Slain Wilde Lake Teacher's Boyfriend Indicted

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD - A grand jury has indicted the boyfriend of a pregnant Wilde Lake High School teacher whose body was found in a field in Montgomery County last month.

Tyler Tessier, 33, was indicted Thursday on one count of common-law murder, court records show.

The indictment stemmed from the death of Tessier's girlfriend, who disappeared over Labor Day weekend.

• Who Is Tyler Tessier? 9 Things To Know In Columbia Teacher's Murder
• 1,000 People Attend Funeral For Laura Wallen
• Pregnant Teacher Love Triangle Death: Boyfriend Engaged To Another Woman

Laura Wallen, 31, was four months pregnant when she disappeared before the first day of school; she was a teacher at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia and was enthusiastic about the coming school year.

Police said her sister, with whom she was in daily contact, reported her missing on Labor Day, which was Monday, Sept. 4.

Tessier was interviewed multiple in the days that followed, according to police.

"In each interview, he provided conflicting statements regarding Wallen’s disappearance," police said of the information Tessier provided during questioning between Sept. 5 and Sept. 11.

Police said Tessier admitted to being engaged to another woman and said that he drove Wallen's car to Columbia, where he removed the front license plate and disposed of her iPhone and license.

He was originally charged on Sept. 13 with first-degree murder; altering physical evidence; and providing a false statement to a police officer, according to court records.

The indictment means Tessier is now only facing the charge of murder.

• Teacher's Death 'Devastating,' Crisis Team Responds To Wilde Lake
• Missing Wilde Lake Teacher's Vehicle Found: Report
• Wilde Lake Teacher Missing

For the week after 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.

He had stayed there from time to time and described the resident as a "close friend," according to charging documents. The resident was on vacation for Labor Day weekend and said nobody was home, according to police.

Tessier had "been spending a great deal of time at the meat processing plant located on this property during the time that Wallen has been missing," according to charging documents.

When police searched the area, tire tracks led them to a field nearby. Montgomery County police and cadaver dogs located Wallen's body there in a 10-foot-by-10-foot grave, according to authorities.

The owner of the property where Wallen was found has no involvement with the case, officials said previously.

Tessier is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyds without bail.

He is slated to appear for a scheduling conference on Friday, Oct. 20.

Image via Montgomery County Police Department.

Get news alerts from Columbia Patch and like us on Facebook.