WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — For more than a year, WPTV's investigative unit has been pushing for answers and seeking clarity about a crash in Boynton Beach that killed an innocent mother and her pregnant daughter.
Marcia Pochette and Jenice Woods died in July 2024, and WPTV has followed their family's push for accountability ever since.
WATCH BELOW: Why did police chase car before deadly crash? Questions remain months later
Boynton Beach police charged Neoni Copeland with leaving the scene of a crash with death and resisting arrest. Months later, the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office charged seven West Palm Beach police officers with official misconduct connected to the high-speed chase leading up to the crash. The three officers allegedly involved in the incident were also charged with leaving the scene.
One big question that's gone unanswered for 16 months: Why were those West Palm Beach officers attempting to stop the car in the first place?
We took a closer look at the car being pursued that was then involved in the deadly crash. It was a gray Kia Stinger that public records show the driver, Neoni Copeland, did not own.
From there, we discovered this chase wasn't the first time some of the officers involved had encountered that car.
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Previous encounter with the vehicle
WPTV obtained body-worn camera video showing Boynton Beach police talking to Copeland the night of the crash. From his hospital bed, he described his fear and confusion as he was followed by West Palm Beach officers from 45th Street through multiple jurisdictions at triple-digit speeds into Boynton Beach.
"I see them closing in on me. That's what's getting me more even scared. I don't know, like, what's going on," Copeland told the Boynton Beach investigators. "They were behind me the whole time. ... the police been on me since Palm Beach. I don't know what the (expletive) like, I didn't do (expletive)."
Copeland told the officers the gray Kia Stinger he was driving didn't belong to him and that it was a rental. WPTV confirmed through public records that the vehicle was used as a rental by its private owner, who declined to comment for this story.
In response to our request for records containing the Kia Stinger's license plate number, West Palm Beach police provided WPTV with records that revealed its officers had encountered the same vehicle about three months before the high-speed chase that led to the deadly crash.
On April 9, 2024, West Palm Beach police records show officers assisting Palm Springs police with a shooting investigation located that same Kia Stinger and arrested the driver on drug charges. Body camera video shows the driver of the Stinger that night was not Neoni Copeland.
Body camera footage from that arrest shows the driver identifying himself as "David." In an interview with an officer on the scene, a witness said the driver's name was David Varela. WPTV learned through police records that the officer interviewing that witness was one of three officers on the scene who, three months later, were allegedly involved in the chase that resulted in a crash that killed the two women.
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Warrants and charges
Court records show David Varela — the man officers previously saw driving the Kia Stinger — had five warrants out for his arrest at the time of the Boynton Beach chase and crash.
Varela posted bond after his arrest in April 2024 on drug charges. Records show officers stopped him while investigating a shooting in Palm Springs. But it wasn't until the next month — May 2024 — when police say they charged Varela for discharging a firearm. Records show he was arrested again and posted bond again.
According to court records, one of David Varela's five outstanding warrants was for missing a court date related to charges for discharging a firearm in the Palm Springs shooting case.
Neoni Copeland, who was driving the Stinger the day of the pursuit, has no criminal convictions according to court records.
The West Palm Beach Police Department has not said why the officers initiated the chase that GPS records show topped speeds of 100 mph on Interstate 95.
WPTV has requested records related to the pursuit, including footage from the officers' body-worn cameras, dashboard-mounted cameras and post-pursuit written reports. The city replied and said the records do not exist. The West Palm Beach Police Department's pursuit policy requires that cameras be activated during pursuits and that written reports be completed by all officers involved after each pursuit.
"Since this is an active legal matter, the city is unable to comment," said Kathleen Joy, the director of communications for the mayor's office and the city of West Palm Beach.
According to the state attorney's office, officers originally tried to pull over the car for a non-criminal traffic stop.
WPTV also contacted the attorneys for all seven officers, who all said they were not aware of the car's connection to another investigation.
Police arrested Varela three weeks after the deadly crash. He pleaded guilty in October to firearm charges related to the Palm Springs shooting, along with drug charges.
Copeland pleaded not guilty to his charges connected to the crash that claimed the lives of the mother and daughter.
All seven West Palm Beach officers have pleaded not guilty to their charges connected to the pursuit.
In December, the family of Marcia Pochette and Jenice Woods filed a federal lawsuit against all seven officers and the City of West Palm Beach. Claims in the lawsuit include wrongful death, failure to render aid and the city's alleged failure to enforce its own pursuit policy.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.