Unfolding investigation of Seaman Angelina Resendiz's death
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — 10 On Your Side is learning more about the next steps in the unfolding case of Seaman Angelina Resendiz's death.
NCIS: Body confirmed as missing Norfolk Naval Station sailor; Navy sailor in confinement
A fellow sailor is in pretrial confinement in connection with her death. The sailor's name has not been officially released, but he is likely confined at the Naval Consolidated Brig in Chesapeake, where individuals in pre-trial confinements are housed.
'He is believed to be there if he is in pretrial confinement in this area. That is exactly where he is,' said Attorney Robert Canoy.
Active-duty military attorneys are called Judge Advocates or JAG Officers for short, and that is the type of work that Attorney Robert Canoy did for 11 years before becoming a private attorney with McCormack & McCormack.
Within two days, a probable cause hearing is expected.
There is an Initial Review Officer's Hearing within seven days to determine if he gets released or held in confinement.
'Essentially, at that point, the prosecution has to demonstrate to that officer that there's evidence supporting the charges, probable cause, or what could be charges and that he is either a flight risk or a danger to commit additional misconduct in order to hold him there,' said Canoy.
Secondly, there is an Article 32 Preliminary Hearing,
'Similar to what we do in civilian court, that has to happen first. That would kind of be his first major public hearing,' Canoy said.
Then, general court-martial, arraignment, and trial happens afterwards.
'In terms of the system, like the biggest differences between civilian and military court hearings, you do not have to have a unanimous verdict in the military. Three quarters is good enough, so those are kind of some of the basic differences,' Canoy said.
Bonds are handled differently as well.
'So, there are no cash bonds or money to get out. It's just whether they believe there's grounds to hold him or not. There is no such thing as bonds in the military in terms of an unsecured or secured bond. Like you pay money, and you come out. It's either they believe that there's sufficient evidence, that he's a flight risk, or a danger to commit additional misconduct or not, and that those things don't have to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, but a lower standard of evidence,' Canoy said. 'If those things exist, they will hold him there pending trial, and if they do not, then they would have to release him. That decision then becomes reviewable by a military judge down the road. An actual judge.'
The mother of Esmerelda Castle has issues with how the investigation was handled.
'She has an issue with the communication of identification. She has an issue that she received word three to four hours early prior to being notified by NCIS,' said family spokesperson Michael Muhammad.
Muhammad told 10 On Your Side the most troubling issue was the delay in the issuance of the Ashanti alert.
'Six days later, they issued a critically missing adult on the Ashanti alert. The unfortunate reality is critical time had passed,' said Muhammad.
The mother of Esmerelda Castle is also attempting to figure out the suspect's relationship to her daughter.
'Mom is talking to friends. She's talking to coworkers and people who have known him and have known her daughter to try and understand what this connection was and what this relationship was,' said Muhammad.
Attorney Robert Canoy said the suspect's name will be unveiled no later than Monday.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
New information on Norfolk sailor's death, name of suspect revealed
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — The sailor in pre-trial confinement in connection to the death of Seaman Angelina Resendiz's death has been identified by the attorney for Resendiz's mother. There was an initial review officer's hearing at the Naval Consolidated Brig in Chesapeake, where Resendiz's mother, Esmeralda Castle, spoke. Attorney Marshall Griffin, representing Castle, was not at the hearing, but 10 On Your Side spoke to him exclusively, and he confirmed the name of the accused sailor as Jermiah Copeland, who he said will stay in pre-trial confinement due to the seriousness of the charges. NCIS: Body confirmed as missing Norfolk Naval Station sailor; Navy sailor in confinement 'The Navy confirmed that Jeremiah Copeland is the person being detained or confined, on suspicion in this case,' Griffin told 10 On Your Side. Griffin pointed out what needs to happen as the case moves forward. 'The government just has to show that a crime occurred and that there's some evidence that the accused committed the offense,' Griffin said. 'So the process at this stage is kind of built with the understanding that the government is not going to have what I would call a final charge sheet yet.' The initial review officer's hearing determines whether there is continued pre-trial confinement in the case. 'It is distinguishable from, like, bond hearing, because there's no amount of money,' Griffin said. 'It's not about money. The independent reviewing officer is considering criteria to determine whether the individual is a flight risk, or they're likely to engage in other misconduct, and consider the government's evidence whether a crime actually occurred.' Griffin said the specific charges against the sailor are not yet known, and that is still to be determined from the on-going investigation, and the evidence. 'They're probably going to look at cell phone records,' Griffin said. 'They're going to look at anything they have to try to learn more about the relationship, the involvement of other people, to the extent they have any evidence of that.' Castle read a statement by telephone during Monday's hearing, saying 'the person responsible for this horrific loss made deliberate choices that ended Angie's life. Their actions were not a mistake. They were a betrayal of trust, of duty, and of basic human decency.' Said Griffin: 'Obviously, the family is very concerned about the way it was handled, the circumstances that this person, may have been brought into proximity to the victim.' What happens next? 