Monday, January 14, 2008

Maria Lauterbach - My Thoughts!

Maria is a beautiful young woman who seems to have been a bit insecure and made a decision to venture out into the world by joining the Marine Corp back in June 2006.

Although her step-mother has stated that Maria's character was that of a pathological liar, bi-polar, etc., etc., Maria may just have decided to prove people wrong when she went to boot camp and made it into the Marines. An accomplishment that is very difficult to achieve even for a man.

Maria's beauty may just have been her downfall on the Camp Lejune Marine base. There is no doubt in my mind she may have been hit on by a majority of the Marines, and possibly even more so from Marines returning back to base from Iraq or Afghanistan. Who could resist Maria's beauty which seems to shine from in-wards out!

No one knows what happened on the April day in 2007 when Maria was sexually attacked by Cesar Armando Laurens. Cesar is married and has a daughter, of which, not sure of the child's age. What possessed him to rape Maria?

In any event, Cesar did and Maria pressed charges against Cesar, which in itself is difficult to do to accuse another Marine of such a heinous attack. In all rape cases whether within the confines of a military base or outside in the normal world, rape is hard to prove, as it is the woman that has to prove it.

Perhaps Maria showered and all evidence was removed, this is unknown. In the case of Cesar, a quick shower will remove any evidence on his body with or without a condom.

So what is left for Maria to prove to her superior and to the Marine Corp that this rape occurred? Maria became pregnant from this rape, and all the evidence of this rape is beginning to grown within her. Maria now has no choice but to wait 9 months until the child is born and DNA is taken from an infant to prove paternity.

Back in the day when doctor's couldn't tell parents the sex of their child, the anxiety of wondering if it is a boy or girl would at times be overwhelming. We seemed to want to know if we should paint the room blue or pink, or what color the baby clothes should be. Instead we settled for yellow or green until the child was born.

These thoughts are so minor compared to what Maria lived through for nearly nine months. The DNA of her child to prove the rape.

Brining a child into the world is God's most precious gift to a woman. She carries the child for 9 months feeling every movement, every urgency to pee, every pound she gains all for this child. With Maria, she felt these same feelings along with, my child will prove my case.

Although Maria filed her charges against Cesar, she still was not safe on base. I can almost hear the harassment from Cesar and Cesar's Marine buddies over these rape charges. I can almost feel how hard it was for her daily walking to her position on base, eating in the commissary and daily life within the base. Maria was a large "flashing" red light of danger and threat and abuse from fellow Marines.

Maria had no choice to seek refuge to living off the base and managed to find a fellow Marine who was concerned over her well-being and he offered to share an apartment with Maria. I am sure Maria didn't foresee this stage of her military career in this fashion.

Although Maria felt she was protected from Cesar as an order of protection was granted based on the charges, but it is very clear that even an order of protection didn't protect Maria and her unborn child.

What happened to Maria on December 14th is still yet to be solved. Maria did meet with her "caseworker" on or about December 14th. Around 1:30 PM or later, Maria spoke with her step-mother and they had a argument/disagreement about something which has yet to come forward. Perhaps Maria wanted to get away from the area for a short time to breath.

Maria wasn't scheduled to report back to base until December 17th, by media reports and newspaper articles. Did Cesar know Maria's schedule or was he stalking her after she met with her caseworker, fully knowing he had to act now or never.

Somehow Maria ended up at Cesar's home alive, or perhaps knocked out enough to transport her to his home. For some reason, I feel someone else was involved with Cesar to help grab Maria, get her out of Cesar car, help kill her, clean up the mess, carry her a way back into the backyard, prepare the shallow grave and set it ablaze.

I have a feeling, that Maria was abducted while she was either getting in or out of her car. Either Cesar or another accomplice may have driven Maria's car to Cesar's house and once their plot to kill and bury Maria was accomplished, then one of them drove Maria's car back to the bus depot and the other followed in either Cesar's truck or another vehicle.

There is a Christmas tree sitting outside of the Lauren's home at the curb-side waiting to be picked up by the trash collector. You can see how neatly it is placed, and also how manicured the outside of the Lauren's home is as a child's slide sits on the front lawn.

