‘Condoms to be examined’

IN THIS photo taken Dec. 19, 2014, and released by the Philippine National Police Olongapo City, US Marine Pfc Joseph Scott Pemberton holds a nameplate while his mug shots are taken by police in Olongapo City. AP

OLONGAPO CITY— The lawyers of US Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton on Tuesday told the court hearing his murder trial they would be seeking an independent forensic examination of the condoms recovered from the motel room where transgender woman Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude was found dead last year.

A prosecution witness testified on Monday that one of the condoms bore the fingerprints of Pemberton, who is accused of Laude’s murder.

Lawyer Harry Roque Jr., lead counsel for the Laude family, told reporters yesterday that Pemberton’s lawyers intended to challenge the testimony of Jessica LeCroy, a latent print expert from the US Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory, who testified that one of three condoms recovered from the crime scene had Pemberton’s fingerprints.

US Naval Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent Philip Boyd took the witness stand on Tuesday, telling the court he took the sworn statement of another witness, Elias Gallamos, Roque said.

Gallamos, a bellboy at Celzone Lodge here where Laude was killed, identified Pemberton as the foreigner he saw with Laude on the night of Oct. 11. Allan Macatuno, Inquirer Central Luzon