3 Bodies Found In Ex-Montclair Resident’s Home: DA

Authorities have released the identities of three deceased bodies found in the home of a former Montclair resident who was living in Massachusetts.

On Monday, Hampden County District Attorney Gulluni announced that three bodies were found at 1333 Page Boulevard in Springfield, Massachusetts, the home of Stewart Weldon, 40, a former Montclair resident. Weldon is also a suspect in two separate kidnapping and sexual assault cases.

Gulluni identified the deceased as Ernestine Ryans, 47, of Springfield; America Lyden, 34, of Springfield, and Kayla Escalante, 27, of Ludlow. Two of the three women had been the subject of missing women reports, Gulluni said.

Lyden was reported missing on Dec. 1, 2017 but hadn't been seen in six months. Ryans was reported missing on March 18, 2018 - 10 days after her family last saw her, according to NBC New York.

Weldon’s mother reported smelling a rank odor at the property prior to the discovery of the bodies, MassLive.com reported.

A medical examiner has yet to determine the causes of death, but they are being investigated as "suspicious," Gulluni said. No one has been charged in connection with the deaths as of Monday.

• See related article: Bodies Found At Springfield Home ID'd, New Charges For Man

Weldon has faced a long history of criminal allegations in New Jersey, where he’s been charged with weapons offenses, burglary and sexual assault between 1997 and 2006. According to court records, in 1997, Weldon was arrested in Montclair and charged with sexual assault after he and an accomplice allegedly picked up an 18-year-old Bloomfield woman at a party, refused to let her leave the car and sexually assaulted her, NJ.com reported.

He also pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a weapon and was charged with kidnapping in East Orange, NJ.com reported.

Weldon came under renewed police scrutiny after he arrested on May 27 after a car chase with police in which he crashed into a cruiser and then wrestled with the officers. The woman who was in Weldon's car told police he held her captive for a month, sexually assaulted her and beat her with objects.

On Monday, Weldon pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and assault to rape charges related to a second alleged victim. He was ordered held on an additional $1 million cash bail. No additional details about those charges were immediately available, but authorities said that they are not connected to the three bodies discovered in Springfield, NBC New York reported.

With previous reporting by Charlene Arsenault, Patch Staff

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo 1: 1333 Page Boulevard, Springfield, Massachusetts (Google Maps)

Photo 2: Stewart Weldon, via YouTube/ABC News