Today, Sheriff Ed Brown of Onslow County, NC said that they had information that Lance Cpl Maria Lauterbach, who was 8 months pregnant when she disappeared on Dec. 14, 2007, is dead. Her body has not been found yet, but they believe it is in a shallow grave within the County. They are still searching for her. She disappeared before she could testify against a fellow Marien, Cpl Cesar Armando Laurean, who was accused of raping her. So far they have not released how she died, however, Cpl. Laurean is the suspect in her death.
Of course, it has been said in the media how her stepmother told investigators that she was a compulsive liar and was bipolar. However, if she was saying that to discredit the rape (maybe, maybe not), I believe DNA could prove who the father is. I hope that the announcement of these things said by the stepmother was taken out of context. I would hate to think that a victim’s family would be that spiteful (my opinion here!). And right now, the concentration needs to be on finding her body and the body of her unborn child so that they can be put to rest properly. And they need to find Mr. Laurean and hope for justice (if he did in fact have a part in her death).
Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean
Sheriff: Missing Pregnant Marine Is Dead, Corporal She Accused of Raping Her Named Suspect
Documents: Missing Marine Claimed Rape
Pregnant Marine dead, sheriff said
Pregnant Marine Is Dead, Officials Say
Pregnant Marine Is Dead, Comrade Sought
Search Under Way for Suspect, Pregnant Marine’s Body
N.C. Sheriff Says Pregnant Marine Is Dead, Senior Officer She Accused Of Rape Is A Suspect
Missing Pregnant Marine Declared Dead
January 13, 2008 at 12:18 am
I am only one out of thousands of women veteran’s who have experienced
Military Sexual Trauma or MST as it’s called. Many of us suffer PTSD from
it as well as many other health issues that can and do arise from it.
I also am proud to belong to an organization called Women Organizing Women a
Veteran Advocacy the web site is http://www.vetwow.com please take the time to view
it if you would. Susan Avila-Smith founded it and has helped thousands of
us who have experienced MST.
It is time for the American public to know what “really” happens to many
active duty women and/or men when it comes to the issues of sexual
harassment and assault in all it’s various forms in the military.
The murder of Lcpl Maria Lauterbach is an abomination in the way the
military has handled not only her case but hundreds of others as well. This
is the norm rather than the exception.
Below is a copy of the press release which was sent out in regard to
Lcpl Maria Lauterbach by VetWoW. Below the press release I wish to add more
to it.
Press Release Regarding the Murder of Maria Lauterbach
Posted Friday January 11, 2008
San Miguel de Allende, Gto, Mexico, Seattle, Washington, and Phoenix,
Arizona, U.S.A.
It is with heavy hearts that the women and men of vetwow.com are compelled,
once again, to recognize and publicize the inexplicable and tragic loss of
another rape victim who came forward to testify against her perpetrator. We
refuse to put the term, “alleged” in that phrase because it does not do
justice to Maria Lauterbach’s strength and fortitude to carry on in the face
of such adversity.
We are alarmed by the appearance of impropriety on behalf of the Marine
Corps. We are concerned that this will be yet one more dangerous precedent
set for Military Sexual Trauma victims service wide. Maria’s status as UA
[unauthorized absence] SHOULD have been alarming because of her late term
pregnancy, and her status as a victim-witness in a sexual assault. These
circumstances alone should have inspired her command superiors to protect
her from unwanted attention and violent assault.
Many members of our organization have come forward with accounts that bear
striking similarities to this case. Victim character assassination, lack of
meaningful protection, and the horror of having to live and work in close
quarters with one’s attacker[s]are all-too common occurrences in these
situations.
We would like to remind the public of what is lost in this case and every
case like it where rape victims living or deceased are thrown away:
One of your best and brightest
A patriot
A young mother
A constituent
A future leader
A child that never took a breath whose lost potential cannot be calculated.
A trained professional
And the belief that our military, and our government can be trusted to care
for its own.
All of that is gone.
Our prayers and hearts go out to Maria Lauterbach and her unborn child, and
all those individuals who held her dear.
