Missing 8 mo Pregnant Marine Maria Frances Lauterbach- NC #11

[STEADFAST]

SS I would feel alot safer off base then on base..Look how well they protected Maria..

She was killed off base. Why do you think that is? It is way safer on a base than off of one.

 

[Truly]

I have been trying to follow Meredith Emerson's mom's advice to "focus on the light, because the darkness does not deserve our time or attention". Yet I have such a strong sense of justice, I cannot turn a blind eye to people who would lie to cover up a horrendous crime. In this case, I believe that the Marine Corps are lying to cover up this crime. Every woman I know who has been in the service has experienced what SuziQ referenced in her links. Sign me up for the Maria Corps.

 

[STEADFAST]

I have been trying to follow Meredith Emerson's mom's advice to "focus on the light, because the darkness does not deserve our time or attention". Yet I have such a strong sense of justice, I cannot turn a blind eye to people who would lie to cover up a horrendous crime. In this case, I believe that the Marine Corps are lying to cover up this crime. Every woman I know who has been in the service has experienced what SuziQ referenced in her links. Sign me up for the Maria Corps.

What specific statements from LeJeune are you referring to as lies?

 

[Mygirlsadie]

steadfast don't take me literally..I'm just so mad about the way Marias whole case was handled from the start. I'm not mad at the marines let me clarify by saying I have nothing against the military I have been military my whole life I have NEVER lived in the civilian world. Obviously I am pro-military. What I will say though is the marines in camp lejeune failed this girl. I don't know if they just didn't believe her or if they didn't take her serious enough. Onslow county may have been able to protect her had they known. Unfortunately they knew nothing until AFTER the fact. All the while the marines on camp lejeune knew everything this girl was going through and dealing with. I don't want to blame anyone because (and yes that is piece of S*it) is the one who commited this horrific crime. I just wish someone would of protected Maria from him. Almost 9 months of warning signs were there!!

She was killed off base. Why do you think that is? It is way safer on a base than off of one.

 

[Seven]

I have been trying to follow Meredith Emerson's mom's advice to "focus on the light, because the darkness does not deserve our time or attention". Yet I have such a strong sense of justice, I cannot turn a blind eye to people who would lie to cover up a horrendous crime. In this case, I believe that the Marine Corps are lying to cover up this crime. Every woman I know who has been in the service has experienced what SuziQ referenced in her links. Sign me up for the Maria Corps.

I like that one: The Maria Corps!

You're a welcome addition to our discussion, Truly.

Did you experience any server problems/delays in logging on?

 

[STEADFAST]

steadfast don't take me literally..I'm just so mad about the way Marias whole case was handled from the start. I'm not mad at the marines let me clarify by saying I have nothing against the military I have been military my whole life I have NEVER lived in the civilian world. Obviously I am pro-military. What I will say though is the marines in camp lejeune failed this girl. I don't know if they just didn't believe her or if they didn't take her serious enough. Onslow county may have been able to protect her had they known. Unfortunately they knew nothing until AFTER the fact. All the while the marines on camp lejeune knew everything this girl was going through and dealing with. I don't want to blame anyone because (and yes that is piece of S*it) is the one who commited this horrific crime. I just wish someone would of protected Maria from him. Almost 9 months of warning signs were there!!

Oh, I completely agree, if you are talking about their unit. There are something like 67,000 people working on the base, so I don't want to say that everybody on base knew what this girl was going through, by any means. Nor do I think the higher brass on the base had any idea. They are most likely rather busy with training and maintaining units in Iraq and on base, and would expect her CO, JAG, NCIS, and the Sexual Assault advocate to have things under control.

I do think the investigators were taking her case forward by scheduling an Article 32 hearing and making plans to test the baby for DNA. But not putting Laurean in pretrial detention was a big mistake -- obviously! -- and also not taking the instances of harassment seriously. The unit CO and First Sergeant had a mistaken impression of the characters of these two soldiers, and if they had their ears to the ground, I think they could have figured out what was really going on. Her Sexual Assault ombudsman (whatever they call that position in the Marines) let her down, too. It is that person's job to make sure the victim is taken seriously and that her concerns are addressed.

I hope all military commanders and soldiers learn a lesson from this highly-publicized case.

