Man Pleads Guilty In 2014 Fatal Shooting In Burlington County: Prosecutor

A 22-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a fatal shooting that took place in Fairmount Park in Willingboro in 2014, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced. Abdullah H. Sheriff, of Willingboro, admitted that he shot and killed 21-year-old Abenego Wesseh on March 25, 2014. He pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter.

Under the terms of the plea deal, he faces 25 years in state prison, and must serve 85 percent of his term before becoming eligible for parole. Sentencing is scheduled for June 16.

Sheriff was arrested at Willingboro High School two days after Wesseh was shot, and he has been incarcerated in Burlington County Jail ever since. He was a senior in high school at the time of his arrest.

Wesseh’s body was found along a paved path in a wooded section of the park on the afternoon of March 26, 2014. The investigation revealed that Wesseh, who was from Williamstown, had been shot a day earlier.

An autopsy performed by Burlington County Medical Examiner Dr. Ian Hood determined the cause of death to be a gunshot wound to the head. The gun police believe was used to kill Wesseh was recovered.

The attached image of Abdullah H. Sheriff was provided by the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office