Community Chat

[golding76]

[The coward shot her in the back of the head.  Just read this horrible, sad fact in the update below.]

By Dan Morse, Ellie Silverman and Debbie Truong September 14 at 10:24 PM 

From the time Laura Wallen went missing 11 days ago, her family had suspicions about Tyler Tessier, her longtime on-again, off-again boyfriend.

They knew he was the last person seen with the well-liked high school teacher. They believed that a series of text mes­sages sent from Wallen’s phone were actually written by Tessier in an attempt to cover his tracks.

So several days ago, when Montgomery County detectives asked the family about having Tessier, 32, come to a planned news conference on the case — a tactic designed in part to see what he might say in front of TV cameras — the family was more than willing to go along. Even if they knew that it meant sitting next to him and feigning that everyone was pulling together.

“It was all we could do to be seen as a unified family with him,” Wallen’s father, Mark, said Thursday. “And it was absolutely the hardest thing that my wife could do would be to sit next to him and hold his hand. And she had to hold his hand with two hands because she was shaking so badly.”

On Wednesday, two days after the news conference, police found Wallen’s body — in a shallow grave in the northern part of the county. Hours later, Tessier was under arrest, charged with first-degree murder.

Laura Wallen and Tyler Tessier (Photos from Montgomery County Police)

“He is a monster and he is liar,” Mark Wallen said.

An autopsy shows that Laura Wallen, 31, had been shot in the back of the head, Montgomery police said late Thursday.

Since she was reported missing on Sept. 4, her case has received widespread attention. Wallen was four months pregnant, lived in the D.C. suburb of Olney, Md., and had taught social studies at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia since 2014. She was excited about the school year starting and didn’t seem at all like a person who would take off on her own, family and friends said.

Behind the scenes, detectives were in constant contact with Tessier, a landscaper believed to be the father of Wallen’s unborn child. They said he couldn’t keep his story straight, was slow to reveal he had recently become engaged to another woman, and was making unexplained trips to a wooded area in the northern part of the county.

A police search team, with ­cadaver-sniffing dogs, scoured the area Wednesday. They found recent tire tracks, followed them and came across a freshly dug area, according to police. That’s where they found Wallen’s body, they said.

In court Thursday — Tessier’s first appearance in the case — an attorney representing him, Victoria Kawecki, did not comment on the police allegations. But she noted that Tessier had no criminal record and had an extended family who supported him. She asked the judge to set a bond that would allow him to be released from custody pending further court proceedings.

Prosecutor Donna Fenton laid out the state’s case against Tessier, saying he had admitted sending the fake text messages from Wallen’s phone, tried to hide Wallen’s car and gave detectives “hundreds of inconsistencies.”

 Play Video 2:12

Missing pregnant woman found dead in Montgomery County

Montgomery County Chief of Police J. Thomas Manger spoke about the arrest of a suspect in the case of a missing pregnant woman found dead on Sept. 13. (WUSA9)

District Judge Zuberi B. Williams ordered Tessier held without bond. “I do think that you are a danger to the community,” Williams said.

In court papers, detectives said Wallen and Tessier’s new fiancee “both believed he was dating them exclusively.” The detectives said that may point to a motive for Tessier to kill Wallen.

The two women apparently were in contact recently, the court papers show.

On Aug. 28, about a week before Wallen disappeared, she sent a text to the fiancee, stating: “It’s important that some things are cleared up and I would imagine that if you were in my position, you’d want some answers as well. By no means is this an attempt at confrontation, just looking for an explanation . . . woman to woman.”

At Tessier’s bond hearing, Wallen’s family sat in the front row. Afterward, they talked about their support for the detectives’ efforts, including the news conference that helped draw more attention to the case.

“We were pretty sure it was Tyler, but we didn’t know where she was,” Mark Wallen said of his daughter.

He said detectives worked the case “with supreme precision and during this whole process kept us as updated as they possibly could. . . . We were praying for a good, old-fashioned miracle. God did not give us the miracle that I asked for, but he did give us a miracle nonetheless. We have our daughter back.”

