Marine Wanted For Murder Has Been Captured

4/11/2008 Cesar Laurean caught the eye of Mexican Police while they were conducting an unrelated operation. He looked suspicious, so they ran his name through a computer and realized he was wanted in the U.S. on murder charges.

Authorities had been searching for him since January in connection with the death of a fellow Marine.

Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach, was eight months pregnant, when she went missing on December 14, 2007. She had accused Laurean of raping her and a protective order had been issued to stop him from having any contact with her.

A month after she disappeared, authorities discovered the burnt remains of the 20-year-old and her unborn fetus in a fire pit in Laurean's North Carolina backyard.

Laurean vanished. Authorities filed murder charges and issued an arrest warrant.

Then Laurean was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and a federal warrant was issued. Cesar Laurean remains in custody in Mexico awaiting extradition back to the U.S.