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Out in the Open
Missing Marine Dead; O.J. Simpson Arrested
Aired January 11, 2008 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news tonight: developments in three big stories.
O.J. Simpson may be headed back to jail, and we're going to tell you why.
Also, you know that drifter accused of killing and decapitating a hiker in the North Georgia Mountains? He may soon be charged with killing another woman in Florida, perhaps in a similar way.
But, by far, the most compelling story of the day is about a pregnant and missing U.S. Marine. Here name is Maria Lauterbach. Now, you heard the sheriff say right here yesterday that he believed that there may be a positive outcome to this case.
Here is how and when that all changed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED BROWN, SHERIFF OF ONSLOW COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: Mrs. Lauterbach back is dead and has been buried here in Onslow County. The suspect in the case is the Marine accused by her for assaulting her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Stunning development. Maria Lauterbach is dead, but did she try and call out for help when she accused a fellow Marine of rape? Was her undoing that nobody paid attention to her please? Was she killed by the very man who allegedly raped her?
Oh, and one more thing. Does anybody know what happened to the baby? Was her baby born? Remember, she was pregnant.
We're all over this story.
Our Randi Kaye is in North Carolina. She is joining us now live.
Randi, bring us up to speed on what is going on.
I know, when we left this story a couple of hours ago, they were still looking for her body. Have they found it?
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are still looking for her body, Rick, at this late hour tonight.
They were over there at the house of the suspect actually most of the day today since the early afternoon, Corporal Laurean. They looked around in the backyard. It's a very wooded residential area that they have been searching. They also have been getting some tips in as to where he may be, although they haven't been able to locate him yet.
But, back at the house, they did find some clues. They think they might have found where the body of Maria Lauterbach might be.
Spoke to the sheriff just a short time ago. He held a press conference here to update reporters. And this is what he had to say on the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: In the search of the property, cartilage of the property, a cavity was discovered in the backyard. That cavity was preliminarily examined very lightly, which produced a suspicious situation in which we believe it needs to be contained and protected until in the morning where it can be processed meticulously.
And it is believed that cavity in the house will eliminate moving any farther and searching any farther for the body of the missing Marine, Maria Lauterbach.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: So, Rick, that is the very latest. This house is...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Randi, as I'm listening to you and as I'm watching this report, I'm thinking, as most people who are watching this report now are thinking, here you have a pregnant woman who says that she's been raped, and she ends up getting killed allegedly by the very man that she's accusing of raping her.
Obviously, we're talking about a lot of questions here, but without a doubt, the most important question is about this suspect. How was he allowed to get out of town?
KAYE: Well, there was a Naval investigator here who spoke earlier this morning. And he said that this man, this corporal, who's the key suspect now, was not considered a flight risk. They had tried to talk with him before. The sheriff had said that he had actually been in contact with him. He had promised on several occasions to come down to the sheriff's department and speak with him.
And then out of nowhere, he called and said, hey, I have a few lawyers, and I can't talk to you. And they're not going to let me speak with you, so I can't come to you.
Meanwhile, they were focused on some other witnesses and some key witnesses in the case. They wanted to talk to them. They had evidence. They had a laptop from her housemate. And they also had called back one of the witnesses for another round of questioning. The sheriff wanted to talk to him and see what more he could determine.
So, this guy was not front and center on the radar. Well, at about 4:00 a.m. this morning, he was able to get in his car and zip out of town without investigators knowing. He got an eight-hour lead on them. But, again, they didn't know that he was a flight risk. They didn't think he was.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Randi, how could he not be front and center on the radar when he is the man that she accused of raping her? Wouldn't that make him suspect number one? Wouldn't all eyes be on him?
KAYE: And apparently they were or certainly some eyes were on him, but, after having some contact with him, I guess they didn't think that he was a flight risk.
Also, you have to realize that even the military had said there were some inconsistencies in her story about this alleged rape. And apparently they had a relationship even after she accused him of rape, according to this Naval investigator. So, there were a lot of questions about just how dangerous this guy really was and what really went on.
SANCHEZ: Inconsistencies in her story means they didn't believe her, and, apparently, they should have believed her.
But let me ask you one more thing before we let you go, Randi. I'm concerned about this baby. Do we know? She was pregnant at the point where she was going to be having the baby any moment now. Did she have the baby? Did the baby die with her? Do we know?
KAYE: We don't know.
She had two due dates that were apparently floating around there. There was a January 8 due date and a February 14 due date. It is unclear if -- if she is dead, which the sheriff is telling us, if she was able to deliver that baby before she died. We don't know.
