Four witnesses gave statements to Philippine prosecutors in a case where a US Marine is a suspect in the murder of a Philippine transgender, the US embassy in the Philippines said yesterday.
“Last week, [Manila] City Prosecutors met with four witnesses and swore them to their statements in accordance with Philippine law,” the embassy said.
In a statement, the embassy cited this as another sign of its continued cooperation in the controversial murder case.
“The witnesses will be made available for the trial,” it added.
The statement did not say who the witnesses were, but Philippine authorities have previously said they wanted to question four US Marines who are believed to have witnessed the murder.
Another Marine is being investigated over the death of Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, described by local police as a transgender sex worker.
Police and the prosecutor identified the suspect as US Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, attached to a North Carolina-based unit that had taken part in joint military exercises in the Southeast Asian country.
Prosecutors in the city of Olongapo, where Laude was found dead on Oct. 12, had originally wanted the suspect and four witnesses to give depositions at a formal hearing tomorrow.
The embassy said the four witnesses would no longer have to appear in court as their statements had already been obtained. However, it stressed that “whether the suspect will appear on Tuesday is a decision that he will make in consultation with his Philippine legal counsel, in accordance with Philippine law.”
The killing has grabbed national headlines and become an issue in the defense ties between Manila and Washington.
Police said they found Laude half-naked in the bathroom of a hotel room Laude reportedly checked in to with Pemberton. Laude’s body was found bearing more than a dozen bruises, cuts and bite marks, and police stated the cause of death as “asphyxia by drowning.”
Under the bilateral Visiting Forces Agreement, the suspect will be charged in a local court, but custody will remain with the US unless Washington waives it. Philippine diplomats have said they will ask for custody once an arrest warrant is issued, but it was not clear if the US will grant this.
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