 

[Truly]

What specific statements from LeJeune are you referring to as lies?

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

 

[vickycopsy]

I have to add to this discussion by saying I am very confused about my feelings. First of all, I have a 19 year old son and if he called me saying that he commited a violent crime and is running from the death penalty, I am ashamed to say that I might be tempted to help him run. Coward, I know. Unjust, I know. Unfair to the victim, I know. But, darn it would be hard to turn your child over to the death penalty whether he deserved it or not. Very hard.

Cesar, Christina, Maria- they all just seem like "kids" to this nearly 40 year-old mom. And what horrible things we do sometimes when we are young and stupid! I can't help but imagine my son on the run, he would be so scared so homesick. And the whole world wishing him dead, I just can't imagine being 21 and on the run.

And I am also a hypocrit because I have a 15 year old daughter and if some man raped/murdered/burned her in a fire pit, I would be screaming from the highest mountain to hunt him down like a dog and kill him! And poor, poor Maria. Whether she was bi-polar, a compulsive liar, or whatever her "family" said she was; obviously she was crying out for help and attention. And she did not deserve a shallow, firey grave.

I am always astounded at the number of crimes that begin and end with sex of some kind. Children, babies, woman, small boys, and even adult males- it seems most kidnappings and/or murders always have a rape or sexual encounter involved.

Does anyone know for sure, was Maria's baby male or female? Thanks for letting me share.

 

[STEADFAST]

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

:waitasec:Are you saying you don't remember what the lies were? Or that it's not so much they lied but that they didn't speak out when it might have helped? Or are you just celebrating a belated MLK Day?

 

[soobs]

put a little convenient lipstick on that pig of a presser............


Seven you're a crack up! Sounds like something Boss Hogg would've said!

Night All

 

[Mygirlsadie]

I definately don't think higher brass on the base knew anything. I know in the Army you can't even go to higher brass until you have went through your whole chain of command first. Your problems make their way up the ladder. Since was Marias superior I am assuming he was also one of her links in the chain of command? A very small group of people were involved in helping Maria and protecting her and IMO they failed her greatly. If I felt that nobody was taking me seriously and everybody was on side because he was so 'popular' and I was being harrased etc.. I too would of probably went back on my word that he raped me. I would be so scared and hopeless feeling. A ? I have is this ... If Christina is now saying she left the party at 7pm and Maria is confirmed by video to be at the ATM at around or a little before 5pm. How did he get her to his house, kill her, clean up the mess in 2 hours or less? Because remember Christina don't know nothin....

Oh, I completely agree, if you are talking about their unit. There are something like 67,000 people working on the base, so I don't want to say that everybody on base knew what this girl was going through, by any means. Nor do I think the higher brass on the base had any idea. They are most likely rather busy with training and maintaining units in Iraq and on base, and would expect her CO, JAG, NCIS, and the Sexual Assault advocate to have things under control.

I do think the investigators were taking her case forward by scheduling an Article 32 hearing and making plans to test the baby for DNA. But not putting Laurean in pretrial detention was a big mistake -- obviously! -- and also not taking the instances of harassment seriously. The unit CO and First Sergeant had a mistaken impression of the characters of these two soldiers, and if they had their ears to the ground, I think they could have figured out what was really going on. Her Sexual Assault ombudsman (whatever they call that position in the Marines) let her down, too. It is that person's job to make sure the victim is taken seriously and that her concerns are addressed.

I hope all military commanders and soldiers learn a lesson from this highly-publicized case.

 

[Seven]

put a little convenient lipstick on that pig of a presser............


Seven you're a crack up! Sounds like something Boss Hogg would've said!

Night All

Sweet dreams, soobs! :blowkiss:


CL = AMW :behindbar

 

[Pharlap]

Good questions .... and ....

You just reminded me of something else: One of the talking heads a couple of days ago, talking about that party where their fellow marines were there for the bonfire that Maria/Gabriella were underneath ..... well, I the only way to say it is to say it ............. The TH started talking about the smell of burning flesh and how there was no way that the people who were there at that party wouldn't have noticed that smell.

Do you agree w/that?