Did Maria smell the pine fragrance from the Lauren's Christmas tree as she pleaded for her life in the Lauren's garage? Did Maria hear the Lauren's young child in the house playing as she is fighting for her life?

Maria, did all she could to protect her unborn child from the moment she found out she was pregnant to her last breath at Cesar's hands.

I watched the news coverage and the aerial coverage as the police swarmed in on Lauren's house and uncovered what was to believed to be a fire pit in the farthest point from the Lauren household. As the police put up two white tents to protect the area from the weather, the scene and the helicopter above, I watched a tarp being undone and laid toward the back of the fire pit.

It was very evident that they found the shallow grave and the remains of Maria and her unborn child. For an instant, I was so thankful to hear that the child was still in the womb, but in a second I was so upset to hear that Maria and her unborn child were set on fire as if their lives we nothing but trash to burn.

The crime scene investigators, and perhaps forensic personnel worked with dignity and respect to Maria as they carefully removed inch by inch of soil surrounding Maria and her child.

I know I watched longer than I should as they prepared to bring Maria and her child up from the foot deep grave, carefully lifting her body draped with a white cloth or plastic sheet to ensure her privacy. Sadly the helicopter above did catch a portion of Maria's uncovered head for a mil-la second and what was once a beautiful young woman with long, reddish blond hair was now blackened sight.

This is a vision I wish I had never seen in my life, and put myself in the hands of the many people that worked so hard and carefully and respectfully to bring Maria out of the depth of hell by the Satan with in Cesar.

I will always remember what Sheriff Brown described when he viewed Maria's charred body and the unborn child's hand that was clenched in a fist and was a small as Sheriff's Brown's thumb. Sheriff Brown's words were felt with such pain and sorrow for such a beautiful woman and her child.

Maria never knew what her step-mother was saying about her to the media about being a pathological liar and was bi-polar. I am so thankful that Maria never got to hear her step-mother's words splashed across the world on TV, in the newspaper and online. Within an instant, the world gasped at Maria's step-mother's words over her missing pregnant daughter. We all said "how could she say this to the public?" I was personally annoyed at this step-mother.

I am still unsure if this woman is Maria's step-mother, biological mother or adopted mother. Regardless of this woman's title she was wrong to say what she said about Maria.

Even though Maria may have been insecure in her growing up years, she was strong, very, very strong and Maria was willing to prove to her step-mother and to the Marines that she was really raped and who the father of the child is, Cesar.

Maria was protecting her honor as a woman, and as a Marine. Maria needs to be honored, respected and given the acknowledgment for who she is and her commitment to her unborn child and that of a Marine.

Maria doesn't know it, but she just may have changed the Marine protocol when it comes to women being raped on a military base. It is very clear that the Marines failed to protect Maria, even with orders of protection. An order of protection is just a piece of paper. It doesn't place a bullet proof vest around the body of the victim. It doesn't allow the victim to wear a gun attached to the waist to protect from harm. It's only an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of thin paper, useless to that of a 200 pound, highly trained male Marine or two!

There are and were a lot of missing young women and pregnant women over the years, many of them were killed by the hands of their own husband, boyfriend or of a stranger. This is very heartbreaking as these woman had no protection from harm, but with Maria, she had the entire Marine Corps to protect her, an elite military branch of service that is the first to go and fight for the United States of America. The Marines represent honor to the highest level and they failed on of their own, right here in the USA, a Marine by the name of Maria Lauderbach and her precious unborn child. A child regardless of gender could have wanted to be a Marine one day like his/her mother!

I personally honor Maria for the woman she was and for the mother she would have been.

January 14, 2008 at 7:54 PM
P.S. After writing my thoughts about Maria, I came across and article online regarding the search for Cesar. At the very end of the article it reads:

Some in the community recalled her drive to follow in her father's footsteps and join the Marines. Her father, Victor Lauterbach, is an Air Force Reserve master sergeant in the 87th Aerial Port Squadron, which is part of the 445th Airlift Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

Little did I know, when I wrote: "A child regardless of gender could have wanted to be a Marine one day like his/her mother!"; that Maria wanted to follow in her father's foot-steps as a Marine.

12 comments:

Suus said...

