, Jan.11, 2008, while deputies restrict traffic in the neighborhood where Marine Cpl Cesar Armando Laurean lives. Laurean is a suspect in the disappearance and death of pregnant Marine Lance Cpl Maria Frances Lauterbach. (Randy Davey - AP)
This photo provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, shows Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean. A pregnant Marine missing for nearly a month is dead, and investigators are seeking a fellow Marine she had accused of raping her, authorities said Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean has not been charged with a crime, but is wanted in connection in Lauterbach's death and is the key suspect.
This photo provided by the U.S. Marine Corps, shows Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean. A pregnant Marine missing for nearly a month is dead, and investigators are seeking a fellow Marine she had accused of raping her, authorities said Friday, Jan. 11, 2008. Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean has not been charged with a crime, but is wanted in connection in Lauterbach's death and is the key suspect. (AP)
This undated photo provided Friday, Jan. 11, 2008 by the Onslow County, N.C. Sheriff's office shows a black 2004 Quad Cab Dodge Pickup. Authorities believe Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, the prime suspect in the death of pregnant Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach, is traveling in a black, two-door pickup truck similar to the one pictured.
This undated photo provided Friday, Jan. 11, 2008 by the Onslow County, N.C. Sheriff's office shows a black 2004 Quad Cab Dodge Pickup. Authorities believe Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, the prime suspect in the death of pregnant Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach, is traveling in a black, two-door pickup truck similar to the one pictured. (AP)
North Carolina Bureau of Investigation personnel and other investigators walk next to the shallow grave found to contain human remains.
North Carolina Bureau of Investigation personnel and other investigators walk next to the shallow grave found to contain human remains. (Logan Wallace - AP)
This is the home behind which investigators discovered a shallow grave containing remains believed to be those of missing Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach.
This is the home behind which investigators discovered a shallow grave containing remains believed to be those of missing Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach. (Logan Wallace - AP)
Onslow County Sheriff's Department crime scene investigator Bill Meredith, lef,) and Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Garrett prepare to put on booties and enter the home behind which was found a shallow grave containing human remains believed to be those of missing Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach.
Onslow County Sheriff's Department crime scene investigator Bill Meredith, lef,) and Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Garrett prepare to put on booties and enter the home behind which was found a shallow grave containing human remains believed to be those of missing Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach. (Logan Wallace - AP)
Hans Miller, a North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent, hangs a tarp to shield the view of a shallow grave containing human remains believed to be those of missing Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach in Onslow County near Jacksonville, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008.
Hans Miller, a North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent, hangs a tarp to shield the view of a shallow grave containing human remains believed to be those of missing Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach in Onslow County near Jacksonville, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008. (Logan Wallace - AP)
This is the home behind which investigators discovered a shallow grave containing remains believed to be those of missing Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach in Onslow County just outside of Jacksonville, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008.
This is the home behind which investigators discovered a shallow grave containing remains believed to be those of missing Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach in Onslow County just outside of Jacksonville, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008. (Logan Wallace - AP)
Media members gather outside a fence where Onslow County sheriff's deputies and the State Bureau of Investigation officers hang tarps to block the view of a shallow grave containing human remains believed to be those of missing Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach in Onslow County outside Jacksonville, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008. The grave is in the backyard of suspected killer Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean.
Media members gather outside a fence where Onslow County sheriff's deputies and the State Bureau of Investigation officers hang tarps to block the view of a shallow grave containing human remains believed to be those of missing Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach in Onslow County outside Jacksonville, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008. The grave is in the backyard of suspected killer Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean. (Logan Wallace - AP)
Mary Lauterbach of Vandalia, Ohio reported her daughter missing Dec. 19. Maria Frances Lauterbach, 20, a Marine based at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, is eight months pregnant. Mary Lauterbach was photographed at her home on Jan. 9, 2008.(AP Photo/Lisa Powell,Dayton Daily News)
Mary Lauterbach of Vandalia, Ohio reported her daughter missing Dec. 19. Maria Frances Lauterbach, 20, a Marine based at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, is eight months pregnant. Mary Lauterbach was photographed at her home on Jan. 9, 2008.(AP Photo/Lisa Powell,Dayton Daily News) (Lisa Powell - AP)
Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown speaks at a news conference announcing the recovery of the remains of an adult female and fetus believed to be pregnant Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach in a shallow grave in Onslow County just outside of Jacksonville, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008. Brown is holding up his fist to show how the fist of the fetus was clasped and also said that the fist, found burned off in the abdomen region of the adult female, was about the size of his thumb. The press conference was held in Jacksonville, N.C. (AP Photo/Logan Wallace)
Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown speaks at a news conference announcing the recovery of the remains of an adult female and fetus believed to be pregnant Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach in a shallow grave in Onslow County just outside of Jacksonville, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008. Brown is holding up his fist to show how the fist of the fetus was clasped and also said that the fist, found burned off in the abdomen region of the adult female, was about the size of his thumb. The press conference was held in Jacksonville, N.C. (AP Photo/Logan Wallace) (Logan Wallace - AP)
From Left, Lt. Col. Scott Jack, military council, Maj. Fred Galvin, Fox company commander and Mark Warple, civilian counsel, arrive on Camp Lejeune on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2007, for the second day of a court inquiry examining a March 4, 2007 incident in which Marines of Marine Special Operations, Fox Company are accused of opening fire on a crowded highway, killing as many as 19 civilians and wounding 50 others. (AP photo, Chuck Beckley)
From Left, Lt. Col. Scott Jack, military council, Maj. Fred Galvin, Fox company commander and Mark Warple, civilian counsel, arrive on Camp Lejeune on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2007, for the second day of a court inquiry examining a March 4, 2007 incident in which Marines of Marine Special Operations, Fox Company are accused of opening fire on a crowded highway, killing as many as 19 civilians and wounding 50 others. (AP photo, Chuck Beckley) (Chuck Beckley - AP)