###
Call to Action
We encourage the public to pressure the military to change it’s method of handling sexual assault cases. Due Process should not become an excuse to neglect victim advocacy.
http://www.vetwow.com Provides liaison services for accessing VA benefits and treatment for active duty and veteran military sexual assault victims.
Contact Information
Susan Avila-Smith
Director, Vetwow
smith715@comcast.net
Currently in Mexico. I can be contacted
by phone through Skype.com at my email
address, or text your number to 206-999-4133,
and I will return your call.
END OF PRESS RELEASE
However there’s more for us to say:
Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach’s case would have been swept under the
carpet, along with the many other thousands of women and men who are and
have been in this unfortunate position, had the family not come forward to
the media. Without this, surely the Marine Corps would not even begun to
find out why she had an “Unauthorized Absence” (UA) hours before the
investigation regarding her sexual assault
We know from personal experience that this is the Modus Operandi of the
Department of Defense (DoD). It is easier to have the victim dead, from
murder, suicide, or labeling the victim with a mental disorder so the
military can then wash their hands of any responsibilities.
The all too familiar loss of rape kits, bungling investigations with NCIS
and CID, the blaming and character assassination of the victim, not
announcing a disappearance, not following through with the charges are
typical of what military sexual assault victims go through as DoD maintain’s
their stance is that “Rape is Incidental to Military Service.”
“Friends” as the Marines say in their story, do not rape friends. It is
common for many rapists to make contact with the victim in order to “make
nice”. It is more likely that the perpetrator was trying to get her to drop
the charges while she was alive.
Rape is a CRIME. Victims suffer. The fact that she was having “emotional
or mental issues” is NORMAL for someone who has been violated by someone she trusted. Post traumatic stress disorder is a “normal” response to an
abnormal amount of stress. Who else has to live and work with “an alleged”
rapist? Only in the U.S. Military, and Coast Guard.
I believe the American public needs to ask not just themselves these
questions but to more specifically ask them of the military. To much focus
has been put on why the civilian officials didn’t do more. Why didn’t the
military do more?
Why did the military not searched for her immediately?
Why was the perpetrator allowed to have contact with the victim and he was
not given a “no contact” order by the Commanding Officer?
Why did it take the family contacting the civilian authorities and news
media for an investigation into her disappearance to even go into effect,
which incidentally happened nearly a month ago?
Prayers go out to Maria Lauterbach and her unborn child, and all those
individuals who held her dear.
She no longer has a voice to tell the story of what really happened to her
however there are hundreds of us out there that can tell it, we know it, we
lived it and our lives are never ever the same again.
Linda D. Watson
Pinellas Park, FL
January 13, 2008 at 12:20 pm
This pattern of attacking women that happens on regular jobs and is probably worse in the old boy “Obey Me” and “Keep it to Yourself” military. The military shows that they have neither the willingness nor the ability to change this situation.
The scars of rape, violence and belittling the reporting can produce depression that robs people of a full emotional life forever and makes women keep a low profile in the workplace for the rest of their lives. That robs them of income and advancement in the workplace.
The only thing certain people understand is jail.
The only thing certain institutions understand is big fat lawsuit.
Please all of you who have been victimized, please file criminal charges and get a bulldog civilian lawyer to sue for huge damages. Fight back!!!
January 16, 2008 at 7:37 pm
They need to catch this guy fast.
Cesar Armando Laurean is a scumbag killer who picks on girls.
What a coward he is.
The best word for him is loser.
I hope he gets mad and comes after me because I laugh at him all over the Internet.
I would love to come face to face with that jerk.
There is so much sexual abuse in the military, and it is sad that they cover it all up.
If our leaders in the military will not tell the truth, then maybe we should stop serving our country, because our country is not serving us.
Maria Lauterbach will always be an angel.
May she rest in peace!