Its a sad very sad story. However written with so much compassion and love. If only more people were like you the world would be a better place..

Thank you..

Suzanne, the Netherlands

Patty said...

Thank you Suzanne for reading my thoughts about Maria and your wonderful and kind comment.

I just felt the need to write about her as I was so sad and lost and just needed to get it all out.

Patty

Anonymous said...

Patty,

My heart breaks for Maria and her baby. It saddens me to think of the fear and helplessness this brave young woman had to endure due to the military choosing to close their eyes to her plea for help. She was victimized by the marine corp as much as she was by Cpl Lorean. They willfully chose to close their eyes and ears to her pleas for justice and in so doing allowed her rapist to kill her. Her death is a black mark on the Marines. To think of the harrassment and intimidation she was forced to endure on a daily basis makes me more angry than I can say! I am sure if her charges against Lorean ever wavered, it was because she had been intimidated into saying what she was coerced into saying. This was a young woman who wanted to serve her country and this is a disgrace. How can we be more protective of POWs than we are of our own military servicepeople in the United States? Lorean is worse than an animal, he is wired wrong and needs to pay for the brutal murder he comitted. He knew that the birth of Marias baby would seal his sorry fate and he took the cowardly way out and murdered her and her baby! Then, the moron, and he is a moron, burned and buried her in his own backyard and was stupid enough to think he could convince authorities she had killed herself!

Patty said...

Thank you for your comment. There are many folks that believe the Marines failed Maria. Whether one wsexual encounter was consenual and the other wasn't, there clearly was an issue. Once the Marines issued an Military Order Of Protection, then Cesar should have been under lock and key. The Marines wanted DNA from the baby and this could have been collected from Maria during her pregnancy.

Anonymous said...

Patty,

Your thoughts are so sobering. Whether or not the sexual encounter was consensual or not, it was a crime. I, personally do not think the encounter was consenual. I think it is easy for the Marine's to spin it that way to try to do damage control. The victim is not alive to counter any statements made by the Marines. At this point, as bad as they have messed this up, they have nothing to lose to go ahead and asassinate her credibility as her mother has done. The more information that becomes available, the more evident the careless attitudes of those who were supposed to protect Maria is shown to the world!

I enjoy your thoughts and appreciate a forum where I can vent my frustration with the haphazard way this has all been handled!

I do not think the USMC gives a rip about the fact a beautiful young woman and her baby were murdered due to their neglience. They are trying to cover their sorry rear ends like a cat trys to scratch and cover its dodo.

Patty said...

Thank you for your comments. I have to blog to get it all out as I get tired of screaming at the television.

Yes, the USMC failed Maria by not placing Cesar in restriction by keeping him at least confined to the base. They failed Maria by not giving her either of the two tests available to determine the DNA of the Gabriel Joseph which could have been done at 12 weeks and 15 weeks gestation.

The USMC failed Maria after her death by not confining Cesar once the Sheriff knew about Cesar and the allegations of rape within the USMC on January 1, 2008. If the USMC confined Cesar on January 1, 2008, then we would have him and the appropriate charges could be forced.

I just wrote a blog about "The Search Is On For Cesar Laurean".

Thanks again,
Patty

Anonymous said...

I think what happened to Maria is horrible. Im a women who spent 5 years serving my country. I have several female relative currently in the Marine Corp. That is why I really take it to heart when the Marines are being critizied about the way they handle this case. She didn't even report the rape till a month after in May. She admitted to consensual sex in March but the sex wasn't consensual in April. She told NCIS she asked him to stop and that he did but that she still considered it rape. Even if the baby was Ceasar that in no way proves he raped her. For you info she reported to NCIS in Nov that the baby was concieved in May and that she no longer thought it was Ceasars. I saw it everyday girls whoring themselves out around base. Then they don't like the stigma of being called a slut and whore. Then they scream RAPE it happens so often in the military. Alot of military women can't keep their legs closed. Which is fine if you are really just looking for a good time but don't expect respect from your Male co-workers. I think maybe she screamed rape when she found out he wouldn't leave his wife for her. I want to make clear I do not defend what Ceasar and his wife did to Maria. I say his wife because she lived in the house and had to have known what happened that day and waited weeks to come forward. I want to also add that the day he killed her she left a note to her roommate that she could no longer handle the Marine Corp and was leaving she bought a bus ticket for El Paseo. It was her seen buying the ticket. So please stop protraying her like some kind of patriot. Lets remember her own family said she was a habitual liar and had a few mental issues. What alot of people don't know is that the Military can convict you of adultery. The only thing they could have convicted him for if the baby was his. She was leaving going to El Paseo. What was his motive? I think she drove Ceasar over the edge I do not think what he did was right but I can see how it could happen. Please not trying to offend anyone. Just trying to show all sides of the story.

