The Pentagon's official records substantially undercount domestic abuse homicides committed by service members, according to an investigation by The Intercept.
The Pentagon reported 41 domestic abuse-related homicides in fiscal years 2019 to 2024. The Intercept identified at least 73 potential cases involving 79 victims during the same period, nearly double the official count. Almost all victims were women.
The investigation examined news articles, obituaries, court records, and data from a Freedom of Information Act request to identify cases the Pentagon missed. A Pentagon spokesperson acknowledged the discrepancy but did not respond to detailed questions.
The findings center on the case of Angelina Resendiz, 21, a Navy sailor killed by fellow sailor Jermiah Copeland on May 29, 2025. Copeland kept her body hidden in his barracks room for four days before placing it in a duffel bag and dumping it in a wooded area.
Resendiz's mother, Esmerelda Castle, said the Navy failed her daughter. A Navy chief discovered Resendiz's body in Copeland's bed on the morning of her death but assumed she was asleep and left. Castle began calling the Navy on May 29, but the Navy's official timeline states it did not begin investigating her disappearance as a crime until a missing person's report was filed on May 31.
Jacquelyn Campbell, a professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Nursing who has studied domestic violence in the military for decades, said the Pentagon lacks adequate recordkeeping on intimate partner homicides. She noted that most recommendations from a Defense Task Force on Domestic Violence established in 2000 were never implemented.
The Intercept's analysis found intimate partner violence among married military couples was at least four times higher than the civilian rate. The Pentagon does not report abuse rates involving unmarried intimate partners.
President Donald Trump announced a Military Spouse Commission in August, led by Jennifer Hegseth, the wife of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The commission's mandate addresses issues affecting military families but does not list intimate partner violence as a focus area.