I am,
George Vreeland Hill
January 17, 2008 at 8:00 am
I am a woman who served in the military. There are times when sexual assault is swept under the rug but nine times out of ten you have young girls who have joined the military. It’s their first time away from home and they are drinking way too much and you’re around mostly men. I always told my girls to watch themselves for the most part no man wants to just be your friend. I have also seen girls who are really freaks and once they have gotten around the base they are being called SLUTS and WHORE and rather than deal with the stigma they scream RAPE. I in no way know Maria’s situation. What happened to her is horrible. I just don’t know how the military could have handled her rape case in differently. According to the report she had some type of sexual encounter last March which was consensual than in April there was a sexual encounter that was nonconsensual. She said no and he than stopped but that she considered it rape. It was not reported until about 4 weeks later. Again this is what was said by the Military. In November she recanted her statement about the baby being his and that she thought it was someone else’s. Regardless if it was rape or not if the child did turn out to be his he would be in trouble with the Marine Corp for adultery. So this brings me to my question. If he was married and the crime scene was painted and the body was burned in the backyard “was the wife in on it?” That’s something that the media hasn’t said anything about. If she wasn’t out of town I don’t see how she didn’t know about what happened. She had to be in on it.
January 28, 2008 at 2:07 am
Julia, If you have not been in the military and/or you have never been raped, it is difficult and lengthy to explain the dynamics of “trusting those you are trained to trust” and how trauma can twist your behavior so that nothing makes sense to those on the “outside”. I was gang raped 2 weeks after reporting to my first duty station. It took me 42 years to finally get the wherewithall together to report it. If I had reported it then, I would have lost any hope of a military career, security clearance, or a reputation of trust among the ranks.
If I were raped by an enemy I WOULD NOT ASK FOR SPECIAL TREATMENT…that would be no different than being wounded or held POW or anything that has to do with combat.
For this to happen among your brothers in the highest trust situation required of a military person….it is an incest of unique proportions. Violent and manipulative and not reserved for innocent enlistees (as I was, fresh from a Convent). I know grown women officers who were ambushed and raped. Multiple times. Desperately trying to hang on to stellar military careers. Having to bail out after 5, 6,7, 15 years…and some very determined to get through to their retirement.
But we are not going to be silenced. Getting drunk has nothing to do with it. Have you any logic or reasonable argument WHY a woman would cry rape in a MILITARY situation…knowing what that would mean to her career????
I hope this has been helpful. There are other aspects to this such as her office and the kind of work that goes on there and the question of larceny often found in that particular military occupation. Perhaps Maria was onto something else.
And I think that whatever consentual sex she may have had, she was an E-3…not a novice. And she probably thought it over and decided she wasn’t going to tarnish her record and turned him down…he wouldn’t go away. She tried to get him to leave her alone. It didn’t work. She was so frightened of him, she had to risk her career, maybe had sex with him again to “appease” him….But she stepped forward and had her brains smashed in for doing it.
And you wonder why victims don’t step forward in the military? It is estimated that rape occurs to 24% of women in service. AND MEN are also raped.
Take care. Joan
January 28, 2008 at 9:17 am
AZFORM
Things change a whole lot in 42 years the Military is no exception im sure there was alot of it going on when they first had to get women acclimated to the service. I personally never heard of any gang rapes while I was (not saying it didn’t happen ) in I just got out a few years ago but I have seen soilders and sailors lined up down the barracks hall to have their way with some of the enlisted Marine mattresses. I don’t doubt that rape does occur never said it didn’t. Some of the women I knew in the military could have cared less about a career. Their kids looking for a paycheck and a good time. I also think with what has come out in recent weeks that rape was not a factor in this case. Just a bunch of head games. Some family members say she had some mentals issues and didn’t believe the rape charge. Just so you do know an E-3 is a novice you can come out of bootcamp an E-3 if you help your recruiter get two people to sign up and even if you don’t you usually get E-3 within the first 9 months of service. Probably different 42 years ago.
i hope that they due catch Ceasar and that he does pay for his crime
April 20, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Julia, IT IS NOT A FACT THAT RAPE WAS NOT THE CASE, GET YOUR SELF TOGETHER GIRL.