AWOL Decision and Plea Hearing Loom for Culinary Specialist

A sailor accused in the killing of Navy Seaman Angelina Resendiz is scheduled to appear in military court next week as her family continues pushing for answers about why the 21-year-old was marked absent without leave after friends raised concerns that she was missing.

Jermiah Copeland, who served with Resendiz as a culinary specialist aboard the destroyer USS James E. Williams, is scheduled for a two-day hearing June 8 and 9, according to MySA, a San Antonio local news outlet. He had previously been set to face a two-week trial on charges including premeditated murder, sexual assault, aggravated assault, sexual misconduct and obstruction of justice.

The hearing comes a little more than a year after Resendiz disappeared from Norfolk, Va., on May 29, 2025. Her remains were found June 9, 2025, in a wooded area near an elementary school in Norfolk.

Military.com reached out for comment to the Navy on the upcoming hearing, the AWOL decision, and whether the service has reviewed how Resendiz’s command handled her disappearance.

Missing Sailor Marked AWOL Before Body Found

Friends reported Resendiz missing after one of them received what MySA described as a panicked late-night call from her asking to be picked up.

When Resendiz failed to report for duty the next day, military commanders reportedly declared her AWOL. By then, Resendiz was already dead, though her body would not be found for more than a week.

Her mother, Esmeralda Castle, had been pleading with military officials to take her daughter’s disappearance seriously and later learned of Resendiz’s death from media reports rather than from Navy officials.

The AWOL decision has become one of the central questions in the case. Castle is calling for an independent investigation into how Navy leadership and military law enforcement handled her daughter’s disappearance. U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, (D-TX), has also requested a broader review.

Gonzalez wrote in a May 13 letter to acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao that the Navy should conduct “a broad and comprehensive investigation into the events that contributed to the death of Seaman Resendiz” and review where her chain of command broke down.

Family Pushes for Military Accountability

Since Resendiz’s death, Esmeralda Castle has become an advocate for military sexual assault awareness and accountability, working with members of Congress, state lawmakers and national organizations while pressing for further investigation into the Navy’s handling of her daughter’s disappearance, according to 13News Now.

“We’ve done a lot in a year, and there’s still a lot to be done,” Castle told the station.

Marshall Griffin, an attorney for the family, told the outlet that the possible plea agreement remains tentative and would not be final unless Copeland enters a plea and a military judge accepts it.

“Nothing is final until the accused finally enters a plea and it’s accepted by a military judge,” Griffin said.

Accused Sailor Could Enter Plea Agreement

The upcoming court appearance could include a plea agreement, though one has not been finalized, according to MySA.

Castle told the outlet that Copeland could face up to 40 years in prison if he pleads guilty. She also said she wants an independent investigation into how Copeland was allowed to continue serving while his alleged misconduct escalated.

Marshall Griffin, a retired military attorney serving as Castle’s victim’s rights advocate, told the outlet that military judges have a special duty to make sure guilty pleas are voluntary because of the armed forces’ command structure.

“Because the military is a coercive environment where people have a legal duty to follow lawful orders that they’ve been given, the military judge has a special obligation to ensure that the accused is not pleading guilty because he has been ordered to plead guilty,” Griffin said.

The charges against Copeland also include allegations that go further than Resendiz’s death. Charging documents obtained by MySA describe what the outlet characterized as a history of escalating sexual violence in the year before the killing, including an alleged sexual assault involving a civilian woman four days before Resendiz’s friends reported her missing.

They also reported that Copeland had been under investigation for other alleged sexual assault and sexual misconduct while serving aboard the USS Harry S. Truman.

Castle told the outlet she wants accountability not only for her daughter, but for other women who may have been failed by military systems meant to protect them.

The case has drawn comparisons to other military disappearance and violence cases, including the killing of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén, whose 2020 death at Fort Hood exposed failures in how the Army handled sexual harassment and missing-soldier concerns.

The June hearing could determine whether the case moves toward a negotiated plea or proceeds toward trial.