NORFOLK, Va. — The sailor being held in pretrial confinement in connection with Seaman Angelina Resendiz’s death is accused of murdering her with premeditation, WTKR News 3 confirmed through documents provided by a source close to the case. The documentation also confirms the accused sailor’s identity.
Seaman Jermiah Copeland is charged with premediated murder, according to a specification of charges sheet, in connection with the death of another sailor referred to as “A.R.” The sheet states that Copeland is accused of committing the murder while on active duty at or near Norfolk on or about May 29 – the date Navy officials say Resendiz was last seen.
Copeland is a culinary specialist assigned to the Norfolk-based USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) – the same role and assignment as Resendiz.
Watch related coverage: Resendiz's cause and manner of death are 'undetermined'
A "J. Copeland" also is facing charges, according to the Navy-Marine Corps Preliminary Hearing Schedule. The schedule includes an upcoming Article 32 hearing — which determines in a military case whether there is probable cause to advance the case to a court-martial — in Norfolk for a sailor with that first initial and last name.
The schedule also specifies the charges the Sailor is facing. Five other offenses J. Copeland is accused of are listed, in addition to a murder charge: sexual assault offense, other sexual misconduct, false official statement, obstruction of justice and wrongful broadcast or distribution of an intimate visual image.
Copeland has not been publicly identified by the Navy as the suspect in Resendiz’s death, but NCIS has confirmed after her body was identified that another sailor, also assigned to the USS James E. Williams, is in pretrial confinement.
Norfolk
TIMELINE: Everything we know about the death of Angelina Resendiz
Resendiz, 21 at the time of her death, was last seen at her barracks at Naval Station Norfolk the morning of May 29. Nearly two weeks later, her body was recovered in the woods behind a Norfolk elementary school. It’s unclear how she died, as the medical examiner’s office recently concluded that both her cause and manner of death are undetermined.
Resendiz’s mother, Esmeralda Castle, has been a vocal critic of the Navy’s handling of the case. She accuses Navy officials of giving her false hope that her daughter was still alive during her disappearance – including allegedly telling her that Resendiz was “sleeping in her room” while she was missing.
Castle has further accused the Navy of not only providing misinformation, but also withholding crucial information from her.
Watch related: SecNav says law, policy were followed in Resendiz's death
“It is the same. There is only silence, and it’s so loud, the silence,” she told News 3's Jay Greene last Friday.
Lawmakers have also pushed for transparency from Navy officials, specifically regarding actions taken during Resendiz's disappearance and after her body was found.
However, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan stated in a letter last week that the Navy acted in accordance with “current U.S. Law and Navy Regulations and policy” in its response to Resendiz's disappearance and death. The letter was written in response to an inquiry about the handling of her case from Texas Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who represents the district Castle lives in.
J. Copeland’s Article 32 hearing is scheduled for Sept. 18.
