New charges, court date set for man accused of murder in death of Navy sailor with Valley ties

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — More charges have been filed and a court date has been set in the case of the death of Angelina Resendiz, who was initially reported missing and later found dead in the Broad Creek area of Norfolk earlier this year.

Jermiah Copeland, accused of killing Resendiz, has also been charged with rape, sexual assault, making false statements, distributing so-called revenge porn and obstruction of justice in connection to her death.

Resendiz was last seen around 10 a.m. May 29 after an E-7 assigned to USS James E. Williams saw her while conducting a wellness check on another sailor assigned to the same ship.

According to a Navy memo, after no contact with Resendiz for four days, they notified her mother. The memo stated that "Navy policy requires such a notification to next-of-kin on Day 5 of a Sailor's absence."

Her body was later found in a wooded area in Norfolk on June 10. Her death was ruled undetermined by the Medical Examiner's Office.  

Copeland has a Sept. 18 court date in Norfolk. He has been held in pre-trial confinement due to the seriousness of the charges, according to attorney Marshall Griffin, who is representing Resendiz's mother, Esmeralda Castle.

Castle told our affiliates at Norfolk that she learned about his upcoming court date and charges last week.

"That's all I want to know, is what happened. And even still, this might not even be completely what happened," Castle said.

She said she is planning to attend the hearing next Thursday and is hoping to finally get more clarity about what happened to her daughter.

"What do they have? What do they know," Castle said. “I’m anxious to know what evidence they have and the narrative on both sides,” 

Several lawmakers and the Resendiz family have criticized how the Navy has handled this case. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have demanded answers from the Navy regarding Resendiz's death.

And now, more lawmakers have gotten involved.

Texas Rep. Vecente Gonzalez wrote a letter signed by several other Congressional members hoping to better understand the circumstances behind Resendiz's death.

"The Navy has a responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of the men and women who take an oath to defend our country," the letter states. "When a servicemember goes missing, their next-of-kin should be provided with relevant and accurate information as soon as possible, and an investigation should be launched immediately."

The letter asked Secretary of the Navy John Phelan to respond to several requests for information, including information on Copeland. The letter went on to ask about Resendiz's assigned duty status, and if concerns from her family about her disappearance were taken into consideration. It also asked about what protocols were triggered to preserve her body, once her remains returned to Texas.

As part of his response, Secretary John Phelan stated "the Navy mourns the loss of our shipmate. Petty Officer Resendiz's death remains under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Services."

When pressed by the congressman to answer questions about the investigation and the Navy's responsibilities to protect the servicemember's family with relevant and accurate information in a timely fashion, his response was "the Navy's actions in response to Petty Officer Resendiz's disappearance and death were in accordance with current U.S. law and Navy regulations and policy."

“It's upsetting because, you know, it's not true," Castle said. "They claimed that they followed all the procedures, but they didn't,”

Phelan also stated that the Navy began a review into Resendiz's case June 30, focusing on four topics, in particular — including the Navy's response to the initial report of Resendiz's death, the response to her disappearance and death, the transfer of her remains and the circumstances of how and why the suspect in her death was transferred to the USS James E. Williams.

When the review and investigation are complete, the Navy said it will pursue any needed policy improvements to respect the honor of servicemembers.

Castle added that she plans to continue pushing for accountability and change within the military.

“My next goal or push is to pass a bill to allow service members access to the courts," Castle said, "because I believe that that's where you're going to have your accountability, and that's where you're going to have justice," Castle said.