Pregnant Marine's Neck Wound Likely Post-Mortem

A neck wound on the pregnant Marine slain earlier this year was probably made after death, pointing to faked evidence in her murder, CNN reports. The main suspect in the case, Cesar Laurean, said Maria Lauterbach, 20, slit her own throat, but the surface cut may have been made by her murderer to make the body “conform” to the suicide story, lawyers said.

“The autopsy would support the criminal investigation conclusion that Laurean's story is not supported by the evidence,” a lawyer added. Officials have said Lauterbach died from a blunt blow to the head. Her body, along with that of her unborn child, was found in North Carolina in January, near the house of fellow Marine Cesar Laurean, who fled to Mexico and is still missing. (More Maria Lauterbach stories.)