Bellboy tags Pemberton as Laude’s companion
Video by Associated Press
OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines–—US Marine Pfc Joseph Scott Pemberton was identified on Monday by a bellboy as the Caucasian who checked into a city motel on Oct. 11 last year with transgender woman Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, who was later found dead in the motel room’s toilet.
During the first day of Pemberton’s trial, Elias Gallamos, a bellboy of Celzone Lounge, pointed to Pemberton as the man he saw with Laude on the night of Oct. 11. The soldier and Laude supposedly met earlier at the nearby Ambyanz Disco.
Gallamos was the first witness presented by the prosecution, led by City Prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos. He was cross-examined by Pemberton’s lawyers but details were not made available to journalists, who were barred from attending the trial.
Pemberton arrived for the hearing at noon, and left the court at 5 p.m.
Hours before the 1 p.m. trial began, the Laude family members went to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Manila to deliver a letter urging that their private lawyers be allowed “full participation” in the trial.
Replacement
US Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton, third left, the suspect in the Oct. 11, 2014, killing of Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude, is escorted into the courtroom for his scheduled trial Monday, March 23, 2015, at Olongapo City. AP PHOTO/JUN DUMAGUING
Accompanied by lead counsel Harry Roque, the family also asked the DOJ to replace De los Santos, who excluded the private lawyers when her team prepared for the trial.
The Laudes said they wanted a new public prosecutor “who will not bar or refuse the help of private counsels.”
De los Santos, who led the prosecution panel when it presented its case Monday, said that without a directive from the department, she would take charge of the case.
Only Michelle, Laude’s sister, was present during the trial. Her mother, Julita, and sister Marilou stayed in Manila with Roque.
No plea bargain
In their letter, Julita and Marilou Laude said:
“The trial is just beginning but we are worried. We will be pacified only if we see our lawyer and the public prosecutor on good terms and cooperating in defending our interest to achieve true justice. We do not have any other desire except true justice for Jennifer and this will happen only if there is a new prosecutor who will respect our rights through the lawyer that we chose.”
In an interview with mediamen, the two denied reports of a plea bargain with Pemberton and claimed reports about it came from the public prosecutor.
Roque said he and other counsels recently went to Olongapo to attend a case conference but said they were “driven away.”
“It’s necessary that the public prosecutor be replaced. She did not even want to cooperate without our lawyers,” Marilou said.
‘With the other side’
“It’s as if she (De los Santos) is with the other side. Why is she insisting that the murder case be downgraded to homicide? Is that just easy?” Julita asked.
Julita and Marilou also claimed De los Santos was behind the alleged plea bargain with Pemberton.
“That’s what she wants to happen,” Julita said when asked if it was De los Santos who wanted Pemberton to undertake a plea bargain.
“What we are fighting for is [prosecution for] murder. What they did to [Jennifer], it was brutal and then they will just offer us money. Just because we are poor it doesn’t mean we are easy to satisfy. If it’s all about money, what will happen if there will be many other Jennifers who will be treated the same way?” Julita said.
“[Jennifer] was brutally murdered. It can’t be [just homicide]. Even if they give us a million dollars, that would not be enough because she was taken away from us. They took away a big thing from me, it can’t be returned—the love, the care of my child, they won’t be able to repay it,” she added, while sobbing.
US compensation
Asked if there was an amount being offered as a compensation, Marilou said, “There was no talk about it. There was no offer to us. The settlement [of the case] they are talking about, there’s no such a thing.”
Marilou also showed a purported letter from the US Marine Corps staff judge advocate dated Feb. 27, 2015, which instructed the Laudes that they may get compensation for any injury, loss or damage they suffered by filling up a form in accordance with the US law.
“The US Foreign Claims Act allows you to present a claim to the US government for the death of your child. If you choose to submit a claim, it must be presented in writing within two years of the death of your child. Any claim must: 1) state the time, date and place, and nature of the incident; 2) state the nature and extent of any injury, loss or damage; and 3) request compensation in a definite amount, in the local currency,” stated the unsigned letter.
When asked, however, if they were completely ruling out the plea bargain offer, Marilou and Julita said they would heed the advice of their lawyer.
Roque, for his part, said it seemed De los Santos was “more interested” in the plea bargain rather than the family.
Reacting to the alleged offer, he said, “We do not understand why and what are the reasons the Laude family would accept this.”
He added that De los Santos spoke with Julita four or five times just to confirm if she was not accepting the offer for plea bargain.
According to Julita, the prosecutor was worried that the foreign witnesses—Pemberton’s fellow servicemen—might not show up to testify or would not boost the prosecution’s murder angle.
Roque said if De los Santos was really intent in allowing a plea bargain, she should turn over the case to other public prosecutors who think they can secure a murder conviction.
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