Wesley Hadsell killed adopted daughter Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell

When Wesley Hadsell’s adopted daughter Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell of Norfolk, Virginia, disappeared while returning home from college for spring break, he immediately sprang into action.

The seemingly devoted father led the search operations, spoke to the media and even stood all night with a horn in front of a suspect’s house to make sure the man didn’t get any rest, so “The jacket” result of oxygen‘S Dateline: Secrets revealed.

“She didn’t go alone, you know, she’s not just sitting somewhere happy in front of the TV watching this,” Wesley said in an interview with a local news station at the time.

But the case took a shocking turn when investigators began to suspect that Wesley knew more than he was letting on and that he may have been behind his 18 years old the disappearance of my daughter all the time.

More of Dateline: Secrets revealed:
Mother of two children disappears after shocking phone call with her best friend: “He’s going to kill me”
16-year-old dancer found stabbed to death in her own home: “Hug your children”
Kindergarten teacher plots with parents to kill her ex, then tries to take out his mother

“I adored Anjelica,” Wesley said Date line Correspondent Andrea Canning. “She was my daughter, you know? She was my family. So it felt right to make it official.”

In March 2015, AJ came home from college for spring break. At the time, AJ was going through a difficult breakup with her boyfriend and Wesley had just been kicked out of the house for drug use and was staying at a nearby hotel.

According to Benjamin, there were several things in the family home that immediately set off alarm bells.

“The door was unlocked, there was half-folded laundry in the living room. AJ’s wallet with money in it was on the sofa. It was all very strange,” he said.

RELATED: New Orleans woman orders murder of her pastor husband to get life insurance money: “The perfect plan”

AJ’s friends also insisted that she would never have just left without telling anyone.

“Nobody thought she just ran away,” said her friend Andre Barr. “AJ wouldn’t have done that without telling at least one of us.”

Wesley told police he last saw his daughter around noon that same day. He said he met AJ at a gas station and gave her $200 before she headed home. She was wearing her college softball jacket with her name embroidered on the front.

Investigators slowly came to the conclusion that her disappearance was more “like a kidnapping” and began snooping into the lives of those closest to her.

What clues have been discovered in connection with AJ Hadsell’s disappearance?

AJ’s ex-boyfriend was investigated but had a strong alibi. But just three days into the investigation, Corey French – who dated AJ in junior high school – spotted a disturbing clue on his way home from work.

He found part of AJ’s credit card lying on the side of the road.

“I saw a little white rectangle on the floor, so I went to it and when I picked it up to turn it over, I saw her name on it,” he said. Date line.

The fact that someone she knew had discovered the card seemed like a “great coincidence” to investigators, especially after Wesley told detectives that French was “obsessed.”

As for French, he told authorities that although he and AJ were close friends, he had not seen her in months.

As the days went by, Wesley seemed determined to find his daughter. He led searches in the community, took in tips and gave regular interviews to the media.

Shortly after French discovered the credit card, Norfolk police received a call from AJ’s friend Andre Barr, who told them he had been to French’s house and seen AJ’s softball jacket.

Authorities took French back in for questioning and found the jacket behind a sofa cushion in his home.

But according to Benjamin, French insisted he had nothing to do with her disappearance and “reacted extremely” when he saw the jacket.

“My answers were always the same: ‘I don’t know, I don’t know. I don’t know what you’re talking about,'” French recalled the intense interrogation. “It went on and on. It was like a tennis match the whole time, and I kept losing.”

Since there was no further evidence linking him to the case, investigators had to let French go. Wesley was apparently furious and camped outside French’s house with a horn. He had a pizza delivered to his home with a message inside the box that read “I know what you did.”

“I had a feeling Corey French was definitely involved, so I thought something drastic would have to happen to get answers,” he said.

The case takes a turn

But the investigation took a surprising turn when Wesley claimed that he and Barr accidentally found some of AJ’s clothing lying on the side of the road after following a tip.

Investigators found it “odd” that Barr was involved in the discovery of two “key pieces of evidence” and brought him in for questioning. He eventually admitted that he only found the jacket in French’s house after Wesley told him where to look.

Wesley claimed he broke into the house looking for his daughter and found the jacket, but he did not want to call the police himself because he was afraid of being arrested for the break-in.

Wesley already had a long criminal record, including previous convictions for burglary, bank robbery and theft from several stores.

RELATED: What happened to the crew of a boat found abandoned at sea in Florida – pirates or murderers?

Investigators realized that many of the “tips” they received often came from Wesley himself.

“He was constantly receiving tips that we had to follow up on and find evidence,” Benjamin said. “We believed, or rather felt, that he was interfering too much in the investigation, which is a red flag for us.”

They arrested Wesley for breaking into French’s house and searched his hotel room, where they discovered ammunition hidden in the ceiling.

Authorities were also never able to confirm Wesley’s account of the last day AJ was seen alive. They said that surveillance footage from the gas station showed neither he nor AJ there that day.

While examining his work truck, investigators discovered a Garmin GPS device that recorded his activities at the time of AJ’s disappearance. While most of the destinations were easily explained, there was one unusual drive to an abandoned house about an hour west of Norfolk.

The detectives quickly arrived at the property.

“It was gray and foggy outside,” Benjamin recalled. “It was very scary.”

RELATED: Why did a nurse turn to the ‘dark side’ and start murdering elderly war veterans?

Wesley Hadsell found guilty of murdering Anjelica “AJ” Hadsell

In 2022, Wesley was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. He continues to maintain his innocence and insists he never did anything to AJ.

“I never hurt Anjelica,” he said Date line from prison.

But many, like French, believe Wesley is exactly where he belongs.

“I hope he sees her every single day the way he left her,” he said.