US MARINE ACCUSED OF MURDER -- Did Scott Pemberton kill Jeffrey/Jennifer Laude?

[HairOfTheDog]

Murder Suspect: Joseph "Scott" Pemberton.
He is assigned to the 2^nd Battalion, 9^th Marines, at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and is being held in the San Diego-based USS Peleliu brig. The murder occurred in the Philippines where Pemberton was participating in military drills.

Private First Class Scott Pemberton will soon be formally charged with murder, Philippine National Police Senior Superintendent Wilben Mayor said Tuesday. He was at a disco on Sunday evening with three friends from the same unit and met Laude there. Pemberton and Laude then checked into a local hotel where Laude was later found dead. The other three marines are being held as potential witnesses.

"The Marine Corps is working closely and cooperating fully with the Philippine National Police to ensure a thorough investigation is completed and due process of law is followed," Col. Brad Bartelt, spokesman with the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, said in a statement.


Murder Victim: Jeffrey/Jennifer Laude, 26.
Her naked body, which showed signs of strangulation, was found with her head in the toilet shortly after midnight Sunday, according to a police report of the incident.

The autopsy indicates Laude was asphyxiated and drowned. She reportedly financially supported her family and is described by loved ones as generous and caring.


Philippines Protest: Filipinos and LGBT activists protest US military presence and its alleged contribution to violence and prostitution in the country. Recently, the US and the Philippines signed a ten year contract for expanded military alliances and exercise drills in the Philippines.

Motive: Was it a hate crime? Laude's sister wonders if her brother/sister was killed because Pemberton discovered at the hotel that she was biologically male. Investigators are looking into that angle as a possible motive.

Refs:
http://us.cnn.com/2014/10/14/world/asia/...?hpt=ju_c1
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/oct/14/mar...filipino-/
http://rt.com/news/195864-philippines-burn-us-flag/

[SIXFOOTERsez]

Probably did it.
One of the many problems with what is called "The Gay Agenda" it may be ok for some folks, not so much for others and you can not legislate peoples personal morals.
Thats one hell of a surprise to spring on a guy just about the time the rubber meets the road. I don't blame him for being pissed, but the killing was un necessary.
Not blaming the dead, but that kind of a reaction should not be a surprise either.

[Cheyne]

I spent some time in the PI back in the '80's as a USAF airman. We had a huge military presence there, with much of the local economy catering to the sexual "needs" of our male service members. I don't remember very many he/she pros, but there were many young (youngest one I spoke with was 13 and was sold to the bar by her family) ladies available for hire for $5 for "short time" and $7.50 for "long time".

Hate crime? Maybe. The Private probably doesn't hate gays or transgendered as a concept, but being confronted with an erect penis when one believes they are getting a vagina could cause a man to lash out. I am sorry to hear that J. Laude is dead, there was no reason to go that far.

[SIXFOOTERsez]

I never made it to the PI while I was in, but that place is a military entertainment legend for the last 50 years. LBFMs was the term used for them.
I don't have a problem with the concept of the tg either, but I sure as hell never wanted to take one of them home, fortunately I was never confronted with such a thing. Got hit on by a couple of obvious gays, but it only took about 3 words or a look and that problem went away.

[Duchess]

I can see how discovering the woman you're about to bang is really a dude could move someone to violence and I think it's too much to expect that it wouldn't. I don't know the whole story and I don't know how it went down but let's be real, if Jennifer/Jeffery is presenting himself as a female only for the sex partner to discover a penis I'd have to say Jeffery/Jennifer played as big role in his/her death as the person who did the killing.

[SIXFOOTERsez]

I can see how discovering the woman you're about to bang is really a dude could move someone to violence and I think it's too much to expect that it wouldn't. I don't know the whole story and I don't know how it went down but let's be real, if Jennifer/Jeffery is presenting himself as a female only for the sex partner to discover a penis I'd have to say Jeffery/Jennifer played as big role in his/her death as the person who did the killing.

Got to basically agree, stupid, unsafe behavior.

[Duchess]

In general, I think when one is disingenuous one probably deserves the fallout.