A U.S. Marine has been charged with murder in the death of a transgender Filipina woman in Manila over the weekend.
Police say 19-year-old Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton met 26-year-old Jennifer Laude, a transgender woman, at a Manila nightclub late Saturday night and later took her to a hotel in nearby Olongapo City.
Laude was found strangled to death in the hotel room shortly after the two arrived, and witnesses from the nightclub believe it’s because Pemberton didn’t know Laude was transgender. Police believe this fact could have angered him to the point of murder.
Pemberton was only identified thanks to cooperation from the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigation Service with the local Olongapo police investigation. He was identified as a suspect to the public after being picked out of a photo lineup by several witnesses who were in the nightclub earlier that night, as well as being seen on surveillance footage at the hotel.
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He’s currently in U.S. custody aboard the USS Peleliu north of Manila, though the Philippine government has requested transfer of his custody. Reuters reports the U.S. doesn’t have to transfer custody of a member of the armed forces until judicial proceedings are complete.
Pemberton is based out of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where according to local NBC affiliate WITN, Filipino-Americans say Marines “should have been educated about the transgender population” and should be “briefed on the type of culture they were going to be in.”
Billy Budd
Wouldn’t it be enough to shout with her in frustratiuon, give a pat on her butt and say goodbye? Marines are trained to kill; they are killing machines and sometimes this instinct is triggered outside of the military environment.
I feel sorry for military people. Military training messes up with their heads.
Trippy
Horrible AND tragic. The sad part is that this raging moron is going to claim the “gay panic defense” in 3… 2… 1…
I wonder how many right wingers will be screaming “death penalty!!” over this one.
KwisatzHaderach
I am uncomfortable with people equating this with “gay panic.” It’s not the same. He thought he was dealing with a born female.
JerseyMike
There are some crazy F’ing people out here. As much as we as gay men like the peni not all men like or want it. Trans need stop taking this risk. Please let people know before they take you home. No one, no one deserves what this crazy man did. I really hope he gets life in prison..
KwisatzHaderach
@JerseyMike:
I think he can legitimately claim to have had some sort of psychotic break. A “sudden passion” finding I think it’s called. It would lessen the sentence.
pierre
I had a hard time which one was the trans.
Stache99
@Billy Budd: What a stupid insult to people that serve. If that was the case then this would be happening all the time around military bases. This guy is a murderer and a sociopath. End of story.
Stache99
@KwisatzHaderach: There’s nothing to equate. Gay panic was a BS term made up to appease the bigotry in juries.
KwisatzHaderach
@Stache99:
Is it bigotry to not want to have sex with someone with a penis? Let me notify my lesbian friends…
Bauhaus
@KwisatzHaderach:
A psychotic break from what, his masculinity?
This little bumble fu*k, who doesn’t know his own a**hole from hers, murders her, because she doesn’t come exactly as he expected?
Stache99
@KwisatzHaderach:Absolutely not. However, I just say it’s not gonna work out. Pretty simple really. Done it many of times.
Bauhaus
@KwisatzHaderach:
No, it’s not bigotry.
It’s murder when you kill someone, because they weren’t born with a sex organ you expected them to have, when you hook up with them.
KwisatzHaderach
@Bauhaus:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychotic_break
Didn’t come as expected? He thought she was a born female. Are we supposed to go around asking women whether or not they have penises now?
KwisatzHaderach
@Stache99:
And these people disclosed their situation to you before any sex occurred, right?
gskorich
why couldn’t the transgendered woman just tell him she had man parts? not everyone is looking for what she has to offer.
KwisatzHaderach
Let me be clear. If he went to the ladyboy red light district expressly to pick up a transgender, and then suddenly thought better of it, then we’re talking about an entirely different kettle of fish (so to speak).
Stache99
@KwisatzHaderach: Don’t I wish. It could be bad body parts or just bad attitude. How many people give you warnings of how bad things will turn out beforehand?
Stache99
@gskorich: Probably because she identifies as a women and alcohol was probably involved.
gskorich
@Stache99: lot of probably. whether or not that she identifies as a woman. fact is if she has man parts she should disclose this to her potential partners.
KwisatzHaderach
@Stache99:
Bad body parts? Bad attitude? Uh, I thing you’re talking about something entirely different…
Here’s a hypothetical: a MTF trans-lesbian (no “bottom surgery,” so still possessed of a penis) picks up a born-female lesbian at a bar and they go to a hotel to have sex, but no disclosure has been made. Trans-lesbian forces herself on cis-lesbian, and cis-lesbian fends off her attacker. Attack results in death of transgender. Is it murder or self-defense?