If her body is in that cavity in his backyard somewhere, they will certainly be able to find that out pretty quickly, and they will be back at it tomorrow morning, 8:00 a.m. So, we should have some answers on the baby and whose baby it even was maybe tomorrow.
SANCHEZ: Yes. Right, because there is also a question as to whether or not the baby's father is the suspect, Mr. Laurean, Corporal Laurean, I should say, that we're now talking about.
KAYE: Exactly.
SANCHEZ: Randi, hold on. We're going to be getting back to you throughout the show.
This story is going to continue to develop.
Most of the information that we're sharing with you has come about in just the last couple of hours when they had their last news conference.
So remember yesterday when we first brought you this story, how the sheriff came here, talked to me, and he seemed to sound like there may be some kind of break in this case, possibly some good news on the horizon?
Well, earlier today, we were sitting in my office and we heard just the opposite of what we expected. And it became apparent as we listened to him and the tone in his voice that it was probably the opposite of what the sheriff expected to say as well.
I guess what I'm trying to say is he seemed as stunned as we were, and he was the one who was giving the news.
Take a listen yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: I was on cloud nine because I had some positive information. And then I had my insides knocked out with this negative information, which canceled out the positive information.
You all may not understand this, but these cases and investigations become personal. I just wanted to cry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: He wanted to cry.
Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown is good enough to join us once again.
Boy, I got to tell you, sir, you did seem stunned when you made that announcement today. I almost get the sense -- and I know you and I talked about this yesterday -- and I'm very thankful that you would come on and talk to us again -- I almost got the sense that you were expecting this morning that you were going to be delivering some kind of good news, or certainly something different than what you did.
Am I right?
BROWN: You're very right.
SANCHEZ: What were you...
BROWN: I -- go ahead.
SANCHEZ: No, no, you go ahead.
BROWN: In this investigation, it has been repeated over and over again by myself that I have stayed down the middle of the road. And that's what you need to do in an investigation until you get some real clear directions.
And this case could have gone either way and thought this morning it was really going to go the positive way. We had gotten the sergeant back from Twentynine Palms, California, who was her roommate, hoping that he was going to shed some light on the subject, and...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Let me help you out here -- thinking maybe that she was disturbed. She was going through a very difficult time, possibly pregnant, possibly making accusations that she was either going to substantiate or not substantiate, and she just needed to get away from it all. That's what some were thinking was going to be announced today, right?
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: I don't know what they were thinking, but that was not what my thinking was going to be.
SANCHEZ: What was it?
BROWN: My thinking was going to be -- my thinking was going to be, I was going to get some positive information. In an investigation, I don't think it would be a good investigator to jump to a conclusion and commit himself or herself in an area that they were not sure of.
The positive information that I had last night came in at about 11:00. That positive information was completely shot in the foot.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: ... information that came in this morning.
SANCHEZ: Hey, Sheriff? Sheriff? Sheriff, I'm going to interrupt you for just a moment.
We have got some breaking news that's coming in now on this case. It might be something that you're very aware of.
The Associated Press is now reporting that Onslow County district attorney is saying detectives have found what appear to be burned human remains in the yard of Marine Corporal Cesar Armando Laurean.
So, it sounds like they have indeed now found the body as we're having this conversation.
Your reaction, sir?
BROWN: My reaction is, I was there. I know what's breaking. I'm a working sheriff. I'm not a desk-sitter.
SANCHEZ: I imagine that you...
BROWN: And I happened to be there.
And I was one very persistent in refusing to allow this thing to hang on in the morning, and I wanted some answers tonight. And I know what's going on there. SANCHEZ: Let me ask you a difficult question. And I know that you have been somewhat stymied by this throughout the course of the day.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Why wasn't this woman protected from this man after she said that he had raped her? Simple question.
BROWN: Sir -- OK, simple question, sir. I can't answer that because that is military, and this is civilian.
Until just this week, I didn't know either one of -- any of this matter existed. So, I would be the wrong one for you to ask that question.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: You did not know that Laurean was accused of raping her when you were calling out to try and question him to get information from him?
BROWN: Oh, but that has -- that incident supposedly had taken place back -- as far back as April of this year, which has been about eight months ago.
Not until we began to get into the meat of this investigation that we even knew about such a thing happening. So, when you asked me that question, you're asking I think a question that you should ask someone else.
SANCHEZ: You should I think ask somebody with the military.
Do you think that they dropped the ball in this case?
