VA - Anjelica "AJ" Hadsell, 18, Norfolk, 3 March 2015 #15

[grammy56]

Is it just me or have a lot of twitter account been taken down?

 

[SeeAlice]

Did I miss a LE press conference? Alice, where did you find this??

Tidewater News

"It had been previously reported that the investigation came to Western Tidewater when a neighbor, Brian Potts, called in a suspicious vehicle visiting the property. The Tidewater News has since learned through Detective Camden Cobb of the Southampton Sheriff’s Office that Potts did not see the blue black Dodge Caravan pull into the back yard of the property that had been abandoned for two years, nor did he report the incident to authorities. Cobb said that Potts’ neighbors saw vehicle, but did not report the incident alleged to have occurred three or four weeks ago."

http://www.tidewaternews.com/2015/04/10/body-found-in-southampton-county-identified-as-a-j-hadsell/

 

[spamelope]

It was in several articles that were written about her remains being recovered. I'll go look. The chief (or sheriff) said Potter had never reported the bit about the van to LE before. Probably a yes/no response to a reporter's question.

Wow, it sounds like he could be a cab driver. I'm not putting a whole lot of credence in this sighting.

 

[msteach]

I'm still catching up, so some of this may have been addressed. Please forgive me if this is redundant.

A few comments/questions I have seen about where she was found:

1. Streetlights where AJ was found -- someone said that they might be dim. Or, if they are anything like where I live in rural Virginia, they are non existent. I'm not sure if this property was 'in' Franklin and on a street, or if it was outside of town. If it was the latter, definitely no streetlights -- not even on the corners of the roads, unless a main road. If it was the former, they may just be at the corners. So...very easy for someone who wasn't really looking for a specific color caravan to say -- maybe green, maybe blue -- heck, maybe even gray or black. Just the fact that someone reported a suspicious dark van was a good call.

2. Dates on when the neighbors saw the van out there -- it's really easy to get mixed up about dates -- again, especially if you are thinking back a few days or a few weeks (at least it is when you are my age). I have mentioned to my grown kids something we did "the other day" and they will say, "Mom...we did that a few weeks ago..." Not early dementia. Just not paying attention.

3. Distance between Norfolk and Franklin may look like 20 min on a map, but it's probably closer to an hour. I was just down Chesapeake way the other day (or the other week...see, it happens all the time!) and it took me an hour to get from Chesapeake to Windsor on a Saturday evening -- not during rush hour or anything.

This also might explain why someone in Franklin wouldn't automatically think that a suspicious vehicle at an abandoned house would be related to a young girl missing from Norfolk.

When I read that it was a vacant house where she was found, I thought of a few that I know nobody ever checks on some of the back roads around where I live. These are perfect places for the bad guys to dispose of people and things that they don't want to be found for a long, long time.

4. Tall grass. I live in the country and it sure looks like old overgrown dead grass from last year. It's not new growth. All I have to do is to look out into one of my back pastures to see the same. It's holdover from last fall, most likely.

Anyway...just my two cents (or 4 cents, in this case, I guess).

 

[LietKynes]

Just jumping into this thread and apologies if this was discussed earlier.... but do we know of a motive in this heinous crime ?
If it was WH, and imo it looks like it may have been; was this thought out and planned months in advance ?
My personal thought was , given WH's background and past history, maybe AJ accidentally stumbled upon some criminal behavior he was engaged in---selling illegal substances or whatever ?
And then she had to be 'silenced' ?
:moo:

 

[grammy56]

Maybe that is why he went fishing.. I will see if I can found the day of fishing.

 

[Mountain_Kat]

I keep thinking of the scenario someone discussed about the crawl space access. The tent that was set up was butted up to the house, I would imagine that is exactly where her body was found.
Also I'm wondering if her body could have been placed in a yard storage container/ Rubbermade type and placed next to the house, the type of container people store lawn furniture cushions in- it wouldn't seem out of place if police did a quick search of the property without finding her on Wednesday if she was placed in a typical yard bin.

Her body was discovered in tall grass. I've posted several links to msm articles that have clearly stated this. Sorry...just waking up and not ready to track down links again.

 

[Vail]

Her body was discovered in tall grass. I've posted several links to msm articles that have clearly stated this. Sorry...just waking up and not ready to track down links again.

Isn't there even a photo of the tech taking a picture of the site floating around?

ETA this is the one I was thinking of. Not sure that is acually it, though.

 

[FindHG]

LOL, I'm not a reporter, regrettably. I guess. Journalism seems to be in the throes of death. It's a whole different beast now than it was even 5-10 years ago so I don't really blame the reporters for that. I think we are actually to blame for how bad it has gotten. (We, the public, not we at Websleuths.)

