Investigation Discovery, one of my favorite cable networks, is featuring the Cesar Laurean case Saturday. I’ve seen the program and it is interesting. Read the news. The actor playing Sheriff Ed Brown doesn’t look much like the real deal, but other than that the re-enactments are good. Two photo stills from the show’s re-enactments- Laurean [...]

An award-winning documentary about sexual assault in the military touches on Ohio Rep. Mike Turner’s crusade for such since the death of Maria Lauterbach, who was originally from his district. Turner. From The Dayton Daily News website. Read the news.

Maria Lauterbach was murdered four years ago this month. Just imagine, she was killed on Dec. 14, and most likely buried the following day. Her body was not discovered until mid-January while her killer went on with his life. I have written a column about people associated with the case moving on. Read it here. [...]

The Guardian has a new, in-depth article online which looks at rape in the U.S. military. Read the story. The article refers to “the case of 24-year-old lance corporal Maria Lauterbach, a marine preparing to testify that she was raped by fellow marine, Cesar Laurean, when she went missing in 2007. Although it was never [...]

Here’s a really interesting story from The Dayton Daily News about Mary Lauterbach and her efforts to change military culture. Read the article. Mary Lauterbach: “The moment that Maria reported the sexual assault, they concluded she was a liar. Even after she reported being sucker-punched and having her car keyed, which should have been red flags, [...]

Christina Smith has made moves to leave her past and her former husband behind. Smith, who divorced Cesar Laurean in April, was remarried in July. The groom in that wedding paid $40 cash for a marriage license, according to the Marion, Ohio, Register of Deeds. Special thanks to Off the Cuff regular KH for pointing [...]

The Pentagon’s inspector general is criticizing Camp Lejeune officials for inadequate and incomplete handling of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach’s rape complaint against Cpl. Cesar Laurean, who later murdered her. Read the news. The report found that the details of Lauterbach’s rape complaint were not entered into a database maintained by the base’s Sexual Assault and Prevention Response [...]

Read the news article about Laurean’s response to the Lauterbachs’ wrongful death lawsuit.  I am anticipating some big news in the Cesar Laurean case Friday. Can’t say what just yet, but I will post it here and jdnews.com as soon as possible.

I spoke with a law enforcement source about the wallet. Here’s the deal from their end. Christina found a wallet in the Meadow Trail home – I believe the bedroom, but am not 100 percent on that – and asked Cesar about it. He supposedly told her the wallet belonged to a friend who must have left it and took [...]

Here is a press release from Rep. Mike Turner who is continuing his campaign to strengthen protections for military personnel who claim sexual assault. Remember, Turner has been vocal about this since Maria Lauterbach was found dead and it became public that she had previously accused the man suspected of killing her of rape. (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. [...]

Like I told y’all last week, Jacksonville lawyer Dick MeNeil filed a change of venue today in the Cesar Laurean case. He claims The Daily News, WITN-TV and other media outlets covered the case so much that his client wouldn’t get a fair trial in Onslow County. Read the news here. McNeil’s entire motion is [...]

Indictments have been handed down in two cases that got a lot of media attention last year for paralleling the Laurean/Lauterbach case. I will let the Associated Press tell it: FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) – A North Carolina grand jury has indicted three Fort Bragg soldiers who police had previously charged with killing two female soldiers [...]

WITN has a video package online of a special report recapping the Laurean case. WITN’s Jacksonville Bureau Chief Chelsea Donovan also talks with lawyers on both sides – District Attorney Dewey Hudson and public defender Dick McNeil - about the possibility of a plea bargain. Check it out.

Read news here. The Daily News does not usually identify the alleged victims of sexual assault (a long-standing policy I do not totally agree with). But in this case, the wife had an interview with a New Jersey newspaper which identified her as the wife and then had an interview with her father. The newspaper [...]

Love him or hate him, Ohio Congressman Mike Turner continues to add teeth to military protective orders.   Last year he made it to where they were reportable to civilian authorities. This year, he has a bill close to a vote that will require the military to inform service members of their right to transfer [...]

Okay, so we all know Laurean is a big fan of The Daily News. He read an online article about Maria’s disappearance before he disappeared in mid-January 2008. And law enforcement tracked him through IP addresses viewing jdnews.com from Mexico. So how ironic is it that he can’t read the newspaper now? Well in Ed [...]

