Conviction of US soldier in Laude case final – SC

The Supreme Court has terminated its review of the case involving US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton after he withdrew his petition seeking a reversal of his conviction on homicide for killing transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude in 2014.

In a one-page notice, the SC’s Third Division resolved that the petition filed by Pemberton “is considered closed and terminated” after he filed an urgent motion to withdraw the petition for review on certiorari that he filed in 2017.

The high court said that all the concerned parties would also be notified of this development.

“The Court grants petitioner’s urgent motion for leave to withdraw (petition for review on certiorari dated Oct. 5, 2017) dated June 2, 2020 stating that after thoughtful consideration of the circumstances of this case, he has decided to withdraw his petition, both as to criminal and civil aspects of the appeal, and accepts and recognizes that his conviction will become final and executory,” the SC ruled.

On December 1, 2015, Olongapo City Regional Trial Court Branch 74 Judge Roline Ginez-Jabalde found Pemberton guilty for killing Laude and was sentenced to face imprisonment from six to 12 years. He was also ordered to pay P50,000 as civil indemnity and P4.32 million to Laude’s family as damages for loss of earning capacity.

The accused was also ordered to pay P155,255 as reimbursement for the wake and burial of the victim, P50,000 for moral damages and P30,000 for exemplary damages. He is currently being detained at a special military facility in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Pemberton filed an appeal before the Court of Appeals, but the CA upheld the conviction handed down by the Olongapo City RTC.

The appellate court also affirmed the amounts set by the lower court for Pemberton to pay, except for the civil indemnity that it increased from P50,000 to P150,000.

“As proven by the prosecution, Pemberton did not leave Laude merely unconscious, but ensured his death by submerging his head inside the toilet bowl. Clearly, Pemberton intended the natural consequence of his wrongful act,” the CA said, in a decision penned by Associate Justice Marlene Gonzales-Sison,

“Pemberton unabashedly plunged Laude’s head in the toilet for the puerile reason that Laude pretended to be a woman. To our mind, placing Laude’s head inside a toilet shows that Pemberton never thought of Laude as a human being, but as a fecal matter due to his sexual orientation,” the appellate court added.

Court records showed that on October 11, 2014, Pemberton met Laude at the Ambyanz Disco along Magsaysay Drive in Olongapo City and they later went to Celzone Lodge. Later that night, Laude was found dead with her head submerged in the motel room’s toilet.