Associated Press: A Marine accused of killing a pregnant colleague in North Carolina and fleeing to Mexico will be returned to the U.S. this week, federal authorities said Thursday.

Cpl. Cesar Laurean, 22, was scheduled to be extradited Friday and processed in a Texas court. Further details of his arrival weren't disclosed because of safety concerns, said FBI spokeswoman Amy Thoreson.

Laurean was charged with first-degree murder after the charred remains of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, 20, were found in January 2008 buried in his backyard in Jacksonville. Lauterbach, of Vandalia, Ohio, had been eight months pregnant.

Laurean, his wife and young daughter lived in the house at the time.

Laurean and Lauterbach worked together at nearby Camp Lejeune. She had accused him of rape, although tests showed he wasn't the father of her unborn child. Before she went missing in December 2007, military officials said they planned to investigate the allegation.

Laurean was arrested in Mexico last April. He has dual citizenship.

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