OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines – A rumor is circulating here that a third party, not US Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton, might have killed Filipino transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude.
“That is unbelievably fantastic, factually infirm as it is baseless,” private prosecutor Virgie Suarez told The STAR.
She said Pemberton had admitted that he choked Laude and dragged him to the bathroom of the motel.
“As testified by Jairn Michael Rose, Pemberton admitted to have told him: I think I might have killed a she/he,” she said.
“Pemberton was admittedly drunk. Dr. Rachel Fortun, a forensic pathologist, said a drunk person’s judgment of things is affected. So, while Pemberton said he thought Jennifer was still alive when he left him, he must have been mistaken as he was drunk.”
The truth is that Laude died because of choking or too much pressure on his neck, Suarez said.
“More than that, Elias Gallomos, Celzone Lodge cashier, testified that he and Pemberton eye-locked when Pemberton left,” she said.
“Pemberton did not even tell Elias that Laude was unconscious, assuming he was telling the truth.”
The fact is Gallomos testified that no one else went in or out of the room except Pemberton.
“There is no iota of evidence that another person got into the room to support such ironically fantastic claim of defense,” she said.
The rumor is conjecture unsupported by evidence, according to Harry Roque, the other counsel for the Laude family.
Prosecution evidence included Pemberton’s admissions, his declaration to Rose and Miller, forensic evidence that he was in the room and evidence by another transgender Mark Clarence “Barbie” Caguioa Gelviro and Gallomos that he was last seen with Jennifer, he said.
“Their theory remains just that,” he said.
The prosecution and the defense have rested their cases and have presented their oral summation to Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 74 presiding judge Roline Ginez Jabalde.
The case is now submitted for resolution, Roque told reporters last Monday.