JACKSONVILLE, N.C., Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The Onslow County, N.C., sheriff said a pregnant Marine was likely killed Dec. 15, four days before she was reported missing.
Sheriff Ed Brow said evidence indicates that Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach was killed Dec. 15, CNN reported Monday. He said the 20-year-old Marine, who was eight months pregnant at the time of her death, last spoke to family members Dec. 14.
Authorities are searching for the main suspect in the case, Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, who Lauterbach had accused of raping her in 2007. Lauterbach's body was found burned and buried behind Laurean's house.
Brown said "several witnesses ... validated" accounts that Laurean was spotted at a bus station in Shreveport, N.C. He said someone matching the suspect's description was seen either boarding or exiting a bus headed for Houston.
"That doesn't mean he has to be tied to going that same direction," he said.
