NEED TO KNOW
- Three months after Navy sailor Angelina Resendiz, 21, was last seen, the fellow sailor accused of killing her on May 29 was charged with murder and other crimes, according to reports
- Resendiz’s body was found on June 9, 2025 — 10 miles away from the Norfolk, Va., base where she was stationed
- Resendiz’s mother is fighting for justice for her daughter
A Navy cook has been charged with premeditated murder in connection with the disappearance and death of a fellow Navy sailor who was initially thought to be absent without leave, according to reports.
Jermiah Copeland, of Oak Harbor, Wash., is facing multiple charges in connection with the death of Angelina Resendiz, per Military.com, Stars and Stripes and WAVY.
Besides murder, Copeland faces charges of sexual assault, sexual misconduct, making false statements, wrongfully broadcasting or distributing intimate photographic data and obstructing justice, according to the Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) corps, Stars and Stripes reports.
Copeland has been held since June in connection with the death of Resendiz, a 21-year-old a culinary specialist assigned to the USS James E. Williams in Norfolk, Va., a spokesperson previously confirmed to PEOPLE.
The Navy has not publicly identified Copeland as the suspect or confirmed the charges. The NCIS public affairs office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for information.
Resendiz was last seen at her barracks in Norfolk on May 29, according to Virginia State Police.
As PEOPLE previously reported, her body was found on June 9 in a wooded off-base area in Norfolk, after which an NCIS spokesperson told people a Navy sailor had been placed in pretrial confinement in connection with her death.
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According to a specification of charges sheet, in connection with the death of another sailor referred to as “A.R.,” Copeland is charged with premeditated murder while on active duty on or about May 29, when officials say Resendiz was last seen, WTKR reports.
Copeland is expected to appear in court on Sept. 18 in Norfolk for an Article 32 hearing, which “focuses on the rights of the accused” and whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed, attorney Marshall Griffin, who is representing Resendiz’s mother, told ABC News.
Resendiz’s mother, Esmerelda Castle “wants to make sure that we go full force” in prosecuting the suspect, a family spokesperson told ABC News.
The cause and manner of death were ruled “undetermined,” a spokesperson for the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office at the Virginia Department of Health confirmed to ABC News on Aug. 27.
Griffin did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. It is unclear whether Copeland has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