Former Marine Cesar Laurean will enter a plea of not guilty today at his arraignment, according to his attorney Dick McNeil. The entire thing is sort of anti-climatic because we all already know what will happen. The judge will read him his rights; he will plead not guilty; the prosecution will announce that they will [...]

A DNA test has confirmed what I reported more than a year ago on the blog. Cesar Laurean is not the father of Maria Lauterbach’s onborn child. Read the news here.

“By agreement of the State and defense, the arraignment in the Cesar Laurean case has been rescheduled from May 18, 2009 to June 8, 2009,” District Attorney Dewey Hudson said in a statement to the press today. 

Senior Resident Onslow County Superior Court Judge Charles Henry issued a gag order in the case of state v. Laurean. The order was added to the public record this morning and I was there to pay my $2.75 and pick it up for y’all.   Read news here. Here is a shot from a couple [...]

Jacksonville attorney Dick McNeal looking through boxes of evidence discovery material in his client’s case. Prosecutors plan to show Cesar Laurean killed Maria Lauterbach. The materials were handed over by Senior Assistant Distict Attorney Mike Maultsby on Tuesday. The state would not supply McNeil with discovery until Laurean was back in North Carolina.

UPDATED Laurean was delievered to the Onslow County Jail at 8:05 p.m. by Sheriff’s Inspector Rick Sutherland and other members of law enforcement. He appeared before a magistrate and was booked. Read news here.  ————————————————————————  Okay, strange is becoming surreal. I have heard from a source close to the investigation that Laurean is headed for Miami, not Houston. [...]

Based on a thing or two I know I can’t report, I would expect him back in Onslow County much sooner that later. Read news. Everyone is talking about the impending media circus, but I don’t see it. Laurean’s 1st appearance in court will be important and we might see a few extra reports for [...]

Cesar Laurean will be returned to the U.S. by Friday. Read breaking news. More information as soon as possible.

Robert Sharpe, a former intern at the D.A.’s Office, has been indicted on an embezzlement charge that he stole a copy of the Cesar Laurean file. Read news here. Authorities said he planned to sell the 6,000 plus pages and electronic files to an undercover Onslow County Sheriff’s Deputy posing as a Newsweek reporter. That is all I [...]

Read this news report about a North Carolina prosecutor and a state senator pushing to see the law changed to make the death of an unborn child a seperate crime when the mother is killed or injured. Some say the law would go too far; some say the law falls short. You can also read [...]

The Inspector General of the Department of Defense has been asked to postpone an investigation in how the military handled the rape investigation of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach — a decision local law enforcement said was wise. The D.A. and the Sheriff agree now is not the time to be investigating the rape allegations, now [...]

103 Meadow Trail went on the auction block Monday to a resounding silence. Looks like no one is prepared to pay $102,000 for that house of horrors. Read news here. A very somber photo of the Laurean residence last January: Comments to this blog are unmoderated. Any questionable comments should be reported to localdesk@freedomenc.com or [...]

Almost one year exactly from when Maria Lauterbach’s body was found and authorities announced her assailant had fled to Mexico, history is repeating itself just north of here. The missing Sampson County woman I told you about Friday is dead. Authorities found her body in a wooded area not far from her home this weekend, [...]

It was one year ago today that authorities found Maria Lauterbach and her unborn son in a shallow grave behind Cesar Laurean’s Half Moon community home. Laurean was already on a bus bound for his native Mexico. There were many, many law enforcement officers who took part in that investigation and made Laurean’s arrest in Mexico [...]

The sale of the Laurean home was postponed. Read about that here. I did have a chance to look inside as potential buyers checked it out before the auction. I took a few photos. The garage: Carpet in one bedroom: View of the backyard from the master bedroom:

103 Meadow Trail to be sold today. The site of a brutal 2007 homicide and the gruesome temporary burial site of a pregnant woman will be on the auction block today.   Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach vanished Dec. 14, 2008; the day authorities believe she was beat to death with a crowbar in Cpl. Cesar [...]

Friday, Jan. 11, 2008, was an altogether simultaneously sad and hectic day. There was literally more happening in the Lauterbach case than the newspaper could report. Late Thursday, Sheriff Ed Brown was in a good mood, convinced that when Marine Sgt. Daniel Durham’s plane touched down he would tell them where Maria was hiding and everything [...]

For those of you who have been speculating about and timelining the events immediately before and after the death of Maria Lauterbach, Cecil Jones will become very important to you. He found Maria’s cell phone on the side of the road allowing detectives to piece together a very important corner of the puzzle. The way [...]

