Philippines probes transgender death after US 'war games'

Philippine authorities are investigating the possible involvement of a US Marine in the killing of a local transgender person after the two nations held joint military exercises, Filipino authorities said Monday.

The US embassy in Manila confirmed an American Marine was "identified as a possible suspect" in Sunday's killing at a hotel in the northern port city of Olongapo.

"The United States will continue to fully cooperate with Philippine law enforcement authorities in every aspect of the investigation," a US embassy statement said without giving further details.

The body of Jeffrey Laude was found by hotel staff late Sunday, less than an hour after the victim checked into a room with an unidentified blonde male suspect.

The "foreigner" with Laude had close-cropped hair, was of medium build, and "casually" walked out of the hotel later without settling his bill, prompting hotel staff to check the room, police investigator Mary Ann Sadaba told AFP.

They found Laude, who was dressed as a woman, lifeless on the bathroom floor with marks on the neck, she added.

The injuries suggest the victim was strangled but further investigation is required, Sadaba said.

"The foreigner is a suspect because he was the last person seen with the victim," she said.

US Pacific Command chief Admiral Samuel Locklear assured Manila that US warships that took part in the exercises would remain in the Philippines "until there is clarity to the situation", Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told reporters.

"It's tragic but we will work together in terms of being able to deliver what?s just," the Filipino official told reporters.

The suspect in the hotel killing was part of the 3,500-member US contingent to amphibious drills with Filipino counterparts that ended Friday, Filipino military spokesman Major General Domingo Tutaan said without naming him.

The exercises were held in several areas of the Philippines, including training sites near Olongapo from September 29-October 10.

The Americans' departure was delayed by a powerful typhoon, Tutaan added.

In 2006, a Philippine court sentenced US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith to 40 years in jail for raping a Filipina a year earlier.

Smith walked free in 2009 after his accuser recanted her statement, prompting the court to acquit him.

In March, the Philippines and the US signed a new accord that would allow American troops greater access to Philippine facilities in support of US President Barack Obama's so-called pivot to Asia.

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