Meet The Men Who Tried To Free The Accused North Andover Killer

NORTH ANDOVER, MA -- Two New Hampshire private investigators intervened on behalf of accused killer Brian Chevalier in an effort to get his prison sentence for kidnapping reduced. John Healy, a retired New Hampshire State Police lieutenant, and Dudley D. Dumaine, a retired Keene, N.H. Police officer and former New Hampshire state representative, told a court they had contacted Chevalier after reviewing his case, believing he was innocent.

Chevalier, 51, of Merrimack, N.H., has been charged with the April 21 murder of 49-year-old Wendi Davidson, his ex-fiance, in North Andover. He is currently being held in Imperial County, CA and is fighting extradition to Massachusetts.

Dumaine did not return phone calls Tuesday and Healy initially declined comment. Healy founded Litigation Intelligence Services LLC after he retired from the state police. He has since retired from that profession and closed Litigation Intelligence Services.

"All my work is confidential. If I did any work I need their permission to discuss it," Healy said in a text message. "I cannot comment on any cases I have worked on. I am not being obstinate but must abide by our ethics code."

In 2004, a jury acquitted Chevalier on 10 of the 11 charges he faced stemming from the December 29, 2003 incident, but found him guilty of kidnapping. At his sentencing in 2005, Assistant Cheshire County Attorney Kathleen O'Reilly said Chevalier posed "a substantial threat to any woman he comes in contact with" when she asked a judge to impose a sentence normally reserved for convicted murderers in New Hampshire. The judge concurred, and sentenced Chevalier to 10 to 30 years in prison for holding an ex-girlfriend hostage for 21 hours in her Jaffrey, N.H. home.

Chevalier will "reintegrate into society and become a productive member once again."

In 2010, Healy and Dumaine wrote a letter asking the court to grant Chevalier's request for a reduced sentence after the New Hampshire Supreme Court denied his appeal in 2006. In their letter, the two men said they had contacted Chevalier after hearing of his case, believing he was innocent. They stressed that he had not contacted them and, instead, they had reached out to him to offer assistance in securing a new trial or a reduced sentence. They administered a polygraph test, which they said he passed.

"Brian's mother is available to help him upon his release, as are we. We both feel he is a candidate for sentence modification," they wrote. "We feel that this support and the excellent supervision of Probation/Parole officers will allow Brian to reintegrate into society and become a productive member once again."

After initially declining to comment, Healy sent Patch a text message explaining why he had reached out to Chevalier.

"Here is why I did it. He was not polygraphed by the police in the Jaffrey case," Healy said. "I received info that he was not guilty. I paid to have him polygraphed in prison, about the Jaffrey case. He passed easily. Thus my writing the letter. I hope this helps."

According to court records, Healy also analyzed the victim's statement and said it contained "obvious signs of deception."

Chevalier's request for a reduced sentence was denied. But early last year the process to parole him started, with the New Hampshire parole board recommending in a February 2017 letter that Chevalier be considered for a work-release program when he was eligible for release on December 14, 2017.

Chevalier's Most Recent Prison Stint

Chevalier's time in prison on the kidnapping charge was marked with a handful of infractions of prison rules. In 2009 he was written up for insubordination after a guard told him he could not make a phone call. "I hope your mother dies and you can go [expletive deleted] yourself," Chevalier told the guard. In 2010 he was written up twice, once for failing to report to a medical appointment and once for having wax in his cell, which violated the prison rule that prohibits inmates from possessing anything not issued by authorities.

Finally, he was written up in 2012 for swearing at a nurse who told him some of his medication had been discontinued. When he was told he could not swear, Chevalier said "I'll swear all I want. [Expletive deleted], [expletive deleted], [expletive deleted], [expletive deleted]," according to parole records.

In a brief requesting a sentence reduction, Chevalier wrote that he worked as a finish sprayer in the prison's hobby craft department. He said he completed anger management and substance abuses courses, an "alternatives to violence" program, and a culinary arts program.

Chevalier was released on December 14, the earliest date he was eligible for parole. Shortly after his release he signed up for an online dating service and met Davidson. The two began dating and were engaged on Valentine's Day. In late March, Davidson broke off the engagement.

Chevalier's criminal record stretches back to 1984, when he was 17 and convicted of burglary and received a deferred sentence of one to three years. Other convictions include:

• Criminal trespass in 1989 with a six-month suspended sentence.
• Criminal trespass in 1990 with a 30-day prison sentence.
• Resisting arrest in 1990, sentenced to time served.
• Simple assault in 1991, 12-month sentence with nine months suspended.
• Burglary in 1991, three to six years.
• Simple assault in 1992, 12 months
• Escape from prison in 1995, one to three years
• Simple assault in 1995, with a nine-month suspended sentence.
• Assault by a prisoner in 1997.
• The kidnapping conviction in 2004, with a 10- to 30-year sentence.

Then on April 21 of this year, police were called at 12:28 p.m. to the 50 Lincoln Street home where Davidson lived with her brother. Investigators have released few details about Davidson's murder, but have said that she was strangled. Her body was found in the basement by a neighbor, who alerted Davidson's brother.

Chevalier was arrested Wednesday in Mexico, just over the border from California. On Friday, he was charged with Davidson's murder. Chevalier was arraigned Monday in Imperial County (Calif.) Superior Court on fugitive from justice charges. He did not waive rendition at the court appearance, prompting the Essex County District Attorney's Office to seek a Governor's warrant so he can be returned to Massachusetts to face the first degree murder charge.

• Accused Killer Still On West Coast, DA Seeks Gov.'s Warrant (4/30/2018)
• Accused Killer's Record Of Violence Against Women Started In 1990 (4/29/2018)
• North Andover Victim Met Alleged Killer On Dating Site(4/28/2018)
• Ex-Fiance Charged With North Andover Woman's Murder(4/27/2018)
• Murder Victim's Fiance Kidnapped Ex-Girlfriend In 2003(4/24/2018)
• North Andover Murder Victim Was "Kind, Caring" (4/23/2018)
• North Andover Homicide Victim Was Strangled (4/22/2018)
• Police Investigating Homicide In North Andover (4/21/2018)

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Photo by Imperial County Sheriff's Office.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).