Prosecutors push murder case vs Pemberton

MANILA, Philippines — A government prosecutor on Monday announced that US Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton has been charged with murder for the alleged killing of a Filipino transgender.

In a resolution issued on Monday, Olongapo City Prosecutor Emily de los Santos said there is "probable cause" in the murder case filed against Pemberton in connection with the killing of Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude.

Laude's lifeless body was found inside a motel room in Olongapo City last October. The victim, whose last seen companion was Pemberton, had apparently been drowned in a toilet bowl.

De los Santos said that the qualifying circumstances were treachery, abuse of superior strength and cruelty that called for a murder case, instead of a homicide charge.

"As a prosecutor, going through the evidence, we believe we have a strong case [against Pemberton]," De los Santos said in a television interview.

The case has been raffled to the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court Branch 74.

The emotional case reignited a debate over custody of American military personnel accused of crimes under the Philippines-US Visiting Forces Agreement.

Lawyer Harry Roque, lead counsel of the Laude family, considered the indictment a victory for the victim's cause.

The looming irritant between the treaty allies over Pemberton's custody eased down after Washington agreed to move him from a US warship to the Armed Forces of the Philippines camp, where he remained under American custody with an outer ring of Filipino guards. - with Associated Press