Anjelica 'AJ' Hadsell,^ 18, has been missing since March 2, when she was on a break from Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia and home in Norfolk.

Two days after Hadsell vanished, police received a tip that she had been seen on the Virginia Commonwealth University campus, two hours away from where she was last seen by her family.

Investigators had previously said there is no evidence of foul play, but her family and friends have said she wouldn't disappear on purpose.


Her stepdad Wesley Hadsell ^ was arrested for breaking into the home of one of AJ's male friends three weeks back. He said he was looking for AJ. He was arrested on March 21 after being interrogated by police for more than 15 hours.

While searching the property for around 15 minutes, he claims that he discovered her jacket.

'I was just trying to make the evidence come to light,' he said. 'It's not like I had the jacket, I didn't plant the jacket, I didn't know anything about that. It was the fact of the overwhelming information that led me there.'

The stepfather has aroused local suspicions because he has a lengthy felony criminal record. In 2005, his ex-wife went missing for several days and he was reportedly arrested after allegedly kidnapping her and driving her across multiple states. He also served over 4 years in prison for a bank robbery.

Wesley and his wife, AJ's mom, were estranged when he was arrested, but it is not clear what their relationship was at the time of the disappearance.

Jennifer Busby, AJ's mother, said she received text messages from her daughter's phone shortly after he disappearance but was not sure that the person sending them was actually the missing girl.

Wesley Hadsell was denied bond and the judge said the he was trying to impede the investigation into his stepdaughter's disappearance, according to the Virginian-Pilot.

He admitted to increasing cocaine use, but said that he just wants to see his daughter home.

Police had focused their search on a pond near Carrsville last week after receiving a tip that her cell phone may be below its surface.

Today, human remains were found outside a residence in Franklin, police said. Franklin is around 40 miles from Norfolk.

The body has been sent to the Chief Medical Examiner's Office to be identified and to determine the cause of death. The FBI is now involved in the investigation, police said.

Wesley Hadsell, 36, had not been named a suspect and has insisted he does not know where AJ is. He faces charges of obstructing justice, possessing ammunition and breaking and entering.

Ref: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...-teen.html

I hate these stories. Another beautiful young girl goes missing... Sad. Even if it doesnt turn out to be her stepfather that did this, shame on her mother for putting her in harms way. He kidnapped his ex-wife?! This girls mother knowingly let her daughter grow up with a dangerous man in their lives. It's just crazy to me to think that people can be so completely blind to reality.

Just read that remains they found in water have been positively identified as AJ Hadsell. So sad.....

(04-10-2015, 08:38 PM)blueberryhill Wrote: Just read that remains they found in water have been positively identified as AJ Hadsell. So sad.....

Thanks for the update blueberry. Very sad news for AJ's loved ones.

(04-10-2015, 11:43 AM)tlynne Wrote: I hate these stories. Another beautiful young girl goes missing... Sad. Even if it doesnt turn out to be her stepfather that did this, shame on her mother for putting her in harms way. He kidnapped his ex-wife?! This girls mother knowingly let her daughter grow up with a dangerous man in their lives. It's just crazy to me to think that people can be so completely blind to reality.

I'm anxious to see if Wesley Hadsell is named a suspect now that AJ's body has been found and/or if LE has someone else on their radar. I haven't seen any information as to whether LE is leaning towards homicide, suicide, or some other scenario. COD is pending with the Medical Examiner.

I wonder who told LE to search the area 50 miles away from her home? LE had to have received a tip; that area wouldn't have been part of the standard search area and they found the body very quickly once they arrived on the scene.

Snip:
The investigation led Norfolk police this week to the small brick house in the 34000 block of Smiths Ferry Road.

Neighbors said police began searching the property Wednesday, left and returned Thursday morning.

Officer Sam Shenouda, a department spokesman, said police began searching the area about 8 a.m. Thursday. The remains were found about 10 a.m.

Ref: http://hamptonroads.com/2015/04/remains-...aj-hadsell


RIP AJ Hadsell

Is there belief that the step-father is behind her murder? I'm wondering if he really did find something in the home he broke into or if he was planting something.