I understand that you think that of journalists, and I'm not one to defend them as a whole, but individually, there are good ones, in print and broadcast, but they're hampered by politics, egos, ambition, blah blah blah and a whole entourage of tech, editorial, legal etc... so it's incumbent on the consumers of whatever news source to filter for that. Most of them are folks with families trying do the right thing in big institutions run on money. In all the threads the local news coverage far out passes the bigger market news outlets with vibrant helpful coverage, I've come to learn through WS.

 

[SeeAlice]

You do know about WH's previous criminal history, don't you, Alice?

Check the links within this article for more info. The first links will also give you details about the 1998 felonious restraint charge involving a minor.

http://wtkr.com/2015/03/23/father-of-missing-norfolk-teen-arrested/

I don't see the correlation between that and raping & murdering a young woman he had raised as his own daughter for several years.

There have never been any allegations of molestation or a big falling out between AJ & WH, have there?

You can read all you want to into that 1 photo, but the only fact I know about him & AJ is that he helped to raise a well-liked, well-rounded, seemingly successful beautiful young woman. IDK the (stereo)typical profile of a sexual molestation victim, but she isn't it. She was doing great, AFAIK.

 

[grammy56]

March the 18th was the fishing picture date.

 

[FindHG]

The house was abandoned for 2 years. The couple who owns it lives out of state. The home has NOT been maintained. The grass WAS waist high. That's been reported in msm.

I think you guys are thinking of "lawn" type grass. What I'm seeing in the photos is wild grass. Trust me, out here in the country it takes over pretty quickly if you don't maintain your property. We let a feild on our property go for about a year, and had to bring in a bush hog to cut it all down. It was easily up to my thighs...and that was only after a year of neglect.

It's also interesting to note that LE was out at the Franklin house on Wednesday. it wasn't until Thursday that they found her body. So she was NOT immediately visible.

Thank you very much for this Mt. Kat. I appreciate knowing it.

 

[mamajaay]

I don't see the correlation between that and raping & murdering a young woman he had raised as his own daughter for several years.

There have never been any allegations of molestation or a big falling out between AJ & WH, have there?

You can read all you want to into that 1 photo, but the only fact I know about him & AJ is that he helped to raise a well-liked, well-rounded, seemingly successful beautiful young woman. IDK the (stereo)typical profile of a sexual molestation victim, but she isn't it. She was doing great, AFAIK.

He didn't even come to know her until she was 13. Didn't adopt her until she was 16. Her formidable years were long gone. Those were spent with Zach. She was already a well rounded individual BEFORE WH came into her life, and she stayed that way IN SPITE of him.

And the "correlation" as you speak of here speaks to his violent tendencies. Just because his previous victims were not "daughters"... They were young women, and people he claimed to have loved. They were "his"... The same way he continuously referred to AJ--never by name.

 

[Pisces22]

The reporter said the clothes were found March 19 on Battlefield Blvd. That fits in with the 2-4 week ago sighting of the mini-van. The car could have been rented if the killer went to retrieve clothes and drop them off on Battlefield and didn't want to be identified by say, a big red pickup! (Were those clothing items ever identified as belonging to AJ?)
Also, what the heck was he doing with all the ammo?? Was that in case of a standoff with police? Could she have been held at that motel that week or so?

A few thoughts/opinions...
What are the chances he rented a vehicle? The company truck likely wasn't used for the flyer distribution and searches. It's also likely that (at least for a short time) the company vehicle AND the red truck were both in police custody for evidence gathering. He would have needed something to drive, aside from a company vehicle-which he likely wouldn't be using late at night. I wonder if it was a rental (or borrowed from someone). Was this what made the previously staunchly supportive sister do an about face on WH's possible involvement?

I'm also not definitively sure there wasn't someone else assisting him at some point. Maybe before, during or even just after the fact. Seems like a lot of places for one person to be...doing media interviews, leading searches, taking & following up on tips, B&E, scattering "breadcrumbs" around town, punching dogs, etc. I wonder if WH felt any pressure or suspicion of LE toward him. IMO...After any "incident" occurred it would seem that communicating w/ an accomplice (or tipster perhaps? IYKWIM) would be a possible reason to need/obtain a burner (secondary) phone. He needed to continue to control the situation and that's difficult if you think police ane listening in or tracking.

Just thinking. All MOO...etc, etc.

 

[SeeAlice]

I understand that you think that of journalist, and I'm not one to defend them as a whole, but individually, there are good ones, in print and broadcast, but they're hampered by politics, egos, ambition, blah blah blah and a whole entourage of tech, editorial, legal etc... so it's incumbent on the consumers of whatever news source to filter for that. Most of them are folks with families trying do the right thing in big institutions run on money, not like here, on WS.

Agree with you 100%.

 

[msteach]

I don't see the correlation between that and raping & murdering a young woman he had raised as his own daughter for several years.