Patty said...

Thank you for your comment. I do hope that you also read: "Was There Another Side Of Maria Lauderbach, and Lauterbach, Laurean Love Triangle". When I did My Thoughts of Maria, it was based on very little information reported from the media. As more and more came out, I did another story.

No one knows what truly happen and hopefully it will all come to light and the missing pieces will all fit!

Feel free to come back and read the next blog once I put together the latest information on what happened that day.

I am still looking for answers to whether Maria went to the base Christmas Party. The one where Cesar didn't go but his wife did. There are still a lot of loose ends.

Patty

Anonymous said...

I am responding to the woman who is upset with those who do not agree with how the USMC has handled this whole case. First of all, I have never meant to paint Maria as a saint, I did not know her. However, the only information that the USMC is making available is their side, no way for us to ask Maria if their "facts" are facts or spin. Another woman marine has come forward to support the theory that Maria was afraid of Lorean and had in fact gotten a new Protective Order. This woman is the one who actually typed that paperwork and sent it through the proper channels. Maria may have had conseual sex with Lorean and then later been raped by him, hello? I think this is a slam against the Marine Corps for not handling this in a professional manner. The USMC knew she was being harrassed on base after she reported the rape. She is now DEAD and that says a whole lot about whose story I choose to believe! I agree with Patty that there are a lot of loose ends. I will say this, I am sick of all the "whoring around" accusations being aimed at the women and no one is making these "honorable married" men pull down their zippers! Anyway you look at it, no matter how it occurred, she was not taken seriously, she was ignored and she is dead and he is a fugitive. Maybe they did have a fling, he still murdered her and her baby and burned and buried her body. If she had stripped nude and did cart wheels all across the base it would not justify how this has been mishandled. Lorean is not in any way the victim of Maria in any of this, she was his victim! I think his wife is in this up to her eye balls! These are my opinions, take them or leave them. I do not think all women who join the marines are men hungry and to suggest that is defending a cold blooded killer!

Patty said...

Thank you for posting your comment to the other Anonymous poster.

When I first wrote Maria Lauterbach, My Thoughts, it stemmed from the interview given by Maria's mother and what she told police about her daughter. All I heard over and over again in my head was "compulsive liar and bipolar."

As a mother this sliced my heart deeply and more so knowing Maria's mother's words were out there for the public to hear.

I needed to try and make some sense of the whole situation and try and put pieces together in my own mind.

It's very true, we will never know Maria's side of what happened to her. All we have is what the USMC took days and days to prepare once Maria was found dead in Laurean's backyard.

Right now, all I really want is for Cesar to be found, brought back and to face the charges that are against him. This is going to take time and I feel deep in my core he will be found!

Thank you for visiting my blog and posting your thoughts!

Patty

SpiritChanneller said...

You did a wonderful job on this story.
I believe Maria was raped by a co-worker just as she said because I was in the military and there were many men like the man who raped her and it was a constant battle.
Young shy people are the ones who are picked on the most and of course there would be harrassment as others tried to side with him.
When Maria told this man she was pregnant he said you will regret the day.
She was afraid of him and I know some of these things because I meditated on the Case and was told this by those in the Spirit World.
Maria does know what was said by her relatives because those who have passed over knows everything that is said or done as they watch from the Spirit World.
the spirit of her baby is with her and together they will adjust to what happened but it coud take some time to get over something like this and who knows she might like to come back and haunt him for all I know it does happen at times.

Patty said...

Thank you for stopping by and reading "My Thoughts".

I can only hope and pray that they find Cesar so Maria and her baby can be at peace on the other side.