Laurean fighting extradition

Cesar Laurean is fighting extradition to the United States, his lawyer said.

Jacksonville attorney Dick McNeil said his client has filed an extradition appeal in a Mexican court.

Laurean, a Camp Lejeune Marine corporal in deserter status, was indicted on a first-degree murder charge in January for the 2007 bludgeoning death of a pregnant colleague who had previously accused him of rape.

Laurean fled Onslow County in mid-January, just hours before the charred remains of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach and those of her unborn child were found buried in his Half Moon community backyard. Federal authorities said Laurean entered his native Mexico a few days later. He was on the run there three months before being arrested by Mexican authorities in the small western town of San Juan de la Vina.

A Mexican judge ruled in September that Laurean should be extradited. At that time, Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown announced Laurean's return could be as early as the following week. Local prosecutors expected his return to be sometime in mid-October, but now say the wait could be more than a year.

The Onslow County District Attorney said his office has made inquiries about Laurean's extradition appeal status through the U.S. State Department, but has not received an official reply from Mexican authorities.

"I trust what Dick McNeil says about it. He is a good attorney with a solid reputation," said Dewey Hudson, the district attorney for the 4th Prosecutorial District, which includes Onslow County.

Hudson said now U.S. authorities will have to wait and see whether a higher court will agree with the original extradition ruling or Laurean's appeal.

The Lauterbach family will be upset to learn about the delay in returning Laurean to the United States, said Dayton, Ohio, attorney Chris Conard, who represents the Lauterbach family.

"I know Maria's family will be disappointed with this news," he said. "However, we are confident that ultimately the state of North Carolina will secure his extradition and Cesar Laurean will stand trial."

Maria Lauterbach had accused Laurean of rape and was in the third trimester of pregnancy when she died.

Federal investigators have property that contains Laurean's DNA, but were waiting to perform a paternity test when Laurean returns to North Carolina to ensure a clean sample, said Paul Ciccarelli, special agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in North and South Carolina.

However, Ciccarelli told The Daily News on Friday that if the extradition process drags on, NCIS will consider serving a search warrant through Mexican authorities to get a DNA sample from Laurean.

"We need to get this critical investigative step taken care of," Ciccarelli said of the paternity test.

Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.