Trippy
@KwisatzHaderach:
You’re getting awfully close to defending this creep’s actions as justifiable homocide or self defense. No one is denying that she should have been more honest, and no one is saying that he didn’t have a right to get mad when she pulled her Crying-Game-moment-of-surprise on him. Regardless, he had NO RIGHT to kill her, and unless he can prove that she was trying to kill him then he has NO DEFENSE in court. Period.
KwisatzHaderach
@Trippy:
You’re right, there is no justification for murder. But fending off rape (in the case of my hypothetical)?
Stache99
@KwisatzHaderach: You can’t use that scenario because you used the word “forced”. It’s my guess that this Marine was much bigger and stronger then the trans so I really don’t think he had to fear anything.
Stache99
@KwisatzHaderach: Your argument would hold good if it was another man. She looks like a women though ie smaller and weaker.
KwisatzHaderach
@Stache99:
But what if he was blindfolded or restrained somehow? Are there no circumstances where the receptive party can be the perpetrator of a rape? Can women rape men?
KwisatzHaderach
@Stache99:
Do we know their vital statistics? From his face alone, I’d think he was lean, lanky type. Is there a full body shot of the transgender to corroborate this “looks like a woman”?
Stache99
@KwisatzHaderach:Ha. Now you’re speculating.
It will all come out in the trial. If you’re right then that’s not good for her. However, to me she looks much smaller. He’s going to have to prove a direct threat to him.
Stache99
I do agree with you that he’ll probably just come out with the “I was so shocked that I just lost it” defense.
aliengod
It’s a dangerous game for guys to dress as women and trick straight men into bed with them. However, killing someone because of it seems excessive.
KwisatzHaderach
@Stache99:
If the two of them were sat on the edge of the bed and she made her disclosure and THEN all of a sudden he starts choking her, then he’s fucked and deservedly so. But if the trans had him sat in a chair in a dimly lit room with his pants ’round his ankles giving him a beej with no disclosure forthcoming… all I’m saying is that’s a mitigating factor.
Trippy
@KwisatzHaderach:
With all due respect, you’re still playing the if/and/but game here. I understand you’re hypotheticals on a philosphical level, but none of that justifies murder. The initial reports don’t claim that he was defending himself from an attack, so these are just red herrings on your part.
The only question we should be discussing is what his punishment should be (death vs. life in prison). If there are any grander issues here, then perhaps we can discuss the cultural differences US military personnel often face when stationed abroad, how our soldiers should be educated about them, and the appropriate way to respond to a suddenly uncomfortable situation.
Merv
If he did it, he’s a piece of sh@t. To those saying the trans Filipina should have disclosed, I suspect that it was very obvious to anyone familiar with Filipino culture what was up. If he didn’t recognize it, it was his own damn fault. He’s a guest in the country. What a waste of a beautiful young person!
KwisatzHaderach
@Trippy:
Death or life sentence? I don’t think so. Usually those are reserved for murder with premeditation. This might be adjudged as manslaughter or third degree murder.
Trippy
@gauty: LOL. 🙂
KwisatzHaderach
@gauty:
Hahahahahaha!!!! Noooooo, I’ll just keep saying what I like, thank you very much. ^_^
KwisatzHaderach
@Trippy:
LMFAOLOLOLOLOLOL!!! Yeah, he was hilarious, wasn’t he!
Saint Law
@KwisatzHaderach: Cool. But you know it makes you look like an obtuse shitbag, don’t you?
KwisatzHaderach
@Saint Law:
Don’t like what I have to say? Ignore me or say something to counter it. Telling someone to shut up just means your argument is weak.
D_Albert
Some of these comments are insane. There is NO justification for murder in this case regardless of what the person was presenting herself as. The marine’s response was completely unreasonable and he should be held accountable for it. It’s a waste of time to try to understand his thinking at that moment. Murder is not a reasonable response to the situation, Period
spiffy
I am not familiar with Philippine’s law at all; but it’s not just the US Military court this murderer has to contend with — the Philippine government may not be lenient, at all.
tskissable337
I def agree she should have told him, cause not everyone is into exploring and maybe this could have been avoided, but are we forgetting the key term here MURDER?? Last time I checked it was wrong either way straight, gay, bi, trans, blk, white, Filipino, he could have gotten his stuff left went home.
praenomenal
SMH. I cannot believe how many people here seem to thi transwomen are seeking to trick heterosexual men into sexual relations. That. That is so. What!? Here is the thing. It’s going to come up. We know that. We disclose. I have never known a transwoman who didn’t. But even then. You don’t kill someone. Is it ok to kill a woman if she has had a mastectomy and uses falsies? I am so confused.