'So, once someone goes into pretrial confinement, the government has 120 days to arraign them,' Griffin said. 'Within those 120 days, they need to hold an Article 32 hearing if they're going to take him to a general court martial, which is the most serious.' Griffin said explanations for any slow response by the Navy to the missing sailor were because it thought it was case of Resendiz leaving voluntarily. 'From what I understand, the Navy's initial reaction was that it was an AWOL case that she had left voluntarily,' Griffin said, 'and that reaction appears to have maybe slowed things somewhat.' Griffin says the family is focused on justice and accountability for anybody involved, 'How did this happen? Were the notification procedures that were in place, were they followed? Did the people who were in place report this, detectives, did they do their jobs? We want to know the person who's responsible for actually hurting her,' Griffin said, '… and any people who were assisting.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
Virginia Beach police resolve armed barricade situation on Paxford Drive
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A barricade situation involving an armed individual in Virginia Beach was resolved on Friday evening. Police said they were called out to the 300 block of Paxford Drive at approximately 6:15 p.m. Shortly after 8:30 p.m., police followed up and shared the incident was no longer considered an active barricade. There was not a threat to the community during the incident. There are no additional details at this time. Continue to check for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNN
14-06-2025
- CNN
Missing Navy sailor found dead in Virginia, another sailor in custody
What happened to Angelia Resendiz is a mystery, but her mother wants to get to the bottom of it. Resendiz was last seen on May 29 in her barracks in Miller Hall at Naval Station Norfolk, according to a missing person's alert issued by Virginia State Police on June 3. The alert was rescinded Tuesday, when the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) announced the medical examiner identified a body recovered Monday as the sailor. Another sailor was taken into custody. Esmeralda Castle says she wants to talk with the person believed to be involved in the death of her 21-year-old daughter. She doesn't want to know how her daughter died and was left in a wooded area miles from her naval base - she says she wants to find closure. 'This can't happen again,' Castle said. Her daughter dreamed about one day cooking elaborate meals for presidents and world leaders in her role as a Navy cook, Castle said. Virginia's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner told CNN 'the cause and manner of death is pending,' but would not elaborate further. NCIS placed a sailor in custody pending formal charges, but has not identified the individual. 'A Navy Sailor has been placed in pretrial confinement in connection with the death of Seaman Resendiz. Charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice are pending,' NCIS told CNN in a statement Thursday. Castle said her daughter's friends started calling her on May 29 to tell her Resendiz was last seen with a sailor in the barracks. It was out of the ordinary for her 'fun-loving' daughter not to call, she said, or to miss a day on Snapchat with her sister—they had a 400-day streak on Snapchat that was now broken. 'NCIS remains committed to uncovering the facts surrounding the tragic death of Seaman Resendiz to ensure accountability and justice,' NCIS said in a statement to CNN. The case is drawing parallels to the 2020 death of Vanessa Guillen, the 20-year-old private first class who was last seen in the parking lot of her barracks, and was later found in a shallow grave near Fort Cavazos in Texas. The main suspect in Guillen's disappearance was identified as a fellow Army specialist. Resendiz's body was discovered in a wooded area over six miles away from the barracks where she was last seen. 'I don't know if she was alive… I don't know if that's where her life was taken, but that's where she was found,' Castle said. Geraldine Alston witnessed agents carrying a white body bag from the wooded area behind her home on June 9, she told CNN. She later learned on the news the body recovered was Resendiz. 'I'm still in shock,' she said. Alston's back door is about 200 feet from the start of the nearest tree line. The mother of six walked toward the area where the body was found while talking to CNN by phone. She remembered it was hot, humid, and raining intermittently that afternoon as agents walked out of the woods with what appeared to be evidence in paper bags. Minutes into her walk, she came upon something on the grass that made her stop and think of Resendiz's mom. It was a bouquet of fresh flowers. 'Rest In Peace Angelina,' was written on a piece of cardboard. 'I don't feel safe,' Alston said. 'She was lying behind my house in the woods.' Castle says she looks at her daughter's picture every moment of every day. 'She's gone. She's in a better place,' she tells herself. Resendiz was new to the military. She was 21, filled with dreams, and loved singing, music, and painting, according to her mother. She joined the Navy in August 2023, obtained 'recruit' and 'Naval Technical' training, and was assigned to the USS James E. Williams in February 2024, a US Navy spokesperson said. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, and coworkers of Culinary Specialist Seaman Angelina Resendiz, assigned to the USS James E. Williams (DDG 95),' Commander, Naval Surface Atlantic Public Affairs told CNN in a statement. Castle is raising money through a GoFundMe page to fight for justice for her daughter. She is planning to hold a vigil on June 20 in the Rio Grande Valley, the area where Resendiz grew up. The funeral service has yet to be announced until her daughter's body is released, she said. As for why she wants to speak to the person believed to be responsible for her daughter's death, she says she wants to forgive. 'I… want to get to a place where I can forgive,' Castle said.