BROWN: No. You need to ask somebody that has the answers that you need. I don't, sir.
SANCHEZ: But you did reach out to him. Did you try and question him? Did you call him in, Mr. Laurean?
BROWN: We did. We did. We did, yes, sir. And a lot of times...
SANCHEZ: And how did he respond? Why weren't you able to sit down and talk to this guy, ask him some difficult questions or maybe even charge him?
BROWN: Well, understand, I can't -- I can answer one of your questions.
SANCHEZ: Go ahead.
BROWN: And that is the reason I couldn't is because he would not come to our office, would refuse to communicate with us. And when the pressure did get on to him, we learned then that he was represented by I would say three of the best attorneys here in Onslow County.
SANCHEZ: I will tell you...
BROWN: And you know as well as I do that the sheriff or his investigators are not going to have the liberty to question somebody if there's any shadow of a doubt they have something that may connect them with an investigation.
SANCHEZ: It's just so frustrating for us, Mr. Sheriff. We know that there exists the possibility that, if somehow had made -- someone had made this connection, perhaps not you, but if someone at some level had made this connection a little bit earlier and perhaps believed her story, and been a little harder with this Laurean, this Corporal Laurean, maybe you and I wouldn't be having this conversation today.
But we will continue. We thank you, sir, for taking time to talk to us. And we thank you for being straight on in this investigation.
Let's drill down to some more now on the Marines' responsibility in this case.
Joining me now is Gary Solis. He's a former Marine judge advocate. He's a Marine lawyer who is now an adjunct law professor at Georgetown University.
I understand that you have some sources inside Camp Lejeune and it looks to me like somebody there -- and you heard my conversation with the sheriff moments ago -- it certainly does seem like somebody there dropped the ball.
What are they telling you about why they didn't put this guy in the brig or at least separate him from this woman after they heard these allegations or these accusations?
You have...
(CROSSTALK)
GARY SOLIS, PROFESSOR OF LAW, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Well, under the UCMJ, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, there are only two reasons to put an individual in pretrial confinement. One is risk of flight. The other is risk of violence.
And the corporal presented a risk in neither category. He had a good report. He was married. He was solid in the community. And he was a noncommissioned officer. So...
SANCHEZ: You mean to tell me, if a woman in the military goes to one of her superiors and says, that man over there raped me, that they wouldn't make sure that that man doesn't come near that woman again?
SOLIS: And how are you going to do that? Are you going to put him in confinement? Are you going to put her in confinement? It's the same way in the military as it is in the civilian community. It's no different. SANCHEZ: Well, in civilian life, you get something called a TRO, a temporary restraining order. And that makes sure he doesn't come within 50 feet or 100 yards of him -- or her. Pardon me.
(CROSSTALK)
SOLIS: Well, remember that the accusation here was not rape, but sexual assault, not to minimize sexual assault, but that is a far different thing from rape.
There was no indication that there was a problem between the two. And the two weren't necessarily together. Camp Lejeune is a big base. I don't know how closely they may have worked together. But what basis would the Marine Corps have for putting him in confinement?
SANCHEZ: Let me ask you this, because I understand that you have gotten some information on what Mr. Laurean's defense might be. What can you share with us?
SOLIS: Well, in talking about the case with individuals who have some knowledge about it, I understand that he made some statements to his wife, trying to explain the relationship, or the end of the relationship, and in doing so made some incriminating statements, suggesting that maybe she had harmed herself with a knife, as improbable as that may seem. So, what will his...
SANCHEZ: It does seem improbable.
But wait. Let me make sure that I heard you right, that somehow they were together and she slit her own throat, essentially killing herself, and then he -- what did he do? He didn't call 911. What did he do?
SOLIS: I don't know. I don't know. That's what he told his wife. He didn't tell his wife as far as I know what he then did.
But I think that the Marine Corps has done all that it could reasonably be expected to do in this case, and it had no reason to do anything more. In hindsight, of course, other things could have been done, but that's not the advantage we have.
SANCHEZ: Yes. Yes.
Well, Mr. Solis, we thank you, sir, for taking the time and giving us that perspective.
SOLIS: Certainly.
SANCHEZ: Certainly a lot of questions still being asked out there. And we're going to continue to ask them.
As a matter of fact, when we come back, does the military really know how to deal with women and sexual assaults, given the history? I'm going to put that to a former military prosecutor and a sex crimes prosecutor who knows a lot about this from inside the military. And then once again, you're looking live at the Vegas Airport. O.J. Simpson is expected to arrive any minute now and possibly go to jail. I should tell you, this is obviously not live pictures of O.J. Simpson. You will recognize those pictures. That's his first arrival when this case first came up. But now there are new situations that are going to mean he's going to have to go to court.