[KathyPet]

I just find it hard to understand how a OBviously intelligent, well educated young woman was so naive as to not have some sense of what a monster this guy is.  Just like Laci Peterson and her monster husband.  THey spent a great deal of time together.  he fathered her child.  SHe never suspected that he was not what he seemed to be? Nothing he said or did caused her any doubt or distrust?  HE never displayed any behavior or personality traits that would lead her to question what kind of a man she was involved with?

I find that so difficult to believe.

[SahmIam]

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@KathyPet wrote:

I just find it hard to understand how a OBviously intelligent, well educated young woman was so naive as to not have some sense of what a monster this guy is.  Just like Laci Peterson and her monster husband.  THey spent a great deal of time together.  he fathered her child.  SHe never suspected that he was not what he seemed to be? Nothing he said or did caused her any doubt or distrust?  HE never displayed any behavior or personality traits that would lead her to question what kind of a man she was involved with?

I find that so difficult to believe.

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@KathyPet  You would be surprised at how many intelligent, well educated, learned women are survivors of Domestic Violence. These men are a specific breed of scum and know EXACTLY what they are doing. 

Not to mention that trust SHOULD be equal in a relationship but often isn't. Again, the number of women who have NO IDEA about what their man is doing/does/did crosses all levels of color, creed, income, education, etc.

Trust me.

Edited to change a word.

[golding76]

Oftentimes women with a kind and sympathetic nature attract abusers because such women are thoughtful and, for the most part, not quick to anger.  They practice kindness and concern as a way of life.  So, these abusive types of guys get some traction with them and establish a relationship.

Something tells me this guy is a LOSER in many ways (I know, not a huge insight), and with his feelings of inadequacy, "used" women to make his fragile ego feel better.  I do not think he is a Manson type, but I believe he has no moral compass -- just a needle that points to "me, me, me."

Am I making any sense here?  What women with a sympathetic nature must do is try to protect themselves from such types and get out at the first sign of mistreatment.  Easier said than done, I know.

I am so sorry for the loss felt by her family, friends and those who knew her through her teaching community.  I can only imagine the grief felt by those who were assigned to her this school year.  

[ROMARY]

P.S. to my previous post (yesterday) on this thread:   Anyone here watch last evening's (Thursday Sept. 14) TV  (ABC) movie:  'Truth and Lies: The Murder of Laci Peterson'.   Part documentary.  Excellent portrayal of the type of personality some people have.  Sociopathic, pathological, etc.   It's worth watching, imo.

[YorkieonmyPillow]

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@Krimpette wrote:

Not sure if you were aware, but the police knew of his guilt, before the press conference, as did the parents.  The police wanted to find out what he might say.  The parents agreed to cooperate.  It must have been dreadfully difficult for them to stand beside him knowing that he killed their daughter.  There are no words to describe him.  Evil is the main one that comes to my mind.

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  Are you serious?

  How in the world could that woman sit there and hold his hand, knowing he'd murdered her child???

  If I were her and been allowed that close to him, let's just say I wouldn't be holding his hand!

[SahmIam]

@YorkieonmyPillow  Yes, Krimpette is serious. The woman did that in order to catch the scum who killed her child and her grandchild-to-be. It takes a VERY strong and courageous person (mother or father) to do that. I salute and applaud her bravery. Her actions assisted in bringing the murderer to capture. In the end, I think any parent, giving the chance, would do whatever possible to see that happen.

Of course, given the opportunity to take a baseball bat and have 5 minutes alone with him may also be an option she would love to have had (I know I would jump on it if my child was harmed).

[esmerelda]

When I heard him making his plea for her to contact them or come back or whatever, I thought to myself, "that sounds just like Susan Smith. "How many here remember Susan Smith?

[ROMARY]

It would be an interesting read re: a future book or TV movie describing many of these  psychological personalities.  That is, what they have in common, how they were raised (if at all applicable), etc., etc.   They way they are able to ignore consequences and the way they are able to focus on only one specific agenda, and nothing else.   Could it be a brain dysfunction?  Or OTC or other medications?  It's really very interesting, as well as very tragic for the victims and their families.

[kivah]

Paying child support for 18 years --- is a lot easier than sitting in a tiny prison cell for the rest of ur life. The other option, being on Death Row!!!!! Ask Scott Peterson how comfortable he is on Death Row. Heard the food is also BAD!!!!!

How could a normal person kill another - especially someone he/she knows????