The Philippine government filed murder charges against Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton this week. Pemberton is accused of having killed Jennifer Laude, a trans woman also known as Jeffrey, who was found on a hotel room's toilet with a broken neck.

"It's murder," prosecutor Emily de los Santos told reporters in Olongapo City, north of Manila. "It was aggravated by treachery, abuse of superior strength and cruelty."

Because the Philippines does not utilize a jury system, a judge will decide the case against Pemberton, who faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

According to the New York Times, Pemberton was in the Philippines for U.S. military exercises this past October. He reportedly met Laude at a nightclub and the two returned to the hotel room where she was later found dead. Corroborated with closed-circuit TV, Pemberton was the last person to see Laude alive.

The Guardian reports that Pemberton's lawyers have requested a downgraded charge of homicide and its 20-year prison sentence. Following public outcry, the U.S. agreed to have Pemberton transferred from an American warship to a Philippine military camp, though he remains in American custody. (A 1998 accord allows for American soldiers in the country to be tried in Philippine court.)

The possible prosecution of Pemberton threatens to strain a concerted effort between the United States and the Philippines to fortify their military relationship—the countries agreed in April of this year to allow the U.S. to expand its presence there.

[Image via AP]