NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The mother of sailor Angelina Resendiz is speaking out after the man accused of killing her daughter was in court Wednesday.
Fellow sailor Jermiah Copeland is charged in connection to her death. Copeland’s charges include murder, sexual assault and obstruction of justice.
Her body was found in Norfolk in June after she had been missing for two weeks.
Wednesday, Copeland’s legal team filed dozens of motions, some of them revealing their defense strategy, which included suppressing the NCIS search of Copeland’s cell phone.
Castle said she was paying close attention to this, because she said cell phone evidence is what tracked him to where Resendiz’s body was found.
“This is the process, right? This is how our criminal systems work,” Castle said. “You have two sides, and he has the right to put on a defense, and this is how they defend, right? They’re going to try to … cut out as much evidence as they can.”
Another theory the defense team may present in the trial is that Resendiz struggled with her mental health and could have died by suicide.
“I’m not worried about that at all,” Castle said. “You know, that’s just the nature of this. That’s the nature of the law, of the criminal system you have to fight, and that’s his fight. He’s going to say what he can to cause that doubt. But I don’t think there’s going to be any doubt.”
The judge ultimately said he would take many of the motions made in court under advisement, but he did deny a motion to change the venue for the trial that is scheduled for next year.
Castle added that the death penalty was mentioned to her prior to this, but she said she’s not interested.
“I don’t get back anything,” Castle said. “This is more, life is taken, and so I think time in prison will help him rehabilitate, which is supposed to be the case.”
She added that she just wants justice for her daughter and reform in the military.
She’s been pushing for change since Resendiz first went missing, when she said the Navy first mishandled her daughter’s case.
“Let’s just make them responsible for the things that they’ve done,” Castle said. “Hold them accountable so they’ll start making it better by themselves. You don’t have to tell them what to do. They know what to do.”
The trial is scheduled for the first week of June and it could last the entire month. Castle said she will be there.
