“Inside the Disturbing Case of a Stepdad Who Poisoned His College Student Stepdaughter and Attempted to Frame Her Friend”.hienca

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What was meant to be a relaxing spring break at home turned into a devastating tragedy for Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell after her first year of college. In 2015, the 18-year-old was kidnapped and poisoned by someone she should have been able to trust.

Weeks passed before AJ was reported missing from her family’s Norfolk, Virginia, home, only for police to later discover her lifeless body discarded in a ditch. Investigators determined she had been intentionally poisoned with a heroin overdose.

As the investigation unfolded, attention shifted to her stepfather, Wesley Hadsell, whose criminal history included bank robbery, breaking and entering, and burglary, as previously reported by PEOPLE.

Despite maintaining his innocence, overwhelming evidence emerged against him, leading a judge to convict him of his stepdaughter’s brutal murder.

Now, nine years after AJ’s tragic death, PEOPLE revisits this haunting case.

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AJ’s Kidnapping

AJ was a softball player at Longwood University with a bright future, according to authorities.

“She was an athlete. She was very outgoing,” Norfolk Police Detective David Benjamin said during an episode of Dateline, which examined the case. “No issues with drugs or alcohol, really was kind of flying straight.”

She was going through a breakup at the time she returned home for spring break, according to Dateline, leading her mother Jennifer Wright to believe her daughter was blowing off steam when she went missing after sending a text that said she was “out with friends.”

However, after AJ didn’t return home and a longtime friend, Corey French, found a piece of her credit card in the road, investigators began to search more urgently for the missing teenager.

Investigators initially suspected French, who AJ’s stepfather had claimed had become “obsessive” over his stepdaughter, according to Dateline. According to investigators, the stepfather tried to frame French for AJ’s killing.

Stepfather Claims Innocence

Wesley Hadsell seemed proactive in the search for his missing stepdaughter, at first. PEOPLE previously reported that the then-36-year-old man had even been arrested for breaking into the home of a person, claiming he was suspicious that person had kidnapped AJ.

“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,” he said after his arrest for breaking and entering, PEOPLE reported at the time. “I couldn’t sit a minute away from where my daughter may have been.”

However, the investigation began to center around him.

Police Uncover AJ’s Body — and Killer Is Revealed

AJ’s body was eventually discovered after police were led to her last known location via her stepfather’s GPS system on his car. After investigators discovered Wesley’s car had been tracked to an abandoned house 60 miles away from the family’s home, they discovered AJ’s body hidden in a ditch. She had been poisoned with heroin.

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Wesley’s coworkers told police he was visibly agitated and had to take the rest of the day off work on the day his stepdaughter went missing, PEOPLE reported at the time. Police searched the stepfather’s Chevy Astro van and discovered a shovel, duct tape and work gloves in the back of the car. The man who said he sold drugs to AJ’s stepfather also testified in court, saying he had been selling Wesley cocaine and heroin for years, according to local news station WAVY.

Wesley was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2022, 13News Now reported.

But the stepfather continues to maintain his innocence, again denying his involvement during a jailhouse interview with WTKR. “I swear to you, I didn’t hurt my daughter,” he told the outlet. “I don’t know who did. And if I did, I wouldn’t protect them.”