Parents Of Md. Teacher, Killed While Pregnant, Testify Support For Fetal Homicide Bill
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The murder of Columbia Wilde Lake High school teacher Laura Wallen was re-lived by her parents in a general assembly hearing Friday.
They are supporting Laura and Reid's Law, a bill named for Laura and her unborn son, who were killed by the baby's father.
It expands the current law which says charges can only be brought in a fetal homicide if the baby is able to survive outside the womb.
31-year-old Laura Wallen was 14 weeks pregnant when she went missing in September 2017, her body later found, shot in the head and buried in a field in Montgomery County.
Police charged the baby's father Tyler Tessier with Laura's murder, but could not charge him for the death of the unborn child because it could not have survived outside the womb.
State's Atty: Tessier Will Not Face Murder Charge For Slain Girlfriend's Unborn Baby
The Wallens testified in favor of a bill to change that.
Mark Wallen, Laura's father, spoke of her death.
"That boy we took out to dinner with our daughter who asked for her hand in marriage and cried tears of joy when he found out she was pregnant was the intimate partner that killed her," He said.
House Sponsor Delegate Trent Kittleman said the bill offers protection for pregnant women.
"Right now we know that the greatest cause of women being murdered who are pregnant is because the other person, the spouse or significant other learns about the pregnancy and that's the way they deal with it," she said.
Under the Fetal Homicide Bill, suspects could be charged in the deaths of children 8 weeks and older.
"It's going to cause them to actually walk away rather than thinking about what they're going to do to kill their pregnant wife or girlfriend. It will save lives," Mr. Wallen said.
The Women's Law Center of Maryland opposes the bill as is, citing a case in Alabama where a judge is currently allowing a man to file a wrongful death case on behalf of a fetus after his girlfriend chose to have an abortion.
But Laura's mother Gwyneth Wallen said this bill is different.
"It really is to prosecute a violent crime. It's not trying to deal with abortion rights or other ways to criminalize women," she said.
The bill failed in the house last year.
Attorneys: 'No Doubt' Tessier Guilty Of Pregnant GF's Murder, Contemplated Suicide For Some Time
The suspect in Laura's death killed himself the morning of his trial date.
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