Almost 7 years ago, an 18-year-old girl died of heroin poisoning. On Tuesday, her stepfather was found guilty of murdering her.
Wesley Hadsell, 45, from Virginia, may receive life in prison for killing Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell. She went missing during Spring Break, in March 2015, while at home visiting from college.
Authorities found AJ’s body in a drainage ditch after they had been searching for five weeks. Injuries to her chest and chin were visible.
An autopsy showed that AJ passed away from heroin poisoning and homicidal violence.
After detectives found evidence, the stepfather was charged. This evidence included a GPS inside of Wesley’s work vehicle. It revealed that he traveled to the address where AJ was located.
Police also discovered duct tape, a shovel, a hair band, and a picture of AJ in the automobile.
Prosecutors argued that the victim’s injuries were a result of her being forcibly injected with the heroin. The girl had no prior history of abusing drugs, but she had three times the lethal amount of heroin in her body.
A few days before AJ went missing, her mom had thrown her stepfather out of the home for suspected drug abuse. Police located heroin in the hotel room where he had been staying.
Wesley’s lawyers stated that AJ was sad over her boyfriend and caused her own death by taking a lethal dose of medicine to help with headaches.