Also, this amazing story: Who would want to kill two young little girls? Authorities say it was their own father. We're going to investigate what some in this country are calling a Muslim honor killing. We will have it for you -- a lot of news tonight.
Stay with us. We will have it all for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: A prosecutor wants O.J. Simpson back in jail. Well, we're going to take you to Las Vegas in just a minute to show you as he arrives.
And, by the way, it could happen any moment now. So, we're going to be taking you to the airport.
Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is OUT IN THE OPEN.
We're following breaking news in the case of a missing pregnant Marine, Maria Lauterbach. We found out today that she was killed. She apparently told her supervisors that she had been raped, and the man she accused was not prevented from having access to her.
Now, there's now a nationwide manhunt for him, because police are convinced that he killed her.
Well, with me now, two top-flight defense attorneys, Gloria Allred, along with Gwen Lindsay-Jackson, who is also a former military prosecutor.
My thanks to both of you for being with us.
Gwen, let me start with you.
Can you think of any conceivable why Laurean wasn't thrown in the brig or at least separated from Lauterbach as soon as she came forward and said, that man raped me?
GWEN LINDSAY-JACKSON, FORMER MILITARY PROSECUTOR: It sounds like what the military did -- or the Navy -- well, the Marines did in this particular case -- is they conducted an investigation. They had an Article 32 investigation, which is like a grand jury -- it's a fact- finding investigation -- to determine whether or not in fact this alleged incident occurred.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: But, in the meantime, he's having his way with her. You know how -- co-dependency works when a man goes back to a woman and says, honey, I didn't do anything wrong. You can believe me, right? When these bad guys come over here, you tell them that I'm OK.
And all too often it works, doesn't it?
LINDSAY-JACKSON: Well, that's really, really unfortunate. That does happen in some instances.
But, in this particular case, I think the Marine Corps had a lot of difficulty. They had conflicts stories. They had information that seemed to be inconsistent with the alleged assault allegation.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: But every time that word inconsistent comes up, I'm thinking that they thought she was lying.
LINDSAY-JACKSON: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Let me go over to Gloria Allred.
Gloria, are you hearing the same thing; they didn't believe her statement?
GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: Well, no. Actually, I think the reports are that they were taking it seriously and were going to proceed.
And I think the attacks on the victim are really unwarranted and unfair. Here's a person who very well may be dead, at least according to reports. She doesn't have a voice to respond to attacks such as her testimony would be inconsistent or she was a liar.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Who are you blaming for the attacks?
ALLRED: Well, I think anybody who unfairly discussing her mental state or statements that she may have made when she doesn't have a chance to respond. And now apparently she's a murder victim.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Let me help you. It was her own stepmother, her own family, who came forward and told reporters and authorities that her daughter may be bipolar and that she might be a chronic liar. What do you do with that?
ALLRED: Well, that's really sad. And that's another reason why victims in rape cases or sexual assault cases really need to have their own private attorney to support them, to advise them, to speak out for them, because, after all, defendants -- that is, the accused -- they have sometimes an army of attorneys.
In this case, Corporal Laurean has at least three top-notch defense attorneys. And the accuser, the alleged victim, apparently didn't have any. SANCHEZ: Does it seem to you, Gwen, that maybe the military should look at this situation and maybe make changes in the future? Because, look, she disappeared the 14th of December. We're well into January before we found out that she was, A, missing or that, B, there was a possibility the man she said had raped could be out to try and get her again?
LINDSAY-JACKSON: It sounds like we need to just look at whether or not proper procedure was followed, because I know that the Marines, they do have a policy that you do have to take this very seriously, as Mrs. Allred just said.
SANCHEZ: Correct.
LINDSAY-JACKSON: And you have to investigate it. You have other mechanisms. You can issue a no-contact order. You can make sure the person is separated. There are a lot of mechanisms that...
SANCHEZ: But it looks like that -- we don't know if they did, but it doesn't appear that they did.
LINDSAY-JACKSON: We don't know.
SANCHEZ: Right?
LINDSAY-JACKSON: Well, at face value...
SANCHEZ: If they did, they haven't told us.
LINDSAY-JACKSON: At face value, it doesn't appear that way. But, again, I don't want to second-guess until we have all the information.
SANCHEZ: You would think that they would be defending themselves and saying, this is what we did and this is how we did it.
