In the Philippines: A U.S. Marine was charged with the Murder of a Transgender Woman

Sad news, folks.

A trans woman named Jennifer Laude was killed by 19-year-old Marine, Pfc. Scott Pemberton in the Philippines. Scott is being held in a Philippine camp, under American custody.

Buzzfeed reports:

“The United States will continue to fully cooperate with Philippine law enforcement authorities in every aspect of the investigation,” the U.S. Embassy said in statement.
According to local media reports, Laude checked into the Celzone Lodge with a “male, white foreigner” on Saturday night. Eyewitnesses described the man as having “white complexion, with marine-style cut of hair,” standing between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-10 and between 25 and 30 years old, Inquirer.net reported.

Minutes after he entered the room with Laude, the man was seen leaving the hotel alone. A hotel attendant discovered Laude’s body slumped in the toilet of the room later that night, according to police. Police said Laude showed signs of strangulation.
The victim’s friend told police that Laude met the suspect at a bar and accompanied them to the hotel. However, Laude asked the friend to leave before the suspect could discover they were transgender, according to Inquirer.net.

You can check out more info on Inquirer.net, however they are not up on the Trans language. My heart goes out to Jennifer’s family and friends.