Naman Shrestha
A college freshman named Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell had a bright future ahead of her, but unfortunately, all her aspirations were shattered in early March 2015. Her sudden disappearance and killing sent shockwaves across the entire community, while grief took over her loved ones. The investigation was full of twists and turns as multiple suspects emerged. The detectives eventually solved the case after apprehending the unlikely perpetrator. NBC’s ‘Dateline: The Jacket’ explores the homicide case and the investigation that followed in a detailed manner, with the help of insightful interviews with officials and Anjelica’s friends and family.
Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell’s Remains Were Found Weeks After Her Disappearance Outside Norfolk
Born on August 9, 1996, in Chesapeake, Virginia, Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell was the beloved daughter of Jennifer Wright. Growing up, Anjelica never knew her biological father, but was raised by her mother and stepfather, Zach Hoffer, in Norfolk, Virginia. As the elder sibling, she also took care of her three sisters, Justice, Gracie, and Abby, and her brother, Timothy Hadsell. When she was eight years old, Zach and Jennifer’s marriage deteriorated, leading to their divorce. This naturally affected Anjelica’s bond with Zach. Not long after, Jennifer remarried Wesley Hadsell, who eventually adopted Anjelica. At 17, Anjelica left Norfolk and attended Longwood University, where she pursued a double major and played softball and field hockey.
The college freshman, Anjelica, also loved volunteering for charities, umpiring for LCN, and spending quality time with her loved ones. She was described as athletic and outgoing, yet quiet and reserved. When her stepfather was caught using drugs, he was forced out of the house by her mother, after which he lived in a nearby hotel. The incident devastated Anjelica. In March 2015, during her spring break, she returned home to Norfolk to be with her mother and siblings. On the morning of March 2, 2015, her mother left the house to take her other daughters to school, then headed to work.
When her sisters returned home from school, Anjelica was nowhere to be found. They noticed that the door was unlocked and that half-folded laundry was in the living room, with her wallet on the couch. Even her friends hadn’t seen or heard from her. Thus, the 18-year-old college freshman was reported missing to the Norfolk Police Department. For weeks, the investigators searched for Anjelica before her family and friends’ worst nightmare came true. On April 9, 2015, the detectives discovered her decomposed remains in a drainage ditch behind an abandoned-looking home in a remote rural area, several miles west of Norfolk. The medical examiner determined that she had died from acute heroin poisoning.
Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell’s Killer Tried to Frame Her Friends
As part of the investigation, the detectives interviewed Anjelica Hadsell’s family and friends to learn more about her life. They learned that at the time of her disappearance, she had been going through a breakup with her ex-boyfriend, Josh Campbell, who provided the police with a strong alibi. Her stepfather, Wesley, claimed that he last saw her at a gas station, where he gave her $200 and spoke with her for about half an hour. He proclaimed that when he texted Anjelica to learn about her whereabouts, he received responses, but she wouldn’t tell him where she was. For a while, her former stepfather, Zach, was also considered a suspect, but he was eliminated from the list as he was nowhere near during the disappearance.
Three days into the investigation, one of her longtime friends and ex-boyfriend, Corey French, reported finding a piece of her credit card lying on the side of the road. Suspicions against Corey were raised when another one of Anjelica’s friends, Andre Barr, discovered her Longwood University jacket inside Corey’s home. While he was brought in for questioning, the authorities also searched his residence for additional evidence. Another huge break in the case came three weeks into the investigation, when Andre found pieces of Anjelica’s clothing scattered along the side of the road. Thus, Andre was also brought in for questioning. During the interview, he told the detectives that Wesley had instructed him to inform the authorities about Anjelica’s jacket in Corey’s house.
As per Andre’s account, Wesley told him he had broken into Corey’s house looking for Anjelica when he allegedly found the jacket. Now that Wesley was considered a potential suspect in the case, the detectives reviewed the gas station’s security footage, where he claimed to have met Anjelica. However, they neither saw him nor Anjelica in the footage. While they dug deeper into Wesley, he was arrested for breaking and entering Corey’s house. It turned out that he had quite a long criminal history, as he was involved in breaking and entering, burglary of a bank, and burglaries of several businesses. During the search of his hotel room, they found ammunition and a Garmin GPS device in his work van. The data from the GPS device led them to the abandoned property, where the police eventually found Anjelica’s remains.
The Killer Was Brought to Justice in 2022
After his arrest, Wesley Hadsell reportedly told the investigators, “I’d do anything for my daughter, my wife, my kids, and they make it sound like I’d do anything to keep myself out of my trouble. I couldn’t sit a minute away from where my daughter may have been.” Upon talking to Wesley’s drug dealer, they learned that he had sold him heroin soon after Anjelica vanished. The police had also found heroin in his hotel room, hidden in the ceiling. In the back of his van, they also discovered a shovel, work gloves, and duct tape. In November 2018, Wesley was indicted on one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree felony murder, and one count of felony concealment of a dead body in connection with Anjelica Hadsell’s killing.
His first trial, held in 2020, ended in a mistrial due to a disagreement over which evidence should be considered. Nearly seven years later, Wesley’s jury trial commenced in 2022. The prosecution presented witness statements and evidence against the defendant, claiming that he had planted evidence and tried to frame Corey French for the murder. His drug dealer also testified in court, telling the jury that he had been selling the defendant cocaine and heroin for years. The defense argued that he didn’t plant any evidence and had nothing to do with the killing. After two weeks of testimony, Wesley was found guilty of first-degree murder and concealment of a dead body. On April 4, 2022, he was sentenced to life in prison plus 15 years. He was also sentenced to 10 additional years for prisoner drug possession.
You must be logged in to post a comment.