The US marine charged with the murder of Philippine transgender Jennifer Laude admitted in court to choking Laude in self-defense but denied killing her.
Defense lawyer Rowena Flores said her client, Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton, told the court in Olongapo City on Monday, Aug. 24 that Laude was unconscious but still breathing when he left her in the shower of a motel. The defendant and victim met there to have sex after they met in a bar in October last year.
Pemberton told the court that when found out a man, not a woman, was giving him oral sex, he pushed Laude away. He was then slapped in return and choked the victim as an act of self-defense, he told the court.
The marine panicked when he saw Laude unconscious and left, the Associated Press reported.
Pemberton’s lawyers told reporters Laude was still alive when the marine left the hotel, Reuters reported.
“Pemberton told the court he thought Laude just lost consciousness after he strangled her, which he considered an act of self-defense,” Harry Roque, a lawyer for the victim’s family, told reporters, according to Reuters.
Laude was found dead on Oct. 11, 2014 in the hotel located in Olongapo City, near a former US naval base.
Flores said defense lawyers would present evidence raising the possibility that another individual killed Laude, according to the Associated Press.
She also said her client told the court he felt as though he had been raped, the news agency reported.
Philippine government prosecutors charged Pemberton with murder in December, saying there was “probable cause” he killed the transgender Filipina in an attack “was aggravated by treachery, abuse of superior strength and cruelty,” according to the news agency.
Pemberton’s confession on Monday was considered bittersweet by Virginia Lacsa-Suarez, among lawyers representing Laude.
“The confession itself is a sweet-bitter victory. But justice can only be truly served when the Philippines finally stands on equal footing with the US, when we finally take back our sovereignty, and when Filipinos are treated humanely with dignity and respect especially right inside our very own territory,” she said in a statement.
“We have always been certain about this – that Pemberton murdered Jennifer. The overwhelming evidence proves this. Now things are crystal clear with Pemberton’s confession,” Suarez added.
She also said Pemberton’s testimony will be assessed by the court for its final judgment and could be considered an extenuating circumstance, Philstar reported.
If found guilty, Pemberton faces 20 years to life in prison. A verdict is expected next month.
The marine is being held at a US facility at the main army base in Manila. (With reports from Philstar, Reuters and The Associated Press)
