The indictment against Dayton Webber has transformed a well-known personal story into a criminal case centered on the death of Bradrick Wells.
CHARLES COUNTY, Md. — Dayton James Webber built a public reputation as an athlete who beat extraordinary odds, but prosecutors in Maryland now say the 27-year-old professional cornhole player shot his friend Bradrick Michael Wells and later left his body in a yard in Charlotte Hall.
The indictment announced Monday has changed the frame of the story from arrest coverage to a full murder prosecution. The details that once made Webber widely recognizable now sit beside allegations of a fatal argument, an out-of-state arrest, a failed self-defense claim at bail review and a victim’s family pushing back against the version offered by the defense.
Before the case, Webber had been known to many sports fans as the first quadruple amputee to compete professionally in cornhole. He lost his arms and legs as an infant after a severe blood infection, later taught himself to write and drive, and became the subject of national media profiles that highlighted his independence and athletic skill. Video clips and feature stories presented him as someone who surprised people’s assumptions about disability. That history helps explain why the criminal allegations traveled so quickly beyond Southern Maryland. It also helps explain why prosecutors addressed the issue directly this week. They have argued that whatever attention Webber’s biography attracts, the case should be judged as a homicide investigation involving a dead 27-year-old man from Waldorf and evidence gathered by police, not by the emotional arc of a preexisting public image.
The allegations themselves are stark. Authorities say Webber was driving on March 22 in La Plata with Wells in the front passenger seat and two other passengers in the back when an argument broke out inside the vehicle. Prosecutors have said that dispute involved resentment over a gun allegedly stolen from Webber by a friend of Wells, along with anger that Wells remained close to that person. Investigators say Webber shot Wells during the dispute, then pulled over and asked the backseat passengers to help remove the body. They refused, according to charging documents, got out and flagged down police at about 10:30 p.m. Webber then drove off, authorities say, with Wells still in the vehicle. Nearly two hours later, a resident in Charlotte Hall found a body in a yard on Newport Church Road. Officers identified Wells and pronounced him dead there.
From that point, the case moved fast. Detectives located Webber’s vehicle in Charlottesville, Virginia, and found him at a hospital receiving treatment for an unspecified medical issue. He was arrested there as a fugitive from justice, extradited to Maryland and booked into the Charles County Detention Center on March 31. Jail officials said they would make accommodations for his medical and mobility needs under the Americans With Disabilities Act. At an April 1 bail hearing, defense lawyers argued that Webber had acted in self-defense and was in fear for his life. Judge Patrick Devine ordered him held without bond. Prosecutors have since said the investigation has uncovered no evidence supporting self-defense. Defense lawyer Hammad Matin has maintained that the case is one of “kill or be killed.”
Monday’s indictment lays out the criminal path ahead. Prosecutors said the grand jury approved the indictment April 10, formally moving the matter into Charles County Circuit Court. The six counts include first-degree murder, use of a firearm in a violent crime, two counts of reckless endangerment and two counts tied to possessing a loaded handgun in a vehicle. If convicted on the lead count, Webber could face life in prison. Investigators have also said evidence from Virginia has been preserved and is being processed. Publicly, several questions remain open, including whether the Tesla captured any video relevant to the shooting and what forensic evidence will be used to test the defense account against witness statements and the state’s timeline.
For Wells’ family, the attention paid to Webber’s fame has never changed the center of the story. Wells’ mother has rejected the self-defense claim and said her son had known Webber for years. The American Cornhole League, meanwhile, issued a brief statement after the arrest calling the allegations extremely serious and expressing sympathy for those affected, including Wells’ loved ones. Those reactions point to the split that often follows a case involving a known public figure. One public story looks backward at who Webber had been. The other stays fixed on who Wells was, how he died, and whether prosecutors can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the celebrated athlete behind the wheel committed murder.
That is where the case stands now: a once inspirational public image on one side, a first-degree murder prosecution on the other, and circuit court proceedings still to come.
Author note: Last updated April 14, 2026.