Jennifer Laude - A 19-year-old US Marine has been officially charged with the murder of a transgender Filipino woman in northwest Philippines on Monday.
Olangapo City Prosecutor Emile delos Santos said there was probable cause to charge Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton with the cruel murder of the 26-year-old woman he had reportedly met only a few hours earlier.
"He did not stop at badly beating up and choking her. He made sure she suffered to her death. He deliberately and repeatedly plunged her head down the toilet until she breathe her last," investigators wrote in their resolution.
Delos Santos described the murder of Jennifer Laude as treachery. "It was aggravated by treachery, abuse of superior strength and cruelty," she said.
Staff of Celzone Lodge in Olongapo found the body of Jennifer Laude in a motel room on Oct. 11, shortly after she had checked in with Pemberton. She was found partially naked in the bathroom with her head resting on the toilet bowl.
Pemberton's ship had docked at the Subic Bay Freeport before the incident. Some of his colleagues, who went to the club with him on the night and admittedly also picked up Filipino women to the same motel, have confirmed that indeed Pemberton checked in with Jennifer Laude.
US Corporal Jairn Michael Rose has been quoted relaying to investigators that Pemeberton confided in him that he killed Jennifer Laude after discovery that she was a transgender when she undressed in the motel room.
The murder of Jennifer Laude, who was formerly known as Jeffrey, has sparked waves of protests from LGBT and transgender activists in the Philippines. US officials have noted that the Marine Corps is working closely with the Filipino police to ensure justice prevails.
Pemberton, who was being held on a US warship, has since been transferred to the main base of the Filipino military in the country's capital Manila. There have been many accusations of preferential treatment of the suspect, who continues to be in the custody of the US Marines despite the fact that he is in a Filipino base.
Dozens of angry protesters have crowded outside the building demanding justice for Jennifer Laude. Some of the victim's relatives have even attempted to scale the fence in order to meet Pemberton, who continues to be kept from the public eye.