Gloria Allred, Gwen Lindsay-Jackson, my thanks to both of you for being with us.
Unbelievable developments. As we get them, we're going to continue to share them with you.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: O.J. Simpson is scheduled to arrive in Las Vegas within the hour. Our Ted Rowlands is standing by. He's going to be waiting at the airport when Mr. Simpson arrives. We're going to take you there live.
Also, him, remember? The drifter accused of killing a Georgia hiker, what a bizarre man, living out of a van and allegedly stopping only to kill -- and now another alleged victim in this case. We're going to talk to her best friend, an insider, right here.
Stay with us. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back.
Tonight, it's looking even more and more like a man who drifted around the Southeast, living in a van, hanging out at a national forest and state parks, could be a serial killer.
His name is Gary Hilton. Let me show you what we're talking about. Hilton was arrested. And we're going to start with the case that everyone's been talking about. That's right there in north Georgia, in the mountains of north Georgia -- arrested this week, accused of killing 24-year-old Meredith Emerson.
Now, she went hiking in the North Georgia Mountains on New Year's Day and then she disappeared. That's her right there.
And then there's another case that we're following right now. We're going to take you to Florida for this one. Florida authorities are getting ready now to charge Hilton, the same man, with another killing. That's Cheryl Dunlap. You see her over there. She disappeared in December. Her body was found at the Apalachicola National Forest in northern Florida.
And now there's yet another case. This is the case of Irene and John Bryant. Where are they? They were in North Carolina. There they are right there. They vanished last October while hiking in a forest in North Carolina. She was bludgeoned to death. His body hasn't even been found.
So, who is this guy who was driving around without a home? And how in the world would he be able to convince able-bodied, smart women, who were athletic, clean and sober, to do anything? And this is the question a lot of authorities and everybody else watching this story unfold have been asking.
Here's a rare piece of video I want to show you now. It's a videotape you're going to see. It's of Hilton during a confrontation with police at a national park.
Will, do you have this cut?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Believe it or not (INAUDIBLE) You won't believe this. He went down that thing, up that thing, over that thing and around it, and then went on out. Didn't even make me move. I'm leaving. I'm getting out of here, God almighty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now, who is this character?
Joining me now is Cindy Wechter. She's known Cheryl Dunlap. That's the woman I was just telling you about a little while ago in Florida, the newest apparent victim that we were talking about in this case. She's the one that police are now saying they suspect her disappearance may have had something to do with this fellow Hilton.
Cindy, thanks so much for joining us. I know this is difficult for you.
CINDY WECHTER, FRIEND OF CHERYL DUNLAP: Yes, but you're welcome.
SANCHEZ: Had you suspected Hilton, or did you find out that he may have something to do with this when the rest of us found out, a few days ago?
WECHTER: I actually had an e-mail from a friend a few days before the breaking news that asked me to check into the case and said that she noticed that Meredith Emerson disappeared on the same day of the month that my friend Cheryl did, and she just had a feeling it was connected. So I was watching the news before this story broke.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think they're connected? I mean, let me ask you the question this way. From what you know of him, from what I've shared and what you read, do you think that your friend's case, Cheryl Dunlap or similar or is there's enough there for you to be convinced that this guy had something to do with it?
WECHTER: Yes. I feel pretty convinced that he's probably the one based on the information coming from the Leon County Sheriff's Department, that he was in the area where Cheryl was two weeks prior to her disappearance.
SANCHEZ: Then I have to -- I have to ask you -- I have to ask you this question then, since you answered that in the affirmative. How in the world would he be able to convince your friend, who from everything I have read and understand was a religious woman, clean and sober, not the kind of person you could easily convince to do anything, how could he -- how could he get one over on her?
WECHTER: You know, that's the question I've been asking myself and I think that he must have caught her off guard some way because Cheryl was very smart. She was very discerning, and she was very careful around men. He must have just snuck up behind her and caught her off guard in some manner.
SANCHEZ: Do you think that Cheryl even intended that day to be long? I mean, to be gone that long? Are you convinced that she went out that day just to go out and then come right back?
WECHTER: Yes, I am because she left her dog Buddy at home and any time she was going to be gone longer than a few hours, she took Buddy with her. So I believe that she was just going out for a day of shopping and errands and was planning on coming back.
SANCHEZ: Unbelievable. Cindy Wechter, my thanks to you for joining us and sharing your perspective on this with us. We'll certainly keep tabs on this story. It's certainly is growing each day, the developments on it, and hopefully there'll be a resolution to it.
