(NewsNation) — Marshall Griffin, a former JAG officer now representing the mother of deceased Seaman Angelina Resendiz, said Navy prosecutors confirmed the suspect is Jeremiah Copeland, a fellow sailor assigned to Resendiz’s ship.
Resendiz, 21, went missing May 29 while her ship was docked in Norfolk, Virginia. Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents found her body 10 days later, 10 miles from her barracks. Her remains were returned to her family in Texas in a flag-draped coffin.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service said a suspect was in pretrial confinement and that charges were pending but has released little information in the case, including Resendiz’s cause of death.
“The name of the game in the military is discretion,” Griffin told NewsNation’s “Banfield.” “Officers in the military have a lot of discretion on what they do and don’t do.”
The retired Coast Guard commander says military prosecutors confirmed they can hold a suspect for up to 120 days before arraignment under military justice rules.
Griffin explained that under Rule for Court Martial 707, military authorities have 120 days to arraign a suspect and must conduct an Article 32 hearing — the military equivalent of a grand jury proceeding — within that timeframe.
The attorney said getting information from military authorities is challenging because “they’re not programmed to release” details early in investigations.
“Releasing information this early in the investigation could damage the prosecution,” Griffin said, adding that transparency should improve as the case progresses through military courts.
Resendiz’s remains were transferred from Virginia to the Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas, west of South Padre Island and just north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
She was returned home by military personnel and given military honors.
Griffin represents Esmeralda Castle, Resendiz’s mother, who has received most information about her daughter’s case from friends rather than official Navy sources.
The case will proceed through the Uniform Code of Military Justice system, which Griffin said mirrors civilian justice in constitutional protections but operates with less public transparency.