OLONGAPO CITY—A forensic pathologist presented by lawyers of US Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton during his murder trial on Tuesday, tried to refute the findings by government witnesses on the cause of death of transgender woman Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude.
Lawyer Virgie Suarez, one of the counsels for the Laude family, said Dr. Raquel Fortun tried to disprove the cause of death of Laude as “asphyxia by drowning” as attested by Dr. Maritess Ombao, a pathologist from the Philippine National Police, on May 4.
The prosecution presented another expert witness, Dr. Reynaldo Dave, a medico-legal officer of the PNP’s Crime Laboratory in Central Luzon, who conducted the autopsy.
In his report, Dave said Laude’s body showed bruises and wounds. He said the wounds and scratches in Laude’s head could have been caused by mauling.
“The purpose of Dr. Fortun’s testimony is to disprove the findings of Dr. Dave and Dr. Ombao and to disprove that Pemberton killed Jennifer,” Suarez told reporters during a break in the hearing at the Regional Trial Court Branch 74 here on Tuesday.
“All of these can’t be disproved on the basis of pictures, books or documents without having seen Jennifer’s body,” she said.
Suarez said the prosecution’s “most important evidence” was Laude’s body.
“[Fortun] didn’t examine the body. She made a four-page report all on the basis of pictures and written documents,” she said.
Suarez said there was no direct statement made by Fortun that it was not Pemberton who killed Laude.
Arm lock
“She (Fortun) even agreed that Jennifer died of asphyxia but only due to too much pressure on the neck. This has been proven by the fact that Pemberton himself admitted to [holding Laude in] an arm lock,” Suarez said.
During his testimony on Monday, Pemberton said he pushed Laude when he discovered that she was not a woman. He said he felt deceived and tried to defend himself when Laude slapped him.
He said he held Laude in an arm lock and later dragged her to the bathroom, hoping to revive her.
Suarez said Fortun contested the earlier findings that Laude died of asphyxia caused by drowning on the night of Oct. 11 last year. “The issue being argued now is whether the cause of death was asphyxia by drowning or strangulation or simply asphyxia,” she said.
Fortun also tried to refute that Pemberton intended to drown Laude, arguing that the position of the body in the toilet showed no such intent, Suarez said.
City Chief Prosecutor Emilie Fe de los Santos said Fortun’s findings were “fair enough,” adding that her testimony “strengthened” some of the prosecution’s forensic evidence.
“Fortun’s findings did not contradict those of our witness experts. Her findings were based on theories and she didn’t have an actual [examination of Laude’s body],” De los Santos said.
“It is important to note that Fortun said the strangulation that Pemberton did would render anyone weak. It’s very dangerous to the point that it could kill,” De los Santos said.
She said the judge should look at the issue on strangulation and drowning as a “continuous process.”
“It started from strangulation and ended in the bathroom or toilet,” she said.