Prosecutor Seeks Murder Case Appeal Reversal

SNOW HILL — The fate of a Texas man sentenced in 2011 to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder remains in the balance this week after the Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to reverse the state’s highest court’s ruling on an appeal.

Justin Hadel, now 23, of College Station, Texas, was found guilty in June 2011 of first-degree murder in 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. After a massive two-year search, Sheddy’s remains were found buried under a bed-and-breakfast in Snow Hill.

Hadel was later convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Sheddy, who was struck at least four times in the head with a shovel at the Pocomoke farm, and was sentenced to life in prison. However, Hadel later filed an appeal in the Maryland Court of Special Appeals seeking to overturn the conviction on the grounds he was allegedly not afforded the opportunity to change his defense attorney just four days before his trial.

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