SNOW HILL — A Texas man, sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder in the death of a Delaware woman killed in Pocomoke and found years later buried in Snow Hill, could be getting a new trial after the state’s highest court last week ruled in favor of his appeal.
Justin Hadel, now 23, of College Station, Texas, was found guilty in June 2011 of first-degree murder for the beating death of Christine Sheddy, a 26-year-old Delaware woman reported missing in November 2007 from a farm near Pocomoke where she had been staying with friends. Sheddy had moved to the Byrd Rd. residence about two months earlier and shared the home with another couple, Clarence “Junior” Jackson and Tia Johnson, along with Johnson’s two young children and her cousin, Hadel.
Sheddy was reported missing on Nov. 13, 2007, touching off a massive search in the area of the Byrd Rd. residence to no avail. After an extensive two-year search, Sheddy’s remains were found buried under a bed-and-breakfast in Snow Hill where both Jackson and Johnson had worked prior to her disappearance. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later ruled Sheddy had been killed by as many as four blows from a blunt object.
Investigators identified Hadel as the suspect and he was arrested in Texas and returned to Worcester to face trial. It later came to light Hadel had confessed to Johnson about committing the murder and also told his jail cellmate about the incident. The investigation revealed Hadel and Jackson had killed Sheddy and the two men along with Johnson transported her remains to Snow Hill and buried them under a bed-and-breakfast.
Hadel was convicted of first-degree murder in June 2011 and was sentenced to life in prison. Jackson was later convicted of murder of his role in the incident, while Johnson was convicted of being an accessory after the fact. Hadel filed an appeal with the state’s Court of Special Appeals seeking an overturn of his conviction based on the fact he was denied an opportunity to change his lawyer just four days before his trial. The Court of Special Appeals upheld the conviction, denying Hadel of an opportunity for a new trial.
However, Hadel petitioned the Court of Appeals for a writ of certiorari, asking for a review of the lower court’s opinion. The Court of Appeals last week issued a ruling overturning the lower court’s opinion, essentially remanding the case back to the Court of Special Appeals for further review.
Should the Court of Special Appeals reverse its earlier ruling, Hadel could get a new trial at the Worcester Circuit Court level. The Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office could still appeal the high court’s ruling, however.