BY KYM LIEBLER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
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Tommy Williams of the Criminal Investigation Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., and Dr. Emily Craig of the Kentucky State Medical Examiner's Office study a bone found in Warren County, Ky.
(AP photo)
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Long-sought answers to a 20-month-old murder mystery may lie along the shore of a Bowling Green, Ky., creek where teen-aged campers on Monday afternoon found a female skull and a pair of tennis shoes.
Because the skull is missing a lower jawbone, authorities believe it is that of Army Sgt. Laura Cecere, who disappeared Dec. 6, 1996, and was confirmed dead later that year when her jawbone was anonymously mailed to a television station in Hopkinsville, Ky.
"I think there's a strong possibility that it's her," said John Carney, district attorney for Montgomery County, Tenn., which is handling the case along with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Ms. Cecere, who grew up in Seven Mile, near Hamilton, was last seen withdrawing money from a cash machine in Clarksville, Tenn., in Montgomery County.
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Mr. Carney said the facts of Ms. Cecere's case are gelling with evidence found Monday.
"It's a female; it's missing a jawbone and she (Ms. Cecere) was wearing tennis shoes when she disappeared," Mr. Carney said. Also, he noted, the postmark on the envelope that contained Ms. Cecere's jawbone showed it had been mailed from a Bowling Green address.
Ms. Cecere's mother, Sandra Cecere, of Richmond, Ind., said she received a phone call Wednesday morning from Mr. Carney's office, alerting her to the latest development.
"They said they found a skull and that it didn't have a jawbone," Ms. Cecere said. "I'm hoping and I'm waiting to hear more.
"Finding her body is important to me. You always want to know where your child is."
Dozens of investigators fanned out Wednesday along the creek bed, which runs into the Gasper River, searching for additional evidence.
Meanwhile, the skull has been sent to the Kentucky State Police in Frankfort where tests will be done to see if it matches Ms. Cecere's jawbone, Mr. Carney said. The jawbone is en route to Frankfort, Ky., from the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Va.
Four teen-agers who were camping near the Gasper River stumbled upon the skull Monday afternoon, said a Montgomery County deputy coroner. The tennis shoes were found near the skull, with one almost completely buried, he said.
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Evidence flags mark the spot where a skull was found along the banks of the Gasper River.
(AP photo)
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The deputy coroner also said decomposition of the skull showed the woman had been dead "for a year plus."
Ms. Cecere's estranged husband, Max Roybal, is a suspect in her death. His Clarksville, Tenn., home was searched for 14 hours in December and the body of Karen Anderson, Mr. Roybal's fiancee while he was married to Ms. Cecere, was exhumed from a Tennessee grave in March.
Ms. Anderson, 35, died Nov. 11, 1994.
Forensic tests are under way to determine whether Ms. Anderson died from natural causes or was poisoned, Mr. Carney said.
Mr. Roybal was named the beneficiary of both women's life insurance policies. He collected on Ms. Anderson's policy, but Ms. Cecere's policies are part of the ongoing investigation.
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