Alleged US Marine Killer Did Not Know she was Transgender when He Met Her
A transgender Filipina confirmed that the U.S. Marine accused of killing her friend did not know they were transgender when the women met him at a bar.
Barbie Gelviro, a primary witness in the murder case, reportedly detailed what happened leading up to Jennifer Laude's death before the Philippine Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Wednesday.
Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton, 19, "thought we were real women," Gelviro said, according to Time.
Pemberton, of New Bedford, Mass., allegedly killed Laude, 26, in a room at the Celzone Lodge in Olongapo City on Oct. 11.
JENNIFER LAUDE VIA FACEBOOKTransgender activists are outraged over the death of Jennifer Laude.
FACEBOOKPfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton has been charged with murder in the death of a transgender woman.
Gelviro, who picked Pemberton out in a photo lineup, said that she and Laude were drinking iced tea at the Ambyanz Disco Bar when the Marine arrived at the bar with a group of friends.
She said Pemberton was already drunk when he entered the bar but was friendly throughout their conversation, reported InterAksyon.
Laude and Pemberton decided to go to the Celzone Lodge together about 10 p.m., she said.
NOEL CELIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGESGerman Marc Susselbeck, fiancé of a murdered Filipina, climbs a gate outside the facility where the murder suspect is detained.
BULLIT MARQUEZ/APActivists place candles around a mock coffin at a rally outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila on Friday.
Gelviro said she accompanied Laude back to the room for a brief period before joining another Filipino hotel guest in his room, according to the local news site.
About a half hour later, the hotel's cashier told her that Laude was found unconscious, she said.
Pemberton is currently being held at the Philippine military's main camp in Manila. He is being guarded by American troops who are surrounded by Filipino forces.
The seemingly superfluous security reflects the sometimes uneasy relationship between locals and foreign troops.
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