THREE FEMALE BODIES ID’D IN SPRINGFIELD
DA: Cause, time of deaths still unknown
SPRINGFIELD — Three women whose decomposing corpses were removed from an alleged kidnapper’s house of horrors here late last week — two of whom had been reported missing — were named yesterday by authorities, although how and when the women died are not yet known.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni said he expects to know more about what happened to Ernestine Ryans, 47; America Lyden, 34; and Kayla Escalante, 27, in the coming days.
Gulluni was unclear how long the women have been dead, but he indicated they may have gone missing “in the distant past.”
“It’s tragic. It’s awful. It’s unlike anything that I have ever seen,” Gulluni said. “The original reaction was a bit of shock.”
Ryans and Lyden, both of Springfield, had been the subjects of missing person reports. Escalante was from Ludlow, he said.
“The preliminary information I have is that those missing person reports were met with significant investigation by the Springfield Police Department and, of course, they were not found
as a result of that,” Gulluni said.
The DA’s office declined to release the missing persons reports. Springfield police said Lyden was reported missing Dec. 1, 2017, and “had not been seen by friends or family since June 2017.”
The police Facebook posting on Lyden includes comments from several friends and relatives, including a woman’s remarks, “I hope she’s ok. That’s my boo. Love her lots.”
Another comment, after the body was found, states, “Shes my sister-in-law and my kids aunt and she has been found. Police has confirmed her dna and she was one of the ones buried in that guys backyard. Family is hurt right now.”
Ryans was reported missing March 18 after last being seen March 1 by a female relative who said she “had gone missing before but never for this long.”
Stewart R. Weldon, 40, who lived in the house at 1333 Page Blvd., has been charged with kidnapping in two separate cases but has not been charged in connections with the women’s deaths.
Gulluni declined to say in what condition the bodies were found or if investigators detected any common patterns in their disposal that would suggest the work of a serial killer.
“I’m not going to issue that kind of declaration at this point. The investigation is still ongoing and those kind of things can be determined in the future,” Gulluni said. “We have to have manners of death given to us first and foremost, making sure we’re clear on the investigation and who’s responsible for it. There are no charges yet. So that is just a premature proclamation.”
Prosecutor Maximilian J. Bennett noted the women’s “deaths are being investigated as potential homicides.”
Gulluni declined to say whether or how Weldon knew the victims.
“I don’t want to comment on that at this juncture out of respect for the families,” Gulluni said.
“Suffice it to say they’re tragedies and some of those details we’ll talk about in the future.”
The victims’ families, “needless to say, are heartbroken and distraught,” said Gulluni, who requested privacy on their behalf. “They are mourning and dealing with a very, very tragic loss.”
Meanwhile, the $1 million cash bail Weldon has been held on since last Tuesday was doubled to $2 million cash this morning after he pleaded not guilty to new charges of kidnapping and assault to rape stemming from a Feb. 1 incident. Weldon was charged last week with kidnapping and causing serious bodily injury to another woman who remains hospitalized.