--- description: Prosecutors have charged a U.S. Marine with the murder of 26-year-old transgender woman Jennifer Laude, whose body was found in October. title: U.S. Marine Charged in Philippines Over Transgender Murder image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd21a190cd8572e51/69876ea0e20a872f23a83fe5/philippines-us-killin_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.S. Marine Charged With Murder in Northwest Philippines by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 15, 2014 9:57 AM CUT  Protesters make cross signs as they shout slogans during a rally outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines, Nov. 24, 2014 to demand justice for the Oct. 11 killing of Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude at the former US naval base of Subic. Protesters make cross signs as they shout slogans during a rally outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines, Nov. 24, 2014 to demand justice for the Oct. 11 killing of Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude at the former US naval base of Subic.Bullit Marquez—AP by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 15, 2014 9:57 AM CUT Prosecutors in the Philippines have [charged](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/10d428e6cf2c4114b5854b3ae2eeb2c7/us-marine-charged-murder-filipino-transgender "undefined") a U.S. Marine with the murder of a woman, whose body was found in October. Nineteen-year-old Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton has been refused bail, the Associated Press reports. Government prosecuters filed the charge before a regional court on Monday, saying they found “probable cause” that Pemberton killed 26-year-old transgender woman Jennifer Laude. Laude, a Philippine national, was found strangled and drowned on Oct. 11 in a motel bathroom in the northwestern city of Olongapo. The killing “was aggravated by treachery, abuse of superior strength and cruelty,” prosecutor Emily de los Santos told local reporters. Pemberton has not made a public appearance but, according to de los Santons, he will have to attend a future court arraignment. \[[AP\]](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/10d428e6cf2c4114b5854b3ae2eeb2c7/us-marine-charged-murder-filipino-transgender "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3633264/us-marine-filipina-transgender-murder-jennifer-laude/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3633264/us-marine-filipina-transgender-murder-jennifer-laude/"},"headline":"U.S. Marine Charged With Murder in Northwest Philippines","datePublished":"2014-12-15T09:57:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:50:54.685Z","description":"Suspect has yet to make appearance in court","url":"https://time.com/3633264/us-marine-filipina-transgender-murder-jennifer-laude/","keywords":["Murder","Philippines"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd21a190cd8572e51/69876ea0e20a872f23a83fe5/philippines-us-killin_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd21a190cd8572e51/69876ea0e20a872f23a83fe5/philippines-us-killin_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Philippines US Killing","caption":"Philippines US Killing","creditText":"Bullit Marquez—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3633264/us-marine-filipina-transgender-murder-jennifer-laude/","name":"U.S. Marine Charged With Murder in Northwest Philippines"}}]}] ```