Olongapo City – A thirty-three page comment has been submitted to the Department of Justice (DOJ) by the family of slain transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, calling on the department to throw out the petition for review filed by the camp of US Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton; Laude’s alleged murderer
The family stated in the comment that there was no basis for the petition filed by Pemberton’s legal camp, and that the counsel of the accused was only seeking the dismissal of murder charges filed against the suspect.
“Contrary to the allegations of respondents, the presentation of all pieces of evidence in this case was made in accordance with rules governing preliminary investigation. Sufficient credible pieces of evidence clearly established that a crime of murder has been committed and that (Pemberton) is probably guilty thereof and should be held for trial,” the comment stated.
Via the comment, Laude’s family appealed to DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima to uphold the resolution filed by the Olongapo City Prosecutors’ Office against Pemberton, who was charged with murder before Branch 74 of the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) in December 2014.
The court had earlier granted Pemberton’s side a 60-day suspension of the hearings top allow the DOJ time to review the US serviceman’s petition, which claimed that he was deprived of due process, and that there was no sufficient evidence against him.
Laude’s family, however, is adamant that the prosecution panel, led by City Prosecutor Emilie Fe Delos Santos, was accurate in their findings that there is probable cause that Pemberton committed the murder.