MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Tyler Tessier, the man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend last year, was found dead in jail Thursday morning.
According to the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, Tessier appears to have taken his own life inside of his jail cell.
In 2017, Tessier was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his pregnant girlfriend Laura Wallen, who was a social studies teacher at Wilde Lake High School in Howard County, Maryland.
Wallen disappeared over Labor Day weekend last year while she was four months pregnant.
Tessier held a press conference with Wallen's family begging for her safe return. He was arrested in connection with her death a few days after that.
After searching for her for 10 days, Wallen's body was found in a shallow grave in Damascus. Her autopsy revealed she had been shot in the back of the head.
On Tuesday, officials began selecting the jury for Tessier's murder trial.
