U.S. Marine Charged With Murder Of Transgender

Philippine prosecutors filed murder charges against U.S. Marine, Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, after determining probable cause in the killing of a Filipino transgender woman, as reported by MSN.

In a case that has fueled the flames for anti-American sentiment, lead prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos stated in a public briefing that Private Pemberton used “treachery, abuse of superior authority and cruelty” against the transgender victim, per MSN.

“You can see the kind of cruelty she (victim) endured, the injuries she sustained. We believe we have a strong case.”

The New York Times reveals that the Philippines does not have a jury system. Therefore the case will be decided upon the sole discretion of a judge. The sentence for murder could be 40 years in prison. Knowing this, Private Pemberton asked the prosecutors to downgrade his charge from murder to homicide. The charge of homicide holds a 20 year prison term, only half the time as murder.

That request was denied according to de los Santos, stating that since the case incorporated three “aggravating, qualifying circumstances, it is murder.”

The evidence is highly stacked against Private Pembroke, 19, who went out the bar-hopping with three Marine colleagues on the night of October 11 in Olongapo city. Olongapo is a what is considered to be a “recreation hub,” according to WRAL.

The Marines, including Pemberton, picked up women at a disco bar. That is when Private Pembroke met Jennifer Laude, 26, formerly known as Jeffrey.

Private Pemberton was seen checking into a motel room with Laude, and was the last one to be seen with her shortly before the murder was discovered.

As the Marines met back on their ship after midnight, one of Private Pemberton’s Marine buddies that had gone out with him earlier that night, (Marine Lance Corporal Jairn Michael Rose) told prosecutors that Private Pemberton “confided back at their ship that he attacked the woman he was with by choking her after discovering that she was a transgender when she underessed,” as per WRAL.

“I think I killed a he/she.”

Private Pemberton went on to describe to his friend how he had “choked her from behind with his arm for a couple of minutes until she stopped moving, then dragged her into the bathroom,” prosecutors reveal per WRAL.

Jennifer Laude was found beaten with her neck broken having died from “asphyxia by drowning” from the toilet as per the autopsy report.

Private Pemberton was detained in a “modified shipping container” on a military base in Manila under a joint custody agreement, as per MSN.

When news spread about Laude’s murder, protests broke out on the streets and the public demanded the Philippine government to move Private Pemberton to military headquarters in Manila.

Per MSN, an agreement dated back to 1998, Filipino courts have jurisdiction over cases involving American soldiers accused of crimes when they are in the Philippines. However, this agreement also allows suspects to remain in U.S. custody.

Jennifer Laude’s attorney, Harry Roque, is angry, and insisted Private Pemberton to be thrown into a normal jail cell instead of on a U.S. warship that is guarded by both countries.

The New York Times reveals that this case comes at a very sensitive time for military relations “between the United States and the Philippines.” A military agreement had been signed earlier in 2014 allowing the U.S. to build military facilities in the Philippines, “and station ships, planes and equipment in the country.”

President Benigno Aquino, however, declares that this case should not cause a riff between the Philippines and the U.S. Especially since the U.S. is their most important military ally, as reported by MSN.

“Name me any place that doesn’t have any crime. And the sin of one person should be reflective of the entire country? I don’t think so.”

It was finally decided by the United States to move Private Pemberton from the military warship to the Philippine military’s main camp in Manila. He will remain there under American custody, with a strong presence of Filipino guards until Private Pemberton faces his day in court.

WRAL reports the Philippine government said in a statement issued by its foreign affairs department that it looks “forward to the full cooperation of the U.S. government in ensuring that justice is secured for Laude.”

[Photo Credit: New York Daily News]