A prosecutor says that O.J. Simpson should go back to jail. It's the newest development in this case. What is he accused of doing this time? Stand by for some of the details along with Simpson's arrival in Las Vegas. We have cameras there, and you'll see it as it happens.
Next, though, two young girls -- beautiful, great students. Did their father kill them because they were becoming too American? Dating American boys, non-Muslims. It's an amazing tale, and we'll bring it to you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right. We've got breaking news now. We understand that Sheriff Ed Brown is going to be holding a news conference at any moment. Much of that having to do with the disappearance of Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach. We're told that they now know where her body is and that they have found it. It was found in the backyard of the man they now consider the prime suspect in this case. His name is Corporal Cesar Armando Laurean, 24 years old.
And what's interesting about this case is we now learn or at least have been able to put together that he is the same man that she had accused of raping her. Although military officials there at Camp Lejeune not far from the area where we'll be hearing from the sheriff at any moment now, are saying that there were some inconsistencies in her story at the time.
We have been following the story now for the better part of the last three days. And at first it seemed like just a missing person's case. There's the sheriff now. He apparently seems to be coming to the microphone. And let's go ahead and listen in.
SHERIFF ED BROWN, ONSLOW COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: In a recent update and as this thing progresses and with updates, I think this probably will be short of being that we've got Mr. Laurean in custody. This will probably be a major toward where this thing is going. But I mentioned to you earlier the house was being processed at the last for luminol testing, the process produced what I thought it may produce, and that is the trace of violent activity in the house producing blood traces or suspected blood traces in the residence and an evidence of attempted cleanup of the residents after the blood may have gotten on the property there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it all in one house? In one room? Or is it all over the house?
BROWN: I understand it's in a couple of places, couple of locations there. Now, there has been questions to me from some of you all about a note and I told you that there's -- the note is there. But there's been a lot of holes plugged in the note and I think this is just another example of another hole plugged in the note.
When a person can't be there to defend himself, the person who is doing the talking in this case can say anything they want to. But evidence now is saying that what he's claiming happened did not happen like he said it happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This note -- this note led you to Mr. Laurean as this note was probably in Mr. Laurean's --
BROWN: I can say this note was some evidence that was important to which way we went after we got that information. This note has proven and the witness has proven to be important and brings us to where we're at at this time. I will not comment on who brought it. I can just tell you it did happen. It has some fact to it, but it has some unfactual things which would be in favor of Mr. Laurean's comments, in favor of himself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you treating this as a suicide or a murder?
BROWN: I'm not yet treating it as a suicide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're treating it as a murder?
BROWN: Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the blood evidence that you found indicate that there was a crime that occurred inside the house? Is that what it shows?
BROWN: The indications is that there was activity inside the house which caused blood to be expelled from some person onto the wall in areas of the house. Now, it doesn't take, and I'm not being smart. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that if there's a cavity out back and blood on the inside that's probably going to be a key location of where this crime may have taken place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, do you know if the marines or anybody has any DNA or Ms. Lauterbach that can be confirmed or compared to that?
BROWN: I feel sure that with the capabilities of DNA's capabilities that if they don't have it, there are ways of cross referencing other family members to isolate it for process of identification. And again, this probably in my opinion would be major, latest update which I think sheds a lot of light on this case tomorrow when the examination of the cavity takes place, is going to bring a lot of more light to it which will -- as I said in the beginning, we start seeing a clear picture of what took place in this case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any word on the suspect's whereabouts?
BROWN: Still, I don't have any word on the suspect's whereabouts. I would like to say to the suspect, if he's listening and I'm sure he's father is listening and the family is probably listening, it would be best for him to return. Now, this may sound strange voluntarily because sooner or later he's coming back to Onslow County. And if he's telling it like he wants to tell it, it would be foolish to run from what he claims happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any comments on if the remains were burned?
BROWN: I can tell you this, there is what appears to be the remains. I don't want to go that far out on a limb. But I can tell you this, I'm not pleased with -- well, I don't know what to keep the DA saying and I won't try to say he didn't or he did say it. But I can tell you this, I do think this case is going to be a bizarre ending. When I say bizarre, more than just a death and a burial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you clarify positive chemical tests at the scene for the presence of blood, additional testing revealed it's human blood?
BROWN: Right. That is positive tests for blood, additional analysization (ph) of that will indicate --
SANCHEZ: More than just a death and a burial, he goes on to describe it as a bizarre scene. More light being shed on this story. Speaking of light, those of you heard the sheriff refer to a luminol test that was done at the home of Corporal Cesar Armando Laurean.
