Tyler Tessier Wrote 5 Suicide Notes Before He Died: Report

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — New details have been released in the investigation into the death of Tyler Tessier, the man charged in the murder of a pregnant Howard County teacher. Among the revelations are that he reportedly wrote five suicide notes and left them in his cell, where he died the day his trial was to begin.

Tessier was found dead in his jail cell at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility, officials said, on Sept. 6, 2018. He was 33.

He was found at 4:55 a.m. that day by a warden, Montgomery correctional officials said, and despite the rendering of first aid and arrival of emergency medical personnel, he was pronounced dead.

The medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging, according to WTOP, which reported Tessier left five suicide notes on his bunk bed.

Information such as what the letters said and to whom they were addressed was not disclosed to the radio station, which reported Thursday, Feb. 7, that the Montgomery County Police Department had closed the investigation into Tessier's death but would not release the letters; this is contrary to a promise the Montgomery County state's attorney made on the day of Tessier's death, as the man was to begin trial for the murder of Laura Wallen, his girlfriend.

Wallen 31, was four months pregnant when she was shot in the back of the head and buried in a field over Labor Day weekend 2017. The investigation into her disappearance began on Labor Day and the search grew after she did not show up for the first day of school in 2017 at Wilde Lake High School, where she was named the senior class teacher of the year in 2016.

Tessier admitted to shooting Wallen, Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said, after she reached out to someone else she discovered he had been having a relationship with at the same time and requested to have a conversation "woman to woman."

At the press conference on Sept. 6, 2018, McCarthy said the death of Tessier, whom he described as a "psychopath," appeared to be suicide, substantiated by evidence at the scene.

"There are a series of notes that give strength to my statement that this appears to be a suicide," he said. "There are multiple notes that I will not go into detail [about] out of respect for the police investigation — it's not complete."

Said McCarthy: "There will come a time when it is completed that we will release those letters to you," McCarthy said. "But because the investigation is ongoing and some of the individuals to whom the notes were written have not seen those notes, out of consideration for those individuals, we feel we have to share the notes with them; and when the investigation is done, you will see the notes that he wrote."

McCarthy indicated the suicide was premeditated.

"Clearly when you read the notes, you will know that he had been contemplating for some period of time taking his own life," McCarthy said. "The notes are not dated notes but other information that we've gathered through other sources today lead us to believe that he had been speaking to other family members about those notes for some period of time. These notes were not written, I would suggest, in the last 24 hours, [but were written] probably over the last several weeks or days."

Tessier took his life in a 10-minute window, after receiving breakfast at 4:45 a.m. but before the warden checked on him at 4:55 a.m., according to officials.

While awaiting trial, Tessier was in an individual cell, but he was not in isolation, McCarthy said; he was in a pod with 15 other inmates in individual cells.

After Tessier died, the county removed sheets from jail cells, doubling up on blankets instead to keep detainees covered, according to Montgomery County Public Media, which reported he was the second person to take his own life in a 65-day period at the facility using a sheet.

The other man — Thierry Kinshala Nkusu, 35 — had died on July 4, 2018, two days after he was sentenced to life without parole in the stabbing death of his pregnant fiancée, whom he killed because he said he did not want the responsibility of a baby.

RELATED:

• Tyler Tessier Found Dead In Jail Cell
• Who Is Tyler Tessier? 9 Things To Know In Columbia Teacher's Murder
• Tyler Tessier Admits He Shot Pregnant Girlfriend Laura Wallen
• 1,000 People Attend Funeral For Laura Wallen
• Slain Teacher Inspires Proposed Change To Maryland Law
• Pregnant Teacher Love Triangle Death: Boyfriend Engaged To Another Woman

Help for Those Considering Suicide

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, there are resources to help.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-SUICIDE (or 1-800-784-2433), and offers services including a live chat on its website.

Image via Montgomery County Police Department.