Montgomery Community Media

A new law that takes effect Tuesday in Maryland honors the late Laura Wallen, who was killed by Tyler Tessier, the father of her unborn child. The law, Laura and Reid’s Law — Wallen planned to name her son Reid — increases the sentences for crimes against women known to be pregnant. Wallen was from Olney […]

Laura Wallen’s September 2017 murder drew national attention. Prosecutors charged Wallen’s boyfriend, Tyler Tessier, with murdering his pregnant girlfriend but were not able to charge him for killing her unborn fetus because it was 14 weeks old. Now, 17 months later, a new bill would allow murder charges for both the victim and the fetus. […]

1. Elrich Becomes County Executive Voters roared in 2016, passing term limits on County Council members and the county executive. In 2018, the voters continued to roar. First, in the Democratic primary, voters winnowed a list of 38 candidates down to four in the council’s at-large race. Next, voters chose Marc Elrich as their party’s choice […]

What do you think was the biggest story in Montgomery County in 2018? Let us know by selecting what you thought was the biggest news in the poll below. If you select “other” please leave a comment telling us what other stories you felt were important. What is the biggest story in Montgomery County in […]

Jail director awaiting results of police investigation Montgomery County jails are in the process of removing sheets from the cells of inmates in the wake of the suicide of Tyler Tessier, corrections department director Robert Green said Wednesday. Tessier was about to stand trial for the death of his pregnant girlfriend when he was found […]

Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich said Friday he would call for officials at the county jail to come before the council’s Public Safety Committee to ask how accused murderer Tyler Tessier could have died by suicide in his jail cell — the second jail suicide during the summer. “We have to understand how this happened. These […]

Here is the full news conference in which State’s Attorney John McCarthy talks about Tyler Tessier, who was found dead in his jail cell Thursday morning from an apparent suicide. Tessier was charged in the death of Laura Wallen, whose family also spoke at the news conference.      

In the 10 minutes between receiving his breakfast Thursday morning and his next check by guards, Tyler Tessier hanged himself in his jail cell. The suicide not only ended his life but also robbed Laura Wallen’s family of a guilty verdict. Wallen, of Olney, was shot in the back of the head almost exactly a […]

Tyler Tessier, 34, the man charged with murdering his fiancé, Laura Wallen, was found dead in his jail cell at 5 a.m. Thursday morning. His death has been called an apparent suicide. “I was in utter shock,” Maria Elena Stopher said. “I thought I was going to come in and get dismissed or excused so […]

The trial for the murder of Laura Wallen ended this morning as news broke of Tyler Tessier’s death. The man accused of killing Wallen was found hanging in his jail cell around 5 a.m. Efforts to resuscitate Tessier were unsuccessful. Tessier was on trial for killing his pregnant girlfriend, Laura Wallen, a year ago. He […]