A Navy cook has been charged with murder, rape and other violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in a case involving a sailor who was found dead in June in Norfolk, Virginia.
Culinary Specialist Jeremiah Copeland, formerly of Oak Harbor, Washington, has been in custody since Seaman Angelina Resendiz, 21, was discovered deceased in a wooded area roughly 10 miles from Naval Station Norfolk.
Resendiz, also a culinary specialist, was assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams. She was last seen on May 29; her body was found June 9.
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According to the Navy’s preliminary hearing documents, Copeland faces charges involving at least six criminal acts, including murder; rape or sexual assault; sexual misconduct; wrongfully broadcasting or distributing intimate photographic data; making false official statements; and obstructing justice.
Washington state court records show that Copeland faced charges in 2022 as a juvenile before he joined the Navy. The Whidbey News-Times reported that Copeland was investigated by the Island County Sheriff’s Office for a misdemeanor of “disclosing intimate images.”
He allegedly had consensual sex with a girl who wasn’t aware that Copeland was recording them. Copeland entered into a diversion agreement that ended after he completed community service and paid his fee. He did not complete a required 10 hours of mental health counseling and could have been charged as an adult once he turned 18, but prosecutors decided against it, according to the paper.
Copeland will face an Article 32 hearing -- a preliminary hearing similar to a grand jury proceeding for civilians – on Sept. 18.
According to media accounts and a letter sent to the Navy by Virginia’s two senators, Democrats Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, friends and family filed a missing person's report on Resendiz on May 31 after they could not reach her and she did not show up for work.
Virginia State Police issued a Critically Missing Alert at the request of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service on June 3.
Esmeralda Castle, Resendiz's mother, flew to Norfolk during the period and sought meetings with the ship’s command, but said June 7 that the Navy had not been forthcoming with details regarding the case.
A spokesman for the office of the Virginia Medical Examiner said Wednesday that both the cause of Resendiz’s death and manner of her death were “undetermined.”
Copeland was taken into custody shortly after Resendiz’s remains were found and remained in pretrial confinement in connection with the investigation "at [Naval Surface Force Atlantic’s] discretion," according to a statement provided by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
The Navy's Office of Special Trial Counsel is handling the case. Navy public affairs officials said they had nothing to add other than what was published on the service’s Judge Advocate General Corps website.
Resendiz joined the Navy in August 2023 and reported to the James E. Williams in February 2024. She made the rank of seaman in February 2025.