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By MIKE BAKER
The Associated Press
Saturday, January 12, 2008; 10:48 PM

-- JACKSONVILLE, N.C. _ For months after a pregnant 20-year-old Marine accused a colleague of rape, her family says, she continued to work alongside her attacker and endured harassment at Camp Lejeune.

In the weeks after she disappeared, they believe, the sheriff's department was slow to act.

As authorities recovered Maria Lauterbach's remains Saturday from a fire pit where they suspect Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean burned and buried her body, her family asked why authorities didn't treat her case with greater urgency.

Naval investigators on Saturday said the pair had been separated on the job, a rape case was progressing and Laurean was under a protective order to stay away from Lauterbach. And Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown insisted his department acted as best they could on the facts available.

"As soon as it went suspicious, we contacted the media and asked for help," Brown said. "The case did not produce enough evidence, other than she was just missing."

On Saturday, her burnt remains, and those of her unborn child, were excavated from Laurean's backyard.

"As well as I could see, the body was much charred," Brown said. "The fetus was in the abdominal area of that adult. ... That is tragic, and it's disgusting."

Authorities have issued an arrest warrant on murder charges for Laurean, 21, of the Las Vegas area. They say he fled Jacksonville after leaving behind a note in which he admitted burying her body.

In his note, Laurean wrote Lauterbach cut her own throat in a suicide, but Brown doesn't believe it and challenged Laurean to come forward and defend his claims of innocence.

Authorities have described a violent confrontation inside Laurean's home that left blood spatters on the ceiling and a massive amount of blood on the wall.

County prosecutor Dewey Hudson said Laurean had been in contact with three attorneys, including Mark E. Raynor, who declined to comment Saturday.

Lauterbach disappeared sometime after Dec. 14, not long after she met with military prosecutors to talk about her April allegation that Laurean raped her.


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