MANILA, Philippines — United States Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton from New Bedford, Massachusetts is a 19-year-old anti-tank missileman attached to 2nd Battalion 9th Marines of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
His participation in the joint training exercises in the Philippines last week was among his first stints outside American soil, after having left boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina last year, based on information from his Facebook profile.
The onset of what could be a promising career in the US military was put to a halt since last weekend when he was held aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu docked at Subic Bay Free Port as a possible suspect in the killing of Jeffrey "Jennifer" Laude in Olongapo City.
Laude, a 26-year-old transgender "woman", was found naked and dead on Saturday, with his head on a toilet bowl inside a motel room. Police suspect that the victim died after being strangled and drowned.
Police Chief Inspector Gil Domingo said Pemberton was the last person seen with the victim late Saturday, when they checked into a motel after meeting in a bar in Olongapo City.
The US Naval Criminal Investigative Services entered the investigation led by the Philippine National Police while the news of a then unnamed Marine detained in the Philippines quickly spread, eventually reaching Pemberton's family back in his hometown.
His mother, Lisa, spoke to the The Standard-Times on Wednesday and said neither her son nor the Marine Corps has informed her of the matter.
"His family loves him very much and nothing is going to change that," Lisa Pemberton said, as quoted by the South Coast Today.
Scott Pemberton, a former professional boxer and uncle of the suspect, meanwhile, said he believes the case involving his nephew is likely not that simple.
"I know the kid very well. He's really a good kid. I personally feel there is more to the story," he said in the same news report.
Leftist groups and the gay community in the Philippines, meanwhile, stormed the US Embassy in Manila and demanded that Pemberton be turned over to the custody of Philippine authorities.
They denounced what they branded as a "hate crime" against Laude and called for a renegotiation of the Visiting Forces Agreement that allows American servicemen tagged for unlawful behavior to remain under US custody.
Philippine police and Laude's family, represented by human rights lawyer Harry Roque, filed a murder complaint Wednesday against Pemberton.
The emotional case is expected to test the country's military ties with the US which were recently reaffirmed after the signing of a new accord in April that allows greater US military access to Philippine camps.
"This is another test case of how strong and important this alliance is," political analyst Renato de Castro said. - with reports from Jim Gomez, Associated Press