Fugitive Marine in custody in Mexico

CHARLOTTE -- Mexican authorities and FBI special agents have fugitive U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean in custody in Mexico, three months after he disappeared amid allegations that he killed a pregnant colleague.

Federal authorities say Laurean was found in Morelia, a city in Michoacan state in the southeastern part of the country.

Laurean is wanted in connection with the January slaying of a fellow Marine at Camp Lejeune, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach of Ohio. The woman, who was eight months pregnant, and her fetus were found buried in Laurean's backyard in Jacksonville, authorities said.

The victim had accused Laurean of raping her, and Marines were investigating the charge when she was slain.

No details of the arrest were released Thursday night, but federal authorities confirmed in a news release that agents are awaiting his extradition to Onslow County to face murder charges. Officials will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. today at the Onslow County Sheriff's Office.

Nathan Gray, FBI special agent in charge of the Charlotte office, praised interagency cooperation for the successful manhunt.

"The FBI and its law enforcement partners brought to bear all of our domestic and international resources to find a man wanted for murder," Gray said in the news release. "Laurean's swift arrest in Mexico was due to the diligence and dedication of the Mexican government and our law enforcement partners. ... This was truly an international effort, and we will do all we can to ensure Laurean is brought back to Onslow County as quickly as possible to answer the charges against him."

Lauterbach disappeared Dec. 14. On Jan. 11 of this year, investigators discovered her charred remains in a shallow grave in Laurean's backyard.

The Onslow County Sheriff's Office filed charges against Laurean for the murder of Lauterbach, and a state arrest warrant was issued Jan. 12. Federal officials charged Laurean that day with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, and a federal warrant was issued for his arrest.

Earlier Thursday, the Associated Press reported that an Ohio congressman had chided the Marine Corps for what he called a lack of urgency in investigating Lauterbach's rape allegation. Experts called for greater protection of such victims.

Rep. Michael Turner, who submitted questions to the Marines on behalf of the woman's Ohio family, said the Corps took seven months to investigate her allegation that she was raped by Laurean while they were stationed at Camp Lejeune, and that it resulted in little action.

"The actions taken by the Marine Corps to protect Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach were totally inadequate," said Turner, a Republican whose district includes the Lauterbach's home in Vandalia.

Lt. Gen. R.S. Kramlich, director of the Marine Corps staff, said in a letter released Wednesday in response to Turner's questions that the Marines took appropriate steps to fully investigate the sexual assault allegations.

Kramlich said Lauterbach had told investigators she did not feel that Laurean posed a danger or threat to her.

The Lauterbach case follows a pattern, said Anita Sanchez, spokeswoman for the Miles Foundation, a private group that works with victims of crimes in the military, on Thursday.

"Some of the common threads include failure to protect the victim adequately, the victim remaining in the same vicinity as the alleged assailant," Sanchez said.

Scott Berkowitz, founder and president of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, said rape victims should not be prevented from transferring away from a military base where an attack occurred.

Kramlich said Lauterbach was assigned to a different work area, two miles away from where Laurean worked. And he said Lauterbach did not request a transfer to another base.

(Staff writer Titan Barksdale and news researcher Lamara Williams contributed to this report.)