Confession Tape Not To Play At Trial For Tyler Tessier: Report

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — A man charged in the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, who taught at Wilde Lake High School, allegedly told investigators that he shot her. When he appears for trial on Sept. 4, the recording in which he said that will not be played, based on a decision in court this week.

Tyler Tessier, 33, is charged with murder in the death of Laura Wallen.

Wallen, 31, lived in a condo in Olney and worked at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia. Police said she was four months pregnant when she was reported missing on Sept. 4, 2017.

Her sister, with whom she was in daily contact, notified authorities of her disappearance. Laura Wallen had sent her a message that said: "'Tyler has me on an adventure in the country...don't know why I'm here but it's for something,'" charging documents said.

When her sister requested a photo, Wallen texted a picture of a field that "appears to be the same field where the clandestine grave was recovered," according to charging documents. Her body was found on Sept. 13.

Police said the field was near property where Tessier, the father of her unborn child, had been staying. For the week that Wallen was missing, police said Tessier paid several visits to a Damascus property in the 12400 block of Prices Distillery Road where a farm was surrounded by acres of woods and open fields.

Police said that the autopsy report showed she had been shot in the back of the head.

In a series of interviews with police about Wallen's disappearance, authorities said Tessier provided several versions of what happened. In one, he told police they fought at the place where he had been staying, she tried to attack him with a pair of scissors, he darted away, and she ran into a wooden post on the porch then collapsed, according to WTOP. He reportedly said he thought she died from hitting her head and decided to bury her in a nearby field but then, fearing he had buried her alive, shot her in the head.

Before Friday's hearing, Tessier's attorneys said they planned to request his recorded confession be thrown out because he had asked for legal counsel and police allegedly ignored the request at the time.

While the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office disputed that claim, prosecutors agreed not to play the recording during the trial and not to reference it unless Tessier contradicts or denies information provided in the interview, according to the Associated Press.

Court records show that trial is set to start on Sept. 4 and is expected to last for 10 days.

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Image via Montgomery County Police Department.