Luminol is essentially a chemical that is put on a carpet or wherever police suspect that they might find blood at that time. What it does is it is shows them when the lights are turned out exactly where the blood is. Oftentimes, when a murder has been committed, detectives will say the entire area just lit up. That means that they're convinced that something there had happened.
The other note is about in fact a note. He seems to be suggesting that there was a note left, but the note was left in such a way so that it would help his case. He also suggests that perhaps what really, he thinks happened or what Cesar Armando Laurean says happened didn't happen the way he's explaining it. I think what he's saying to us, the sheriff that is, is that the corporal is lying.
One other thing that we didn't get information about and that is the condition of the baby. After all, you know, we were hearing all along that she was either pregnant or was about to deliver the baby. We still haven't gotten, nor did it I hear any of the reporters ask questions about that. So obviously, that's something we'll drill down on.
By the way, Randi Kaye is following the story. We're going to hope to hook up with her before the end of this newscast to get some information on her as we continue developing this unbelievable story coming out of Camp Lejeune and continue to ask some of the serious questions of some of the military officials there.
Meanwhile, O.J. Simpson in trouble again and he could be heading back to the slammer. The very latest from Las Vegas where we're expecting him to arrive any moment now as well. Another developing story and we're on it as well. Stay with us. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. What an amazing story this is. What happens when two cultures clash? This is the story of two teenaged girls who wanted nothing more than just to be average American girls. Their father, though, was a Muslim immigrant from Egypt, and a lot of people say he simply wouldn't have it. That's where this story turns ugly. In fact, I got chills when I was starting to read about this last night. Keith Oppenheim has been following it for us, and he's filing the story tonight from Lewisville, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Teenaged sisters, Amina and Sarah Said seemed to have everything going for them. Smart, beautiful, athletic and popular at school. According to police, their father, Yaser Said, a cab driver who emigrated from Egypt, was adamantly opposed to his daughters dating anyone outside the Muslim faith.
But his daughter Amina was doing just that and it incensed him. Police say Patricia Said, the mother, became fearful of her husband and on Christmas day fled with her two daughters. They went Lewisville, Texas, and went to a relative's house in Kansas, then to an apartment in Tulsa. On December 26th, dad Yaser filed a missing person's report. On December 27th, the mom finally called police telling them she and the girls had gone into hiding.
CAPTAIN KEITH DEAVER, LEWISVILLE POLICE DEPT.: Apparently, Yaser did find out that her daughter was having a relationship with a young man that was not of Muslim religion.
OPPENHEIM: Did she say anything about what he was going to do once he found that out?
DEAVER: Apparently, he was very upset and threatened his daughter and made it in no uncertain terms that that was not accepted.
OPPENHEIM: On New Year's Eve, Patricia Said made a fateful decision and returned home to Lewisville, Texas, with daughters Amina and Sarah. The next day, a horrifying 911 call.
DAVID TULL, IRVING POLICE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: The call was from a female caller on a cell phone basically saying that she had been shot, and she thought she was dying.
OPPENHEIM: Irving, Texas, police got a second call which pinpointed the location of Yaser Said's leased taxi cab in the parking lot of a hotel. Inside, the dead bodies of the two teenaged girls shot multiple times and their father nowhere to be seen. Police tell us the father is the main suspect.
TULL: To this point, we have no indications where he may be or where he has gone to. That's why we're looking at this as a he could still be here local. He could be statewide, nationwide and a very real possibility that he could have gone international either that night or could be working that now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OPPENHEIM: Rick, I'm' joining you from Lewisville, Texas, where the Said family lived. And all day long, we've been trying to get reaction from the family about this. Just 45 minutes ago or so, I got a call from Gail Gartrell who is the great aunt of the two girls who were murdered. And she told me she believes this was a so called honor killing. In other words, she believes that the father killed his daughters because they had stepped out in his view of their culture and faith. But she also said that the surviving mother and brother don't believe that and say they think it had nothing to do with religion. So obviously some disagreement within the family. In the meantime, no word on where this father is and the manhunt for him is on. Rick, back to you.
SANCHEZ: It is so bizarre, and it makes you wonder why someone would come to this country and then fight the assimilation process of their own daughters. It's a bizarre story, one we'll stay on top of.
Keith Oppenheim, thanks so much for joining us. Larry King is going to be joining us in just a little bit to bring us up to date on what's he got tonight. I bet you I know what you got. You got that Camp Lejeune story, don't you? That's an amazing, amazing story, Larry.