The second article in the real time timeline is Online now. From the article: “A computer in the Laurean home accessed pornographic Web sites, including some featuring pregnant women, the afternoon of Dec. 14, 2007, according to a source close to the investigation.” Whatever happened that day, it is sad to think while Maria was [...]

The Daily News has begun a Lauterbach investigation timeline which will run in the print edition each day for the foreseeable future. The information will be available Online at jdnews.com. Tomorrow’s article is already up. The first report is to catch readers up to where the situation existed on Dec. 13, 2007. Sunday’s article will detail the [...]

The Half Moon community home of Cesar Laurean, and site of a grisly discovery in January, is up for sale. Read article here. A photo of the house from earlier this year.

I was wondering how long it would take for this to happen…. As someone pointed out to me, look at NBC’s Law & Order: SVU’s plot for Tuesday’s show. “A Marine who is pregnant with her rapist’s child goes missing.” Stabler and Benson get one hour to solve a faux-Lauterbach case. Honestly, I thought it would be [...]

Daily News Content Editor Jennifer Hlad has an article Online about improvements in PTSD treatment. Read it here. The article mentions the Maria Lauterbach and Holley Wimunc cases and how they have pushed domestic violence in the military into the spotlight. The article says those instances are rare, not the rule. 

A story is Online now about Christina Laurean going to Mexico for a possible conjugal visit with her husband Cesar. Read it here. D.A. Dewey Hudson’s press conference Thursday on the steps of the Onslow County Courthouse: Dick McNeil and Dewey Hudson discuss the case, the 2012 presidential race and where to get a good burger [...]

A profile article on Jacksonville attorney Dick McNeil is Online now. A FreedomENC photo of McNeil, Vaughn Jones and P.I. Jerry Waller: Read it here. Waller and McNeil outside the Craven County Courthouse: A tidbit of the story: McNeil said he did not know whether Cesar Laurean would ever be returned to the U.S. to [...]

Mary Lauterbach was on the Today Show this morning talking about Cesar Laurean’s extradition appeal. Watch. The Lauterbachs’ lawyer said the “real tragedy of case – this is a murder that could have been avoided; it’s an escape to Mexico that could have been prevented. Those things concern us because there were opportunities that would [...]

The Daily News has an article Online about Cesar Laurean fighting extradition back to North Carolina. Read it here. A source within the federal government tells me the Marine Corps has denied requests by Christina Laurean to visit her husband in Mexico. Now that it could more than a year before his return, I wonder whether the Corps will [...]

Two Fort Bragg soldiers facing murder charges after police say one hired the other to kill his wife made their first appearance in court today. Fayetteville police charged Army Sgt. Richard Smith, 26, and Pfc. Matthew Kvapil, 18, with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Sgt. Christina Smith, 29. Investigators believe Smith hired Kvapil to [...]

In a comment to a previous post, Uncle Bill said I refer to a source close to the investigation “in virtually every story you write.” Huh? I have been writing for The Daily News since April 2007. In that time (not counting a repeat of something already published) I have quoted an unnamed source a [...]

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, added a requirement to the National Defense Authorization Act that civilian authorities be notified when a Military Protective Order is issued. The bill passed late Wednesday night. Turner has been a very loud proponent of change in the way the military handles sexual assaults since the bludgeoning death of Marine Lance Cpl. [...]

There was an article in today’s Daily News about the Sheriff and the D.A. taking steps to prepare for Laurean’s return to Onslow County from Mexico. Read it here. I have it from a pretty good source that he may fight extradition. We will see. A previously unreleased tidbit I know: A military source close to [...]

Jennifer Hlad (Daily News Internet content editor / military reporter) has an article Online about a DoD sexual assault task force at Camp Lejeune this week. Read it here. Military officials say the mandate for this task force predates Maria Lauterbach’s death, but I bet Rep. Mike Turner raising hell helped it along.

UPDATE: It is 10:45 p.m. It took me all night, but I finally heard it from a special agent in the FBI – Laurean could be back here as soon as Wednesday. Of course, it could take longer. But lets just say the feds are talking arrival plans. —————————————————- Cesar Laurean is set to return to Onslow [...]

A report is Online at jdnews.com about Onslow County Superior Court Judge Charles Henry revoking the probation of a man previously convicted of sex offenses and sending him to prison for nearly two years. Read it here. The defense attorney said his client’s probation shouldn’t been pulled because the intern accused of document theft in [...]