Used condoms don't bear Pemberton's DNA but Laude's counsel unfazed

From InterAksyon (Nov 28): Used condoms don't bear Pemberton's DNA but Laude's counsel unfazed

Two condoms recovered from the room where Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude and US soldier Pfc Joseph Scott Pemberton checked in before Laude was found dead did not yield genetic material that matched the DNA of the Marine.

The non-match in the DNA tests shows simply that Pemberton apparently did not use the condoms that were collected during the investigation, but it does not conclusively affect the prosecution's case that Laude was murdered, and that Pemberton is the main suspect, a lawyer for the Laudes said Friday.

The Chief Prosecutor, meanwhile, Atty. Emilie Fe De Los Santos, acknowledged, among others, that there was no fingerprint that matched and that the DNA test result showed a negative match.

But the prosecution team is unfazed, saying the DNA test result does not hold the key to everything, or even that the case is weak.

"We have plenty of other options," said De los Santos. "Whether the test is positive or negative, it depends on how we will use the evidence to serve our purpose. We can even dispense with the DNA result. We have eyewitnesses."

According to Atty. Suarez, lawyer of the Laudes, their immediate concern now is to get as soon as possible the results of the other pieces of evidence obtained from the crime scene - Room No. 1 at the Celzone Lodge in Olongapo City - such as fingerprints "and other specimens."

The Laude camp remain confident that there is a strong case against Pemberton.

Atty. Suarez, said: "I trust the chief prosecutor."

Laude, whose death has sparked calls in the Senate and among militant groups to revisit the VFA, was found inside the lodge, her neck resting on the side of a toilet bowl, less than an hour after she and Pemberton checked into Celzone, where they went after meeting for the first time inside the Ambyanz bar nearby.
One of the initial theories advanced about the killing was that Pemberton, 19, from South Carolina, had gone ballistic on discovering Laude is a transgender, and physically attacked her.

The decision that will come after the preliminary investigation on whether there is probably cause to indict Pemberton for the crime of murder is expected to come out by December 15.

The prosecution panel anticipates that Pemberton could be arraigned before Christmas, assuming probable cause is established.
GANDA (Gender and Development Advocates) Filipinas executive director Naomi Fontanos, in a text message to InterAksyon.com, said: "It doesn't rule out sexual activity between Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton and Jennifer Laude. We still want to see the complete NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) report that hasn't been shared by the legal team," she added.

With other women's groups, GANDA Filipinas has been holding rallies to call on the government to bring Laude's killer to justice.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/100133/used-condoms-dont-bear-pembertons-dna-but-laudes-counsel-unfazed