Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘The Jacket’ of NBC’s ‘Dateline,’ the primary focus is on the tragic killing of 18-year-old Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell in her Norfolk, Virginia, family home in the spring of 2015. When she vanished from the residence, the perpetrator, Wesley Hadsell, tried to distract the authorities by leading them in a different direction. Eventually, the truth caught up with him, and he was linked to Anjelica’s disappearance and homicide. The documentary showcased how the detectives solved the case and apprehended Wesley.
Wesley Hadsell Was Forced Out of His Wife’s Home Due to His Drug Abuse
Born around 1978, Wesley Paul Hadsell was married to Jennifer Hadsell Wright, the mother of Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell, Justice, and Gracie Hoffer. At the time, he was employed at an HVAC company in Norfolk, Virginia. He reportedly shared a close bond with Wesley, who went to Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, at the age of 17. When his drug abuse was caught by Jennifer, she asked him to move out of her home, as it would be a bad influence on her children. He then moved into a nearby hotel room. On the fateful morning of March 2, 2015, when Anjelica was home alone after her mother left to drop off her other daughters at school and then headed to work, Wesley reportedly visited Jennifer’s home.
According to investigative reports, he ambushed Angelica, who was visiting Norfolk during her spring break. After kidnapping the 18-year-old woman, he assaulted her and injected her with a lethal dose of heroin. His van was captured on security camera footage at a 7-Eleven store on Halprin Drive, on the morning she went missing. Pretending to know nothing about her disappearance, Wesley told the police that he last spoke to her that afternoon at a gas station and gave her $200. He also claimed that although he had received texts from the missing teenager, she didn’t tell him her whereabouts. In the initial phase of investigation, Wesley also tried to frame her former boyfriend, Corey French, for the murder, claiming that he was obsessed with her.
Wesley Hadsell’s GPS Device Helped the Police Locate Anjelica’s Remains
In the following weeks, Wesley allegedly planted a piece of Anjelica’s credit card on the side of the road for Corey to find and also broke into Corey’s home to plant her college jacket inside. Thus, the detectives suspected that Corey was involved in her disappearance. However, when her friend, Andre Barr, revealed that Wesley had broken into Corey’s home and asked him to notify the police about the jacket, the investigators turned their focus on the stepfather, who had prior convictions involving breaking and entering and burglaries. After arresting him for breaking and entering Corey’s house, the detectives searched his hotel room and work van, finding ammunition, heroin, and a Garmin GPS device.
Digging into the GPS data, the detectives learned that he drove his van to an abandoned home in a remote rural area, an hour west of Norfolk. When they inspected the house and the surrounding area, they discovered Anjelica’s half-buried remains in a drainage ditch behind the property. The autopsy revealed that she had died of a heroin overdose, further incriminating Wesley as heroin was found hidden in his hotel room. During an interview, he admitted to breaking into Corey’s home but denied hiding Anjelica’s jacket there. In November 2018, he was officially charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree felony murder, and one count of felony concealment of a dead body.
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Wesley Hadsell is Currently Incarcerated at a Virginia Prison
After his first trial in 2020 resulted in a mistrial, Wesley Hadsell waited another two years for his retrial. In January 2022, during his trial, the prosecution claimed that the defendant attacked Anjelica Hadsell in her family home while she was folding laundry and listening to music in the living room. They told the jury that he also tried to shift the blame to Corey French by framing him for murder. Meanwhile, the defense argued that Angelica took her own life using a medication she had been prescribed for headaches. After two weeks of testimony, the jury deliberated for about 40 minutes before reaching the final verdict.
On February 7, 2022, Wesley Hadsell was convicted of the charges against him, including first-degree murder, possessing drugs in jail, and concealing a dead body. A couple of months later, on April 4, his sentencing hearing took place. Before the sentencing, Wesley took the stand and maintained his innocence. “I have been wrongfully convicted of these crimes, but this fight is not over,” he added. In the end, he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder conviction and an additional 15 years in prison for the other convictions. In March 2024, the Court of Appeals denied his motion to overturn his convictions. As of today, the 48-year-old killer is serving his sentence at Buckingham Correctional Center in Dillwyn, Virginia.
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