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": How insightful you are, Rick. You really -- you've got that nose for news. We've had a heartbreaking turn in the mystery of that missing pregnant marine. Remains have been found, as you know, in the backyard of a prime suspect. We're going to talk to the sheriff and find out how the search is going for the killer. He's the marine she accused of rape.
And then Suzanne Somers with a revealing one-on-one with this ageless author who is still drop dead gorgeous. Suzanne Somers follows all that, and it's all coming up at the top of the hour, Rick.
SANCHEZ: There you go again. You remind me of me when you talk like that. Thanks, Larry.
O.J. Simpson is ordered to jail, and these are live pictures you're looking at right now. This is the airport there in Las Vegas. We're expecting Mr. Simpson to arrive at any moment and when it does, you're going to see it right here live on CNN. Is he heading back to jail? We'll have it for you. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Breaking news on two fronts, the developments keep coming in. There's the shot that we've been following. The aerials of the area around Camp Lejeune where a corporal, Cesar Armando Laurean is now being suspected of killing Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach. That's the search as it continued, but now we're told that they have indeed found her body and it is a grisly scene.
Let's go to O.J. Simpson now. We are expecting him at this airport. There's the picture. He should be arriving at any moment. He is in trouble again. Prosecutors say that they have evidence that he has violated the conditions of his bail this time, and that could mean he goes to prison or pardon me, to jail to await his pending trial.
There's a hearing scheduled, and Ted Rowlands has been working it for us. He's been working this story as well, by the way, there in Las Vegas. What do we think at this point, Ted, or what have you found out has caused this hearing to take place? I guess the question is, how has O.J. Simpson perhaps violated his bail?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's simple, Rick. When O.J Simpson was granted bail, the judge said you cannot have any contact whatsoever, even through a third party with any of the witnesses or any of the other co-defendants. And what prosecutors are alleging is that he tried to make contact with Clarence Stewart. He's one of the other co-defendants, one of the other co-defendants that did not cooperate until now and still hasn't with prosecutors as far as we know. And the allegation is that O.J. Simpson used the bail bondsman to send a message.
They have an audio recording of a message that was left on the bail bondsman's voicemail that they are using in this court affidavit and this motion that was filed today. And in part it says the following, this is O.J. Simpson talking. According to prosecutors, "Hey, Miguel." That's the bail bondman. "It's me." I just want CJ -- that's Clarence Stewart -- to know that the whole thing all the time he was telling me that blank, you know. I hope he was telling the truth. And he ends it with all right.
The allegation here is that O.J. Simpson intentionally tried to send a message through his bail bondsman to Clarence Stewart, a clear violation of the rules and the guidelines set forth by this judge. In fact, the judge addressed third party attempts through O.J. Simpson in court and that's what the allegations are.
SANCHEZ: That means, Ted, before we let you go, we're down like 20 seconds.
ROWLANDS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: If a judge says I am convinced that you were trying to talk to one of the witnesses in this case, he puts him in jail and he has to stay there until the trial begins, is that right?
ROWLANDS: April 7th. So you're talking about being free in Florida or sitting in the Clark County Detention Center, a lot at stake. O.J. Simpson gets his chance on Wednesday during a hearing on this matter.
SANCHEZ: Wow. Ted Rowlands, thanks so much for bringing us up to date on that unbelievable story. You would think that he would know better, but maybe you wouldn't. Thanks so much.
Much more on Maria Lauterbach's tragic disappearance at the top of the hour on "LARRY KING LIVE." Among Larry's guests, the sheriff who's leading this investigation. It continues. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right. Here's the latest on the breaking news you're looking at. That's Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach. Let me show you some pictures now of what's been going on there. This investigation as this news story has been ongoing now for the better part of the day. Within the last hour, there's been more developments on this story including information that investigators have now found blood in two locations, but most of it, they say, after doing a luminol test, inside the suspect's house --lots of blood.
They have also found a shallow grave. Some have described as a pit where they have found her body. That's the suspect right there. Marine Corporal Cesar Laurean. Police officers on the case are saying right now that they will continue to try and investigate. But what they have right now they say is a bizarre case. They say that what they're expecting to find there as they continue their investigation will lead them to a conclusive evidence that he was, in fact, involved in this case. That's what they're saying. We're on it.
Larry King will bring you the very latest on this and all the questions, we'll have it for you right here. Stay with us. I'm Rick Sanchez.
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