There have never been any allegations of molestation or a big falling out between AJ & WH, have there?

You can read all you want to into that 1 photo, but the only fact I know about him & AJ is that he helped to raise a well-liked, well-rounded, seemingly successful beautiful young woman. IDK the (stereo)typical profile of a sexual molestation victim, but she isn't it. She was doing great, AFAIK.

I don't see him as being the man who helped to raise a well-liked, well-rounded, seemingly successful beautiful young woman. I feel like she did that in spite of him. Again, just my hunches here. Nothing to back that.

I have felt ever since WH started doing all of these stupid things and when the focus was obviously on him as an integral part of this case that maybe AJ went to college and came back strong enough to try to stand up for her mom and that maybe she was helping her mom to get stronger to stay away from him and he didn 't like that. They never like when someone helps their formerly mousy and compliant wives to get strong. I just feel like she was trying to protect her family from him and he didn't want her to stand in the way and, unfortunately, she paid the ultimate price for it.

 

[221bBakerStreet]

I'm still catching up, so some of this may have been addressed. Please forgive me if this is redundant.

A few comments/questions I have seen about where she was found:

1. Streetlights where AJ was found -- someone said that they might be dim. Or, if they are anything like where I live in rural Virginia, they are non existent. I'm not sure if this property was 'in' Franklin and on a street, or if it was outside of town. If it was the latter, definitely no streetlights -- not even on the corners of the roads, unless a main road. If it was the former, they may just be at the corners. So...very easy for someone who wasn't really looking for a specific color caravan to say -- maybe green, maybe blue -- heck, maybe even gray or black. Just the fact that someone reported a suspicious dark van was a good call.

2. Dates on when the neighbors saw the van out there -- it's really easy to get mixed up about dates -- again, especially if you are thinking back a few days or a few weeks (at least it is when you are my age). I have mentioned to my grown kids something we did "the other day" and they will say, "Mom...we did that a few weeks ago..." Not early dementia. Just not paying attention.

3. Distance between Norfolk and Franklin may look like 20 min on a map, but it's probably closer to an hour. I was just down Chesapeake way the other day (or the other week...see, it happens all the time!) and it took me an hour to get from Chesapeake to Windsor on a Saturday evening -- not during rush hour or anything.

This also might explain why someone in Franklin wouldn't automatically think that a suspicious vehicle at an abandoned house would be related to a young girl missing from Norfolk.

When I read that it was a vacant house where she was found, I thought of a few that I know nobody ever checks on some of the back roads around where I live. These are perfect places for the bad guys to dispose of people and things that they don't want to be found for a long, long time.

4. Tall grass. I live in the country and it sure looks like old overgrown dead grass from last year. It's not new growth. All I have to do is to look out into one of my back pastures to see the same. It's holdover from last fall, most likely.

Anyway...just my two cents (or 4 cents, in this case, I guess).

My two best friends' parents live roughly a minute from where AJ was found.

1. At night it's really dark.

2. No clue. Like you I question eyewitness reports especially guestimated time frames.

3. Takes almost exactly 1 hour to get to that location from where JH lives. (My condo in VB takes me about the same amount of time to get to the interstate as it does from JH's. I actually clocked that last week.)

4. There is overgrowth everywhere in that area. And its not uncommon to see a vacant house with an unkempt lot. A paper mill closed down in Franklin several years back and that hit he economy there very hard. It has since reopened but it's been a slow recovery for that town.

 

[Mountain_Kat]

I don't see the correlation between that and raping & murdering a young woman he had raised as his own daughter for several years.

There have never been any allegations of molestation or a big falling out between AJ & WH, have there?

You can read all you want to into that 1 photo, but the only fact I know about him & AJ is that he helped to raise a well-liked, well-rounded, seemingly successful beautiful young woman. IDK the (stereo)typical profile of a sexual molestation victim, but she isn't it. She was doing great, AFAIK.

If you don't see a correlation between a man who was arrested for felonious restraint of a MINOR in 1998, and arrested for kidnapping and rape of his estranged wife in 2005, and a young woman going missing from a residence he very recently shared with her in 2015...then I guess we are simply going to have to agree to disagree.

If it walks like a duck...IMO.

 

[pinkandgreenmom]

What's the make of the dark green vehicle we saw in the driveway on streetview, do you recall? I've looked again, but I can't tell. Plus, I kind of remember Zach telling us they no longer had that vehicle, but I might be recalling that incorrectly.

I'm behind so I'm sorry if this has been answered 20 times already. It is either a Ford Explorer or Ford Expedition (I have the Explorer in that color).

 

[SimmaDownNow]

no suspects?

police have not released any suspects in this case throughout the 39 days of this search.
(at 4:23 mark) They say that there are NO Suspects in this case.

http://wavy.com/2015/04/10/police-human-remains-are-those-of-missing-teen/