US marine goes on trial over hotel death of his Filipino transgender date

A US Marine charged with the killing of a transgender Filipino after allegedly discovering her gender when they checked into a hotel went on trial in a Philippine court.

US security escorts brought Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, wearing handcuffs, into a heavily secured courtroom in Olongapo city, northwest of Manila, for the trial yesterday.

This was after an earlier plea-bargain negotiation with the family of the victim, Jennifer Laude, reportedly collapsed, lawyers for Laude’s family said.

Pemberton is charged with murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. The court registered a "not guilty" plea for him last month after he refused to enter a plea.

Government prosecutors expressed confidence they could win a conviction.

“We will prove the elements of murder,” state prosecutor Emilie de los Santos told reporters, referring to what she has described as “treachery, abuse of superior strength and cruelty” in the attack on the victim, who was formerly known as Jeffrey Laude.

Pemberton, an anti-tank missile operator from New Bedford, Massachusetts, is accused of strangling Laude and then drowning her in a hotel toilet last October after discovering she was a transgender woman.