The Disturbing New Reason Why Tyler Tessier Says He Killed His Pregnant Girlfriend — After Changing His Story Several Times
He made up multiple stories before admitting to killing her.
Montgomery County Police News/Missing Pieces Network A Maryland man admitted he shot his pregnant girlfriend in the head because he was scared he had buried her alive, despite his previous story.
Tyler Tessier was charged with first-degree murder in the September 2017 death of Laura Wallen, 31, who was four months pregnant at the time.
The high school teacher was found in a shallow grave with a gunshot wound to the head consistent with an execution-style wound, according to CBS Baltimore.
“We were pretty sure it was Tyler, but we didn’t know where she was,” Wallen’s father, Mark, said.
Tessier’s story about what happened to his girlfriend has changed multiple times until he finally admitted to shooting Wallen in the head.
At first, he told police in an interview that he was concerned Wallen would lose her job at Wilde Lake High School because of her pregnancy. She told him she wanted his help to disappear, Tessier said.
Next, he claimed the two had been kidnapped. According to this version of events, he and Wallen were taken to the Montgomery field where she was shot. He was able to escape, Tessier told authorities.
Tessier changed his account yet again. This time, he said he and Wallen had gotten into a heated argument and he hit her head on a pole on the front porch by accident, CBS Baltimore reports.
In this final story, Tessier said he panicked and buried her in the field. When he was questioned about her gunshot wound, he said he feared he had buried Wallen alive so he shot her in the back of the head just to be sure she was dead and not suffering, reports The Washington Post.
Authorities stated that Tessier had murdered Wallen because she had been contacting another woman he was dating at the same time.
While a week-long search for Wallen was taking place, Tessier pretended to be clueless about her whereabouts and begged her to return home at a press conference, The Washington Post writes.
“Laura, if you’re listening,” Tessier said as he sat next to Wallen’s parents, “it doesn’t matter what’s happened. It doesn’t matter what type of trouble. There’s nothing we can’t fix together.”
The family of Wallen suspected Tessier had something to do with her disappearance the moment she went missing.
Authorities made a “calculated decision” to organize a press conference in order to see what Tessier might do or say in front of a camera. Wallen’s parents agreed to the plan, even though it meant they had to sit next to Tessier and pretend they didn’t suspect him.
“It was all we could do to be seen as a unified family with him,” 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.”
Wallen’s body was discovered shortly after the press conference was held and Tessier was promptly arrested.
“We had a real sense of dread this is the way this was going to end up,” said Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger.
Though heartbroken, Wallen’s family is thankful she is no longer missing.
“We were praying for a good, old-fashioned miracle,” Wallen’s father said. “God did not give us the miracle that I asked for, but he did give us a miracle nonetheless. We have our daughter back.”