NORFOLK, Va. — New details and charges of the days leading up to Angelina Resendiz's death and the immediate aftermath were heard for the first time publicly in a Navy Article 32 hearing for accused sailor Jermiah Copeland Thursday.
Timeline of Resendiz's death
Resendiz was last seen on May 29 and was reported missing by NCIS on May 31. But until Thursday's hearing, little detail was known publicly about the hours before and after Resendiz's death.
According to trial counsel, on the evening of May 28, Resendiz went to the barracks of Copeland, another culinary specialist sailor assigned to the USS James E. Williams.
Around 11:30 p.m., a text was sent from Resendiz's phone to a friend that said "f—k you."
A few hours later, about 2:14 a.m., Resendiz made a call to a friend and fellow sailor where she appeared to be crying and pleading for someone to come to Copeland's barracks to pick her up.
That phone call is believed to be the last time anyone heard from Angelina Resendiz.
Within a day or two after, a Navy chief came to Copeland's barracks and saw Resendiz wrapped in a blanket. He believed she was sleeping on the bed, but trial counsel believes she was already dead.
Counsel alleged Thursday they believe that Copeland then kept Resendiz's body hidden in a closet for several days before her put her in a rolling suitcase and transporting her body to Broad Creek. She was found there on June 9.
Her cause and manner of death was ruled undetermined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Norfolk.
New details about Jermiah Copeland
Copeland is facing the following charges, the sheet states: murder, sexual assault, aggravated assault, sexual misconduct, domestic violence, wrongful broadcast or distribution of an intimate visual image, obstructing justice and making a false official statement.
The murder, making a false official statement, and obstruction of justice charges are supported by evidence from the Resendiz case, the according to a charging document.
The document also details a history of Copeland's alleged sexual abuses and assault with other female sailors.
Copeland is from Washington state and enlisted in the Navy in July 2023. He was a student at the Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill., and then studied at the Naval Technical Training Center Detachment in Forg Gregg-Adams, Va. before he was assigned to the USS Harry S. Truman in 2023.
Documents show he was detached from that duty in January 2025 and assigned to the USS James E. Williams.
Copeland's charges
The assaults allegedly happened while on board the USS Harry S. Truman and the USS James E. Williams, according to the sheet.
1. On or about July 24, 2024, Copeland is accused of aggravated sexual contact toward another sailor "by using unlawful force" while on board the USS Harry S. Truman. He is also accused of strangling the sailor in this incident.
2. On the same date, Copeland was also accused of abusive sexual contact against the same sailor.
3. On or about Nov. 4, 2024, Copeland is accused of sexually assaulting another sailor while she was "incapable of consenting" due to being "impaired by an intoxicant, to wit: alcohol." He is also accused of unlawfully recording and wrongfully sharing an explicit image without consent. The next day, Copeland is alleged to have tried to hide his cell phone to "impede the due administration of justice..."
4. On April 11, 2025, Copeland is accused of strangling and pushing an intimate partner.
5. On or about May 25, 2025, three days before Resendiz went to his barracks, Copeland was accused of sexually penetrating a female sailor without her consent in Norfolk.
Copeland is also alleged to have committed premeditated murder on or about May 29; making false statements to NCIS about the whereabouts of a missing sailor (presumably Resendiz, though the name is redacted) on June 1 and again on June 3; concealing a dead body on June 2; and hiding his cell phone to impede the investigation, according to the charging documents.
In court Thursday, the defense made no objections or comments following the allegations.
What happens next
By end of day Friday, the trial counsel prosecuting the case will have to submit a document outlining how they intend to prove Resendiz's murder was premeditated.
Then, the defense counsel will need to submit a similar document in response by Sept. 23.
Resendiz's mother's response
Resendiz's mother, Esmeralda Castle, attended the hearing and spoke with News 3's Jay Greene.
"There is a pattern, and there is a practice [among] people in the military who have these issues that hurt each other and instead of taking care of it, we move it around because people don't want to get in trouble," Castle said. "They don't want to be responsible for what's happening."
Resendiz’s mother 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
The sailor accused in the death of Angelina Resendiz will face a preliminary hearing at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday at Naval Station Norfolk.
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