D.A.: Death penalty out if Marine arrested in Mexico

Written on 1:22 AM by yahoo

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(CNN) -- Suspected killer Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean is most likely in Mexico, authorities said, and the prosecutor said he has agreed not to seek the death penalty if Laurean is arrested in that country.

Hudson said he has asked through the State Department that Laurean be arrested if he is found in Mexico. But, he said, he had "no other option" but to take the death penalty off the table if Laurean is found there.

Mexico has a longstanding record of refusing to extradite suspects to the United States if they face a possible death sentence if convicted.

"I had to agree not to seek the death penalty," Hudson told CNN. "My hands were tied if I wanted to bring him here to face murder charges."

"It was very frustrating and disappointing," Hudson added.

Laurean has been charged with murder in the death of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach. Her charred remains were found January 11 in a fire pit in Laurean's backyard.

Investigators found the body after Laurean's wife came forward with a note her husband had written saying he had buried Lauterbach, who was eight months pregnant, after she slit her own throat during an argument.

Hudson said Laurean apparently entered his native Mexico only days after leaving behind that note.

Hudson would not elaborate on the evidence suggesting Laurean is in Mexico, which he said he viewed Friday. The FBI would not comment on what evidence it might have that Laurean is across the border.

"We strongly suspect, but have not confirmed, he is in Mexico," FBI spokesman Newsom Summerlin.

Summerlin said the FBI plans to circulate in Mexico either matchbooks or business cards with Laurean's photo. The Marine's wanted poster is on the FBI's Most Wanted List with a $25,000 reward.

Police believe Lauterbach was killed December 14, the same day she bought a bus ticket for travel for the following day. But in the note provided to police by Laurean's wife, the corporal claimed Lauterbach killed herself December 15.

Police said an autopsy revealed the pregnant Marine was killed by a blow to the head. Police said they are analyzing a possible murder weapon provided by an undisclosed witness. A spokesman told CNN it could several weeks to determine whether it was used to kill Lauterbach.

Laurean's wife told police about the note January 11, a day after she said Laurean told her what allegedly happened and following a meeting with a lawyer. Police describe her as a cooperating witness.

Lauterbach was scheduled to testify last month at a military hearing after accusing Laurean of raping her last spring.

On Monday, the Onslow County sheriff's office released new photographs of the fire pit in Lauren's backyard taken just before Lauterbach's body was discovered January 11. Police said some neighbors reported seeing a group of Marines having a Christmas Day barbecue in Laurean's backyard.

Police also released photographs that show Laurean's living room and garage with paint cans. Investigators said they found blood in more than one room of Laurean's home, some of which was covered by fresh paint.

The sheriff's office said it has documented evidence Laurean bought paint, concrete blocks and a wheelbarrow at a home improvement store December 16. In a store surveillance video, Laurean is seen walking into the store with another man, who has not been identified.

Investigators are also awaiting the results of DNA paternity tests, which they said could take weeks, to tell whether Laurean was the father of Lauterbach's unborn child.

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Man pardoned over Saudi rape case

Written on 4:48 AM by yahoo

(CNN) -- Saudi King Abdullah's letter pardoning a rape victim from 200 lashes and six months in prison for appearing in public with an unrelated male also included a pardon for the man she was with, according to the Saudi Justice Minister.

Minister of Justice Abdallah bin Mohammed al-Sheikh, in a phone call to a Saudi Television newscast Monday, also said contrary to earlier reports the woman's lawyer did not lose his license for defending her.

Until now, it was not confirmed that the male companion, who was abducted along with the 19-year-old woman last March, had also faced charges. While details of what happened to the man while the woman was raped have not been made public, the King's letter concluded that he also suffered "torture" along with her.

The seven men convicted of kidnapping them and then raping her were ultimately sentences to lashings and prison terms of two to nine years.

Although the pardon letter has not been released to the news media, Al-Sheikh read from it in his call Monday to Saudi TV:

"After going over all the document and a thorough review of the evidence, we found that the crime committed against this woman is one of the most savage kind," it read.

"The woman and the man in her company have experienced enough torture which should be enough punishment for them and a lesson to learn from."

"Since according to the Sharia (Islamic law) clerisy, a mistake in pardon is better than a mistake in punishment, we here request the release of both of them and we ask for the continuation of all legal charges followed by a just punishment against the other accused," it read.

Al-Sheikh, in answer to a question, said reports that defense lawyer Abdulrahman al-Lahim was revoked were false.

"Such decisions are made through institutions in the Kingdom," he said. "The punishment of the lawyer or any lawyer does not come from a reaction; it comes from a carefully examined procedure within a special council in the ministry."

He said the council charged with deciding law license revocations has not issued any decisions in this case.

The attack took place in Qatif, Saudi Arabia in March 2006 when the woman was engaged to be married.

A Saudi court ruled the woman had an "illegitimate relationship" with a man who was not her husband, and that the assault occurred after she and the man were discovered in a "compromising situation, her clothes on the ground."

The case has drawn international attention, provoked outrage in the West and cast light on the treatment of women under Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic law.

The woman was meeting with a man -- described by the her attorney as a former friend from whom she was retrieving a photograph -- when they both were abducted.

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