Would have to ask the guests of the party if hickory or another flavor chip was put in the pit. And how much wood/charcoal was used.
If none was then back to your question.

If I remember correctly Maria was 2-2in a half feet under earth, and lets say hubby packed the earth good. I wouldn't think you be able to smell anything but the bonfire/bbq fire.

One other question, did they cook food over this bonfire/bbq ?

 

[Mygirlsadie]

In the note Laurean wrote that she had a plan and then the plan didn't work out so she came back to his house. I was thinking MAYBE he told her to buy the bus ticket for herself to get out of testifying against him and going to El Paso which is so close to Mexico he would meet her there and take her to his family to take care of her? Maybe she was willing to do that and then decided against it and came back to his house to tell him she couldnt go through with the plan...Then he killed her?! There is always some truth to a lie so quite possibly there was a plan!

 

[Pharlap]

On fox and friends this morning, they had a bounty hunter on.
Was hoping they'd put a video up on there link. Not yet, was VERY
interesting.
Didn't get the name of the guy, retired marine about 55-60 years old.
He talked about this case.
He's a bounty hunter now. Said in the private sector there's a lot.
They do get many fugitives from Mexico and Canada and return them to the States
privately and quietly. Not like "the dog", he laughed.

Maybe a 8am Chicago time, they'd replay the interview.

 

[SuziQ]

In the note Laurean wrote that she had a plan and then the plan didn't work out so she came back to his house. I was thinking MAYBE he told her to buy the bus ticket for herself to get out of testifying against him and going to El Paso which is so close to Mexico he would meet her there and take her to his family to take care of her? Maybe she was willing to do that and then decided against it and came back to his house to tell him she couldnt go through with the plan...Then he killed her?! There is always some truth to a lie so quite possibly there was a plan!

I could never see Maria running off with CL. But I can see your above scenario. The moment Maria recanted her accusations, it all turned against her legally. I truly believe that the upcoming GJ hearing and DNA test was to prove her wrong and punish her. Was she facing the same punishment Cassandra currently is?

 

[SuziQ]

If you want an unbiased article to compare to Ms. Price's, then here is one: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/28/earlyshow/contributors/tracysmith/main3212398.shtml

I don't consider that article unbiased at all! What system is being discussed in bold? The military legal system. Snipped from the above link:

While all three men chose to accept a nonjudicial punishment called an Article 15, including small fines, extra duties and reduction in rank, Hernandez refused.

"I didn't accept the Article 15 because I did not commit an indecent act," she said.

So Hernandez is now facing a court-martial and likely taking the witness stand for the prosecution are the three airmen she accused of raping her. They've been granted immunity.

"Anything that they say in cooperation, in preparation or on trial can never be used against them," said Hernandez's defense attorney Capt. Omar Ashmawy. "So let's say they get on the stand and say they get on the stand and say yes, 'I raped Airman Hernandez,' that statement could never be used against them."

Her two attorneys never imagined they would be defending an alleged rape victim. Hernandez's attorney, Capt. Chris Eason, says "the system failed Airman Hernandez."

 

[SuziQ]

I have a question regarding the chain of command. I truly believe that in this case the further down you get the bigger the problem is. But at what point is it considered top brass? At what level is NCIS? I was really shocked to hear that NCIS didn't act on Maria's harassment report and directed her to report it to civilian authorities who would not have jurisdiction since the incidents happened on base.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

Welcome to WS, Vickycopsy! The baby was determined to be a female.

Thinking about what you said as a mother, I would find it most difficult to turn in my son...but I would. I taught my children consequences of actions at an early age and while this would be the worst of the worst, I would know that he had to face his own truths. It would break my heart, but knowing what happened to Maria would make me certain it was the right thing to do. I would encourage him to turn himself in and I would support him in any way I could during the process. I would not leave him without his mother's love. It would be the most difficult thing I could ever face tho.

 

[SuziQ]

I AM a woman...and I said it. Big deal. I don't think women should be given preference over men nor men should have preference over women...

Unfortunately in Maria's case a man was given preference. That should not happen either. In the marine Q&A presser, the spokesman states, IIRC, that CL's statement that "he never had sex with Maria was considered significant evidence". While the rest of the case was greeted with severe skepticism at best.