Before Dayton Webber was arrested and charged with killing his friend as they drove through Southern Maryland late Sunday, he dedicated his life to showing the world that quadruple amputees like him can do anything.
Videos of Webber, 27, sinking bag after bag as a professional cornhole player who was good enough to place fifth in a 2023 championship match have been featured on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and the “Today” show on NBC. His social media pages are filled with images of him fishing, bow hunting, sledding and riding a motocross bike.
There are other videos, too: Webber loading and rapidly firing a 9mm handgun with the tip of his amputated arm at the trigger. Webber rolling his shoulder after firinga .54-caliber rifle.
“People often underestimate me when they see me — no matter the context,” he wrote in a personal essay published by the “Today” show in 2023.
Webber was arrested early Monday in Charlottesville in the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Bradrick Wells.
Wells and two other passengers had been riding in Webber’s Tesla when, police said, Webber shot and killed Wells in the midst of an argument. The other two passengers, who police in Charles County, Maryland, said had been seated in the back of the SUV, fled the vehicle and flagged down law enforcement after Webber allegedly asked them to help move the body. Police did not identify the two passengers.
Wells was found dead hours later in a homeowner’s yard in Charlotte Hall, Maryland, according to charging documents, with two apparent gunshot wounds.
Webber was arrested after seeking medical treatment at a hospital near Charlottesville, about 150 miles west of where the shooting is alleged to have happened. Police did not specify what his medical condition appeared to be. Webber was booked into the Albemarle-Charlottesville regional jail, where he remained as of Tuesday.
Webber faces extradition to Charles County, where he is expected to be charged with first- and second-degree murder and other crimes, according to the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives had not searched the car as of late Tuesday, pending a search warrant.
Webber is “very well known in the DMV, that’s for sure, doing a lot of motivational speaking and going on tour,” said Charles County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Diane Richardson.
He has for years written and spoken publicly about wanting to change perceptions of amputees, as well as the many ways he has challenged people’s notions of what he can do, physically.
At 10 months old, Webber has explained, he contracted a life-threatening blood infection. Doctors told his parents he had a 3 percent chance of survival. To slow the infection, his medical team amputated his arms and legs. Eventually, after four months at the hospital, Webber said, he was discharged and went on to have a healthy childhood.
He taught himself to do things that many assumed he could not: write, drive go-karts and eventually cars, wrestle, and play football and games like cornhole.
“I want to encourage others to take chances and pursue their dreams. I’ve overcome difficulties and I think others can, too,” he wrote. “For much of my life, I’ve grappled with people underestimating me because of how I look. People assume that I can’t operate heavy equipment, for example, but I can. That’s why I hope people give disabled people a chance. We will definitely surprise you.”
Webber played professional cornhole with the American Cornhole League for nearly a decade, becoming the first quadruple amputee to compete professionally in the sport. In 2023, he won a cash prize of more than $300 after tying for fifth place in an ACL championship tournament, according to the Cornhole DB website, which bills itself as the premier site for statistics in the sport. That same year, he and a doubles partner won a $75 prize at a different event.
The ACL this week wrote in a statement that Webber has not been “an active participant” since 2024. The league declined to comment on his time as a player.
“Our thoughts are with all those impacted, including the family and loved ones of Bradrick Michael Wells,” the ACL wrote. “We respect the judicial process and will not comment on specific allegations or details while proceedings are ongoing.”
Michael Wells, the father of Bradrick Wells, told the Baltimore Banner on Tuesday that his son was a close friend of Webber’s and that the two younger men had spent time hunting deer together. He said he did not know what kind of argument could have precipitated such a violent end.
Webber’s family did not respond to calls for comment. His extradition to Maryland, as of Tuesday afternoon, was still pending.
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