Missing pregnant Marine said officer raped her
Thursday, January 10, 2008
A pregnant Marine from Vandalia who vanished last month before she was to testify in a military probe said "a senior officer ... had raped her and that the investigation had gone sour," according to new court documents.
Maria Lauterbach made the allegation to her mother Mary Lauterbach of Vandalia. Her mother told investigators that the 20-year-old lance corporal was bipolar and had a history of compulsive lying, the documents said.
Extras
Lauterbach is a 2006 graduate of Butler High School and of the criminal justice program at the Miami Valley Career Center. She is stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Officials said Thursday they had ordered her roommate, Sgt. Daniel Durham, to return from training in California. Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said authorities want to "look him in the eyes and ask him some questions." Durham is believed to be the last person to speak with Lauterbach.
Brown said Durham is not a suspect but a person of interest who authorities believe has been monitoring developments in the investigation. Brown also had a message for the missing woman.
"If (she) is listening and gets this, I want her to know that sometimes people do things, (and) if they could turn the clock back they wouldn't do them the way they've done them," Brown said. "Regardless of the circumstances, this has got to stop."
Brown declined to comment on rape allegations, as did officials at Camp Lejeune.
The missing woman's car and cell phone have been found. Also, according to the search warrants, a white male tried to use her ATM card on Christmas Eve. The search warrants also stated she was facing a possible discharge from the Marine Corps. No reason was provided.
Lauterbach's mother said she and her husband Victor adopted Maria as a toddler. She described her daughter as "a loner" and said she was upset about the pregnancy.
The baby boy's due date is Tuesday, the mother said.



Maria Lauterbach