Police are being very tight-lipped, Duchess.

AJ's family and friends have complained publicly about not being given any details. They particularly wanna know what led investigators to the home where her body was found earlier this week.

The stepdad says he found AJ's jacket at a different residence he broke into a few weeks back, which was where a male friend of AJ's reportedly lived. But, I don't know anything about that resident and LE hasn't named any POIs or suspects. Stepdad remains in jail on the breaking and entering and related charges.

The mom and stepdad were separated when AJ came home for Spring break and disappeared. Typically, parents want as much media attention as possible when their child is missing. AJ's mom's reaction to a local news crew was odd, IMO. Her stepdad claimed he wanted as much exposure as possible and would do anything to find her.



Personally, I think Wesley Hadsell is lying -- not because he's a convicted felon, I'm just not buying what he's selling in regards to AJ's case. That's only a personal feeling and I could well be off-base in thinking Wesley Hadsell is full of shit. I think he's a roach.

I want to be able to support him but I have concerns about him being in that house. I'd like to believe he was suspicious and looking for her not that he broke in to plant something.

I hope he's not involved in AJ's disappearance and death too.

But, I'm very suspicious of Wesley Hadsell. He and AJ's mom were recently separated when AJ disappeared, plus he has a previous kidnapping charge, plus he was binging on cocaine at the time AJ came home for Spring Break, plus (IMO) his facial expressions don't match his words.

I wish we knew if he had any connection to the property where her remains were found.

(04-11-2015, 06:14 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: I'm very suspicious of Wesley Hadsell.

Maybe he told LE where to find her :(

(04-11-2015, 06:20 PM)Duchess Wrote:

(04-11-2015, 06:14 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: I'm very suspicious of Wesley Hadsell.

Maybe he told LE where to find her :(

Could be.

But, to me, he doesn't seem the type to confess. If he's the person who gave LE the location of the vacant home containing AJ's remains, I think he would have qualified that with some bullshit story about AJ having an accident while they were hanging out and him being afraid to tell the truth or something like that.

It's also possible that LE ended up finding that location via process of elimination in searching properties associated with people of interest, or via cell phone ping tracking for the night AJ vanished, or via a tip/snitch...

If my suspicions are off-base and Wesley Hadsell is not involved in his stepdaughter's death, he hasn't done himself or the family any favors by refusing to cooperate with police and breaking into somebody's residence during the course of the investigation.

News about discovery of remains:

Hmmm...gut feeling, he was in on it

His behavior is sketchy as hell.

(04-12-2015, 09:10 AM)Donovan Wrote: His behavior is sketchy as hell.

I'm wondering if the various sites that LE searched during the 38 days AJ was missing were all connected to Wesley Hadsell? Something took investigators to those specific locales; they were targeted search areas.

All of the search warrants are still sealed and unavailable to the public.

Here's a quick video case update, along with some background (including pics of the search sites).


AJ's funeral is on Saturday. Since her body was found, her biological father and the man who raised her have come forward.


^ Mel Langer, bio-dad, lives in Florida and was barely part of AJ's life. He made some strange comments in his media interview IMO. Then again, it's a strange situation to be in.
Lager interview: http://wtkr.com/2015/04/13/aj-hadsells-b...-her-life/


^ Zach Hoffer raised AJ until she was 13. He seemed to be very close to AJ. I found a blog post by Zach in regards to AJ's disappearance. He doesn't trust Wes(ley) Hadsell.
Hoffer blog post: http://riverraging.blogspot.com/2015/03/people.html


Wesley Hadsell adopted AJ after marrying her mother several years ago. There's a lot of speculation that Hadsell married mom to get to AJ, but I don't know if there's any truth to that theory.

Past Tense Statements

It's not evidence, but a parent speaking of a missing child in the past tense is regarded as suspicious. That's especially true if the parent is speaking of the child in past tense very early on and when there are no visible signs of foul play.

Did Wesley Hadsell know that AJ was never going to return home?



Several law enforcement sources are telling NewsChannel 3 that investigators have noted the numerous times Wesley Hadsell spoke of his daughter that way, saying it could be a revealing clue.

