Dateline: The Jacket - Who was Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell and what happened to her? Disturbing details of the 2015 incident, revealed

NBC’s Dateline Season 30, Episode 28, titled The Jacket, follows the story of an 18-year-old college student, Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell, as she disappeared from her home on March 2, 2015. Her body was discovered five weeks later in an abandoned house near the North Carolina border.

Her stepfather, Wesley Hadsell, was later convicted of murdering Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell in 2022.

The synopsis of the Dateline episode reads:

"On March 2, 2015, Anjelica "AJ" Hadsell goes missing from her Norfolk, Virginia home — leaving family, friends, and investigators to search for the 18-year-old."

More on this in our story.

Dateline: The Jacket - Who was Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell, and what happened to her? Details explored

Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell was a college student. She was a freshman at Longwood University in Farmville, Norfolk. As per Dateline, AJ was an athlete and was good at softball. She was a responsible older sister as she helped in taking care of her two younger halfs-iblings.

AJ was adopted by Wesley Hadsell after he married AJ’s mother. While talking to Andrea Canning from Dateline, he said:

"I adored Anjelica."

On March 2, 2015, AJ disappeared from her home after she returned there for her spring break. She left text messages to her family, informing them about being with friends and needing time alone as she was going through a breakup. Norfolk police were informed about AJ’s disappearance after she stopped replying to their texts, and a strange note addressed to their mother was found.

The note by AJ read:

"Dear madre, With everything that’s going on, it’s a lot to deal with."

The police started investigating and trying to find AJ. AJ’s friends told the police that she wouldn’t have left without telling any of them. Her stepfather also informed the police that he met her at a gas station on the afternoon of the night she disappeared.

The first suspect was AJ’s high school friend, Corey French. He was the first one to find a piece of AJ’s credit card on the road. AJ’s friend Andre Barr also informed the police about noticing AJ’s softball jacket in French’s house. However, French denied all the allegations that he was doing anything bad to AJ.

Later, the detectives started doubting Andre Barr, who was always the one to find clues or evidence related to AJ. Barr then told the police that Wesley informed him about AJ’s jacket in French’s house.

The suspicion went to AJ’s stepdad, Wesley. While investigating, they found a GPS in Wesley’s van, which gave them information about Wesley’s whereabouts. With the help of the GPS, the police were able to find AJ’s body in an abandoned house in Southampton County.

Autopsy reports revealed that AJ died of a heroin overdose, and the police also found heroin in Wesley’s possession. She also had injuries on her chest and chin.

Dateline: The Jacket - Wesley Hadsell was convicted of Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell’s murder

Wesley was initially charged with AJ’s murder in 2018 and put on trial in 2020. However, the trial ended up as a mistrial.

He was later put on trial in 2022 and was convicted of first-degree murder. He received a life sentence, including an extra 15 years in prison.

However, Wesley Hadsell still claims that he did not commit the crime. He told Dateline:

"I have not hurt Anjelica, ever."

The Dateline episode is reported by Andrea Canning and includes interviews with AJ’s family, friends, and even the detectives who investigated her case.

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