Latest news with #Resendiz
The Hill
25-06-2025
- The Hill
Mother of Naval Station Norfolk sailor killed seeks Navy accountability
NOTE: The video above is the full LULAC press conference. WASHINGTON, D.C. (WAVY) — The mother of a sailor who disappeared from Naval Station Norfolk and was found dead in a Norfolk neighborhood is in Washington D.C. Wednesday demanding transparency and accountability from the U.S. Navy. Angelina Resendiz was initially reported missing May 29 and was last seen in her barracks at Naval Station Norfolk around 10 a.m., according to the Navy. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service confirmed June 10 the body found in Norfolk was that of Resendiz. Esmeralda Castle, Resendiz's mother, was in D.C. with the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, for a news conference surrounding a variety of issues regarding her disappearance. The issues include a public timeline and accountability from the Navy and NCIS, disclosure of non-disclosure agreements service members were required to sign involving the case, collaboration on a civilian family guide, and access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for the Resendiz family, among others. 'I'm (also) outraged because what happened to Angelina was not just a tragedy but a preventable failure,' said CEO of LULAC, Juan Proaño. 'Her disappearance on May 29th was mishandled from the start. Instead of immediately treating Angie a missing person in danger, the Navy reportedly marked as AWOL and waited six days before filing a missing persons report.' 'Even giving her family false reassurances that she may still be alive,' Proaño explained. The LULAC is demanding a full investigation into the apparent delays, miscommunications and lack of urgency from the Navy. In addition, LULAC has written the Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, demanding answers. 'We insist on accountability at every level. Any commander or official who failed to act appropriately must answer to it under the uniform code of military justice,' said Proaño. The LULAC expects swift justice against Jermiah Copeland, a former Culinary Specialist Seaman and the man Castle's attorney identified as the person detained in connection to Resendiz's death, and anyone else responsible for this crime. Castle also spoke during the press conference, grateful for the support showed towards her and her family, but also seeking justice for her daughter. 'There is a system in place and it does not work and I don't know if it's ever worked. I don't know if anyone would acknowledge that there is a problem and accept responsibility for it to make a change.' Castle claimed that when she called and spoke to the officer on deck, it appeared the officer in question did not know who Resendiz was, but insisted she was ok and would not let Castle speak to her. 'I spoke with the officer on deck, Chief Anderson, and he said: 'Angie or Cindy? Oh yeah she's fine. She's just in another room,'' Castle recounted. ''The missing report that was given was more dramatic; she's fine.' WAVY-10 Andy Fox spoke to Dr. Ray Serrano Tuesday leading up to the press conference, who believes 'there were a lot of missteps from the military side, and a lot of unaccountability from that that could have prevented the situation.' 'Delays in the military,' Serrano said. 'There's no answer. At some point, her mother calls, and they say she's in another room, that they have found her, and she's alive, and she wasn't. They had no answers. They had no clue where she was.' The flow of inaccurate information to the family was also a concern to Marshall Griffin, Castle's attorney. 'We are very early in the case,' Griffin said, 'and I would expect to get clarity on those issues, and what happened, and when, and why things were said, and what reports were made and when.' The Latino Civil Rights group also brought up the memory of U.S. Army soldier Vanessa Guillen, who was murdered by a fellow soldier, the victim of sexual harassment and assault within the military. 'In the case of Vanessa Guillen, there were a lot of delays from the military, a lot of backtracking, a lot of like, not being forthcoming with details to the family,' Serrano said. There are a lot of similarities to Guillen's and Resendiz's cases. 'They go missing, the military in both cases listed them as AWOL, does not institute an Ashanti Alert, which was in place even then, in 2018,' Serrano said. 'There are certainly questions that we have that may necessitate an apology down the road, and I look forward to getting answers to the questions as the case moves forward,' Griffin said The news conference also considered the possible harassment Resendiz was receiving. 'There's alleged reporting from Angelina Resendiz about the harassment that she was experiencing,' Serrano said, 'and yet nothing was being done about it.' The LULAC says the events between Resendiz's disappearance, May 29, and the day her body was discovered, June 9, is still unclear. Griffin says the next procedural step would be to have another preliminary hearing under Article 32, in hopes of answering some of the questions Castle and the family still have regarding Resendiz's death.
