Friday, January 11, 2008

MARIA LAUTERBACH: PREGNANT MARINE -DEAD OR AWOL?


Sheriff Expects Missing Pregnant Marine's Roommate Will Provide Break in Case
Friday, January 11, 2008
Associated Press


LANCE CPL MARIA LAUTERBACH

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — The sheriff investigating the disappearance of a 20-year-old pregnant Marine said he expected a break in the case Friday once detectives further interview a man who lived with her.

"He's going to answer some questions that I think will shed a lot of light on this case," Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said early Friday, promising a "major announcement" around midday.

The roommate, Marine Sgt. Daniel Durham, isn't a suspect in the case. But authorities believe Durham to be the last person to speak with the missing woman, who is due to give birth in mid-February, and may have been monitoring the case while on a training mission in California.

Brown has stressed the case remains a missing-person investigation.
The Marine, who vanished last month before she was to testify in a military probe, had said she was sexually assaulted by a senior officer but that the investigation had gone sour, according to court documents.

The woman, a lance corporal, made the allegation to her stepmother, who also told investigators that her stepdaughter was bipolar and had a history of compulsive lying, according to the documents filed this week.


The documents state Naval investigators had struggled to investigate the woman's allegations because of inconsistencies in her account. Still, the court papers said the anticipated birth of the baby "might provide evidentiary credence to charges she lodged with military authorities that she was sexually assaulted by a senior military person."

Authorities said Thursday they planned to question the superior officer at Camp Lejeune. Her stepmother said the officer threatened the missing woman's career, and search warrants filed this week state the woman was facing a possible discharge from the Marine Corps. No reason was provided.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?

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