SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — Wesley Hadsell has a new trial date after the first trial attempt ended in a mistrial earlier this week.
The next trial will now begin May 19 and is expected to last for three weeks.
Hadsell faces murder charges for the 2015 death of his 18-year-old stepdaughter, AJ Hadsell.
On Monday morning, the prosecution and defense were ready to go. A jury of 12 was selected and seated. The next day began with opening statements then the commonwealth called their first four witnesses: the Norfolk homicide detective assigned to the case and AJ’s college roommate, mother and younger sister.
Then Wednesday morning, everything came to a halt.
After hearing the first few witnesses testify, Hadsell decided he didn’t want to keep an agreement his defense team made with prosecution regarding what parts of his criminal record would be allowed to be brought up during the trial.
There wasn’t time for prosecutors to restructure their case without the evidence that was allowed under the agreement, so they requested a mistrial and the judge granted the request.
The judge also made it clear during Friday’s hearing that for the new trial, there will be no unofficial agreements between the two sides. Every agreement must be in writing, signed, and handed over to the court.
Hadsell will be back in court for two pretrial motions hearings. The first of those will be March 11.