Wesley Hadsell often lapsed into past tense when talking about AJ three weeks before AJ’s body was found when he into “Case to Case with Chelsea Hoffman” and talked about the search for AJ. He also spoke about her in past tense during a Channel 3 television interview.

Here are some of Wesley Hadsell's statements which are reportedly considered suspicious by LE.
“My daughter was an awesome person. She helped people. She excelled. She inspired. She, she loved people.”

“My daughter didn’t have enemies. But, let’s say, she had someone … who, um, liked her, loved, her, obsessed about her.” (He did not reveal who that was.)

“I loved her. We were a family. And I wanted to be a family. She was the glue for our family.”

Police have not said how or when AJ died, and they have not charged anyone in her disappearance or death. Wesley Hadsell is charged with breaking into a neighbor’s home in a crime police said was related to the case.

They will not say specifically how. He was also charged for being a felon in possession of ammunition.

Ref: http://wtkr.com/2015/04/16/could-intervi...ainst-him/

Yeah, this is very sad news for AJ's loved ones. It’s sad that another beautiful lady has been added to the list of missing people. His stepfather’s behaviour is quite weird on her murder. I strongly feel that he is involved in it.

Is there a reason you think a murdered college student should be added to the list of famous missing people? Just curious.

(05-27-2015, 02:00 AM)Gareet33 Wrote: Yeah, this is very sad news for AJ's loved ones. It’s sad that another beautiful lady has been added to the list of missing people. His stepfather’s behaviour is quite weird on her murder. I strongly feel that he is involved in it.

Welcome Gareet.

I hope we get some updates from LE in regards to their investigation soon.

If you're up for it, please start a thread to introduce yourself here: http://mockforums.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=9

(04-12-2015, 08:38 AM)SIXFOOTERsez Wrote: Hmmm...gut feeling, he was in on it

(04-12-2015, 09:10 AM)Donovan Wrote: His behavior is sketchy as hell.

I think LE agrees with you both, Six and Donovan.

Here's where the case stands now.

- The ME ruled that AJ's cause of death was 'acute heroin poisoning'. The manner of death (suicide, homicide, or accident) is 'undetermined'.

- Prosecutors contended that Wesley Hadsell was buying cocaine and heroin in a hotel room while the search for AJ was underway. They reportedly found ammunition (no gun).

- Hadsell was indicted on one count of statutory burglary, one count of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon and four counts of obstruction of justice charges related to AJ's case.

- Prosecutors labeled him an 'armed felon' to justify seeking 15 years.

- Hadsell eventually pleaded guilty to the ammo possession charge and was supposed to be sentenced in March. But, the sentencing was delayed, reportedly because Hadsell got a new defense attorney.

- Then, on July 23, 2016, Hadsell was indicted for the alleged 2005 kidnap, rape, and felonious assault of his ex-wife in Ohio.

LE definitely wants stepdad locked up for a good long time. I think they probably believe he contributed to AJ's death, but they lack evidence to make a case given the manner of death is officially unknown.

Refs:
http://pilotonline.com/news/local/crime/...09e76.html
http://www.13newsnow.com/news/crime/wesl.../279877663

Current Status

In November 2018 (three and a half years after her body was recovered), Wesley Hadsell was charged with murdering his adopted daughter AJ Hadsell and concealing her body.




Hadsell ^ has been in custody for unrelated weapons offenses for years now and pleaded 'not guilty' to murdering AJ (who the ME concluded died of 'acute heroin poisoning' homicide).

Last I read, AJ's mother was still supporting Wesley Hadsell -- I don't know if that's still the case though.

Anyway, the murder trial is scheduled for February 2020 and is expected to last a full two weeks.  

Hadsell is asking the judge to suppress evidence from a search warrant about what was found in Hadsell's hotel room shortly after AJ disappeared.  I'm not sure of the rationale behind the request to suppress.

This guy is a very bad dude and has been for a long long time.  He should have been incarcerated for previous violent crimes before AJ was killed, in my opinion.  I hope LE has the evidence to keep him incarcerated for life this time.

Good thing he's not in N.Y. or he may be let out with an EBT card.