Miami Herald
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Body found in Virginia identified as missing US Navy sailor, officials say
A body found in a wooded area of Virginia has been identified as a U.S. Navy sailor who's been missing for nearly two weeks, federal investigators said. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service found the body of Seaman Angelina Resendiz on June 9 in Norfolk, officials said in a June 10 news release. A Navy sailor, who was not named, was taken into pretrial confinement in connection with Resendiz's death with charges pending, according to the release. 'NCIS remains committed to uncovering the facts surrounding the tragic death of Seaman Resendiz to ensure accountability and justice,' officials said. Additional information was not made available. The investigation is ongoing, officials said. The 21-year-old sailor was last seen at 10 a.m. May 29 at her barracks in Norfolk, according to the Virginia State Police. 'The family of Seaman Angelina Resendiz is heartbroken and deeply concerned over her sudden and unexplained disappearance,' KMK Productions, a public relations firm representing the family, said in a June 9 post on Instagram. Resendiz's family asked for 'the assistance of the United States government, Senator Mark Warner, Senator Tim Kaine, the Hampton Roads congressional delegation, home congressman Vicente Gonzalez, and President Donald J. Trump to address the systemic issues that allowed her to vanish,' according to a June 10 statement shared with McClatchy News by the firm.. 'Angelina was a kind and compassionate young woman who brought light into our lives,' the statement said.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
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.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Arrest made in disappearance of U.S. Navy sailor, 21, later found dead
An arrest has been made in connection with the disappearance of a 21-year-old woman, a U.S. Navy Seaman, found dead earlier this week, according to Naval officials and media reports. Angelina Petra Resendiz was last seen at her barracks at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on the morning of May 29, NBC News reported, but officials with the Virginia State Police did not issue a critically missing person alert for her until the first week of June. The sailor's body was discovered June 9 by members of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in a wooded area in Norfolk. According to the 21-year-old sailor's family, Naval officials, including her commander, dragged their feet after her disappearance. A spokesperson for the family told NBC News that Resendiz's mother, Esmeralda Castle, was not informed of her daughter's disappearance through official Naval channels. 2 men, cousins, accused in brutal 2024 murder of U.S. Marine in L.A. County 'Her daughter's colleagues, friends, and even authorities knew she was missing, but the response was minimal,' according to a statement released on behalf of the family. 'After her friends filed a missing person's report when her commander would not, they showed little compassion or understanding.' Officials at NCIS, who have arrested an unidentified sailor in the 21-year-old's disappearance, said in a statement that they began investigating as soon as the agency learned that she'd been missing. 'NCIS remains committed to uncovering the facts surrounding the tragic death of Seaman Resendiz to ensure accountability and justice,' the statement added. Investigators told NBC News that the investigation is ongoing, and that charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice are pending against the suspect. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Navy sailor who vanished from Virginia barracks found dead, another sailor held in her death
A body has been found and confirmed to be that of missing Navy sailor Angelina Resendiz, and another sailor is in pretrial confinement in connection with her death. Resendiz, 21, was last seen the morning of May 29 at her barracks at the Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia. Virginia State Police issued a critically missing person alert for her last week. A body discovered by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) on Monday in a wooded area in Norfolk was confirmed to be Resendiz by the local medical examiner on Tuesday. A Navy sailor, who was not identified, has charges pending under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the NCIS said. "NCIS remains committed to uncovering the facts surrounding the tragic death of Seaman Resendiz to ensure accountability and justice," the department said. No further details were released and the investigation is ongoing. The Resendiz family said her disappearance has 'left a void in their hearts' and they 'refuse to let her suffering be in vain,' a spokesperson for the family told NBC affiliate WAVY of Norfolk. 'The family is calling on the assistance of the United States government, Senator Mark Warner, Senator Tim Kaine, the Hampton Roads congressional delegation, home congressman Vicente Gonzalez, and President Donald J. Trump to address the systemic issues that allowed her to vanish without justice since May 29, 2025,' the statement said. Resendiz's mother, Emeralda Castle, was not notified that her daughter vanished through official channels, the spokesperson said. "Her daughter's colleagues, friends, and even authorities knew she was missing, but the response was minimal, and after her friends filed a missing person's report when her commander would not, they showed little compassion or understanding," the statement said. The family is calling for Congress to investigate Resendiz's death and for reform within the Navy's notification protocol. The NCIS statement said it investigated the case as soon as the agency learned of her disappearance. This article was originally published on