Ogre Magi
I bet that Marine was a bible thumper too
Billy Budd
Murder is murder and he must pay for what he did. Murder is unacceptable behavior. Period.
But I bet they had a long make out session, followed by oral sex, and only after that, he discovered her secret.
Here in Brazil, the statistics show that transvestites have a risk of death 15 times larger than that of “regular” gay guys. You can read about this (in English and in Portuguese, here: http://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/estatisticas/relatorios/ )
ShowMeGuy
America must do a better job of educating our young, sheltered, naïve, boys before we ship them off to other countries where cultures exist which are far more liberal and freedom loving when the subject is sexuality related. These soldiers need informed that they are ambassadors of the USA when they are out on the town during their “off military” time.
And when these soldiers violate the laws of the host country…the American Military should hand over the criminal and be VERY cooperative. After all, it would look bad for a nation which babysits the world and claims to be about justice, freedom, and equality would engage in dirty dealings surrounding military personnel who practice the most vial of crimes like rape, child molestation, murder, gay bashings..ect.
Billy Budd
@Stache99: No, no, it is not offensive. Military people are dehumanized during military training. Please watch the movie “Full Metal Jacket” or read the book “The Short Timers” by Gustav Hasford and you will learn a thing or two about the military mind.
E T
@KwisatzHaderach: Transphobe. Murder is wrong, you don’t get to murder people just because you don’t understand or didn’t expect something. My goodness. There’s no argument here. There’s reality, and then there is you making excuses for your bigotry. That’s the only two sided issue.
crepuscule
@gauty: Completely agree with you. KwisatzHaderach is just going on endless tangents and hypotheticals in this faux-reality he’s constructed. There’s really no point in arguing with him, because you’ll just end up in circles as he constructs more baseless context.
money718
@praenomenal: Wrong. I know plenty of trans who try to fool dudes. Myself included.
DarkZephyr
This is ultimately due to religion convincing society that being gay is wrong and icky and any semblance of homosexuality = not a man. He freaked out because she had a penis because he is a big insecure dumb a** homophobe which also makes him a transphobe.
@Ogre Magi: Well I certainly believe Christian teaching has a hand in this. Whether directly or indirectly.
IvanPH
This not a hate crime nor was there any trans panic in what happened. Many foreigners in Thailand and the Philippines are looking for transgender women. In addition, there were used condoms found in the crime scene. That is proof enough that the marine and the trans woman engaged in a sexual activity. Why would he have sex with her if he is transphobic? The death is most likely the result of an S&M sex gone wrong.
Cam
@KwisatzHaderach: said… “Is it bigotry to not want to have sex with someone with a penis? ”
______________
No, it’s bigotry to use it as an excuse for killing somebody.
Bauhaus
@IvanPH:
Does S&M include strangulation and drowning in a toilet?
praenomenal
@money718: You attemp to fool men into having sex with you?
aliengod
Guys pretending to be women to trick hetero men into having sex leads to shit like this! If you fool men into having sex with you, be prepared to suffer rejection. Capital punishment is not an appropriate sentence for rejection. Be honest!!!
inkpeninmd
@Trippy: The only question is his punishment? Yes by all means let’s just skip the trial and the presumption of innocence and give him an extrajudicial beatdown.
abnerbha
Transexuals (maimed gays/lesbians) have more problems. Transexuals often commit robberies to buy dangerous hormones & many transexuals are drug junkies who use Meth, cocaine & other drugs + the dangerous hormones. Transexuals are sometimes involved in prostitution which incl. pimping boys into prostitution & drugs. Transexuals again sometimes commit violence against others to get money. Also if a transexual commits sex abuse against a man or boy, most males are shy & won’t report this to cops until some1 reacts violently & bashes or kills the transexual. It doesn’t shock me if a transexual who is bashed or killed after he had tried to rob a man for money. Black transexuals are more likely to use crack, though transexuals of all ethnic groups are more likely to be drug junkies. Most men & boys again are shy about reporting that a transexual or gay has committed a crime such as sex abuse against them.
They should make transexuality a crime as they must abolish sex change mutilations. It would not shock me if it turns out if this dead transexual’s a drug junky & or pimped boys into prostitution. It would not surprise me if the dead transexual would rob people for money. This dead transexual was possibly as a boy a victim of gay pedophiles who pimped him & possibly repeated what he learned-pimping other boys into prostitution. People who are gay prostitutes are often involved in other things such as drugs, robbery & molesting children incl. pimping them. Jury must decide this murder case. Don’t be shocked if the dead victim was also a drug dealer, drug junky, pedophile & pimp.