Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell intended to have a quiet spring break at home after her first year of college, but the break turned into a tragedy when one of the individuals closest to her kidnapped and poisoned her in 2015.
The 18-year-old girl went missing from her family’s Norfolk, Virginia, home for many weeks before authorities discovered her dead in a ditch. She appeared to have been purposely poisoned with a heroin overdose.
Investigators quickly focused on her stepfather, Wesley Hadsell, whose PEOPLE previously learned had a criminal record that included convictions for bank robbery, breaking, and burglary.
The stepfather maintained his innocence for a long time and continues to do so today, but a probe into his role eventually led to a court saying there was “overwhelming” evidence against him when he was convicted of his stepdaughter’s horrible death.
PEOPLE examines the case nine years after the 18-year-old was murdered.
AJ’s kidnapping
According to authorities, AJ was a talented softball player at Longwood University with a promising future.
“She was an athlete.” “She was very outgoing,” Norfolk Police Detective David Benjamin stated on an episode of Dateline that looked into the case. “No issues with drugs or alcohol really was kind of flying straight.”
According to Dateline, she was going through a breakup when she returned home for spring break, which led her mother Jennifer Wright to suspect her daughter was venting when she went missing after texting that she was “out with friends.”
However, after AJ failed to return home and a longtime friend, Corey French, discovered a piece of her credit card on the road, investigators were increasingly concerned about the missing girl.
Investigators first suspected French, whom AJ’s stepfather claimed had grown “obsessive” for his stepdaughter, according to Dateline. According to authorities, the stepfather attempted to frame French for AJ’s death.
Stepfather claims innocence
Wesley Hadsell appeared aggressive in the search for his missing stepdaughter at first. PEOPLE previously reported that the then-36-year-old man was detained for breaking into a person’s home, stating he suspected the person of kidnapping AJ.
“I’d do anything for my daughter, wife, and kids, and they make it sound like I’d do anything to keep myself out of trouble,” he stated after being arrested for breaking, according to PEOPLE. “I couldn’t sit a minute away from where my daughter may have been.”
However, the investigation began to focus on him.
Police uncover AJ’s body, and the killer is revealed
AJ’s body was eventually located after authorities were directed to her last known position by her stepfather’s GPS device in his car. When investigators learned Wesley’s car had been tracked to an abandoned residence 60 miles distant from the family’s home, they found AJ’s body in a ditch. She had been poisoned with heroin.
According to PEOPLE, Wesley’s coworkers informed authorities that he was anxious and had to take the rest of the day off work on the day his stepdaughter went missing. Police inspected the stepfather’s Chevy Astro van and found a shovel, duct tape, and work gloves in the back. According to local news station WAVY, the man who claimed to have sold drugs to AJ’s stepfather testified in court, stating he had been supplying Wesley cocaine and heroin for years.
13News Now stated that Wesley was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2022.
However, the stepfather maintains his innocence, denying any involvement during a jailhouse interview with WTKR. “I swear to you, I didn’t hurt my daughter,” he told the publication. “I’m not sure who did. And even if I did, I would not protect them.
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