Leesburg Jury Convicts Former Substitute Teacher on Four Counts Over Threatened Murder Spree at Loudoun School

A jury in Loudoun County convicted a 19-year-old former substitute teacher Friday on four of five criminal counts stemming from threats to carry out a murder spree at a local high school.

Hadyn James Dollery, who reportedly identifies as female and goes by the name “Sophie,” was found guilty of two counts of threatening to injure or kill a person, one count of making threats on school grounds, and one count of threatening to damage a building. Jurors acquitted him on a third threat count.

Prosecutors said Dollery sent the threatening messages over Discord at 1:49 a.m. on April 15, hours after his boyfriend broke up with him. Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Dircia Schubert told jurors Dollery threatened to kill his ex-boyfriend, the ex’s family and his own family, and to go on a murder spree at the ex’s school. Dollery also described cannibalizing one of his intended victims after killing them, according to prosecutors.

The ex-boyfriend and another person reported the messages through Safe2Talk, a school tip-reporting app. Administrators at John Champe High School, the target of the threats, and at Eagle Ridge Middle School, where Dollery had worked as a non-licensed substitute, treated the reports as credible and increased security at both buildings.

Charging documents show the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office received the report on April 16. Dollery was taken into custody four days later, off school property, and removed from the district’s list of approved substitutes.

At trial, jurors also heard that Dollery had a box cutter in his backpack and that his phone records showed he had searched Google for information about blood.

Defense attorney Mary Swanson told jurors the case amounted to a teenage love triangle that had been blown out of proportion, noting it was Dollery’s first breakup and that he had no history of violence.

A jury of seven men and five women began deliberating Thursday afternoon and returned its verdict Friday. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 28. The four convictions carry a combined maximum of up to 25 years in prison, with no mandatory minimum.

Scrutiny of substitute hiring

Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman raised questions about the school division’s hiring practices after Dollery’s arrest in April, arguing that 18- and 19-year-olds should not be placed in charge of students and calling the practice a safety risk. Loudoun County Public Schools permits 19-year-olds to work as substitutes if they hold a high school diploma. Division spokesman Dan Adams responded that the school system employs more than 13,000 people and defended its hiring process.

Loudoun County’s schools drew national scrutiny in 2021 after a male student sexually assaulted a female classmate in a bathroom at Stone Bridge High School and, after being transferred to Broad Run High School, assaulted another girl there. A special grand jury later concluded the district “failed at every juncture” and indicted then-Superintendent Scott Ziegler on three misdemeanor counts.