Massachusetts

Police Return to Springfield Home Where 3 Bodies Were Found

Investigators are back at the scene of a property in western Massachusetts where three bodies were discovered at the home of a man charged with kidnapping, sexually assaulting and torturing a woman.

The Republican newspaper reports that among those who arrived at the Springfield home early Friday was a ground-penetrating radar imaging company.

"The search has been thorough, very painstaking," Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said at a press conference Friday. "If there are any other victims, we're going to find them."

Two bodies were found "in and around" the home at 1333 Page Blvd. after police responded to the house on Wednesday night. A third body was found late Thursday.

Neighbors tell NBC10 Boston the suspect and three other people moved in about a year and a half ago. But they haven't seen those three people in months.

"In the past, I have seen a young lady mowing his lawn, but I haven't seen her in a while," said neighbor Stacy Serrano. "I used to see a teenage boy about 17-ish that was also there. I haven't seen him in a while, either."

"As you can imagine, a very complicated investigation. All hands are on deck from the Springfield Police Department, and so far they’ve done a very thorough and effective job and my office has been very much hands-on," Gulluni said.

Results of the survey of the property should be available in the next 24 hours, giving investigators a better idea of whether anything else is buried on the property.

"Our expectation is we're going to be here for days, if not longer than that," Gulluni said.

According to court documents, Stewart Weldon, 40, lives at the Page Boulevard home.

Gulluni wouldn't say if he lived alone, but said there were people at the home when police arrived Wednesday. He said any children involved are "safe and accounted for."

Weldon was arrested Sunday after a car chase that began as a routine traffic stop and ended when he crashed into a police cruiser and wrestled with officers. A woman in Weldon's car said he held her captive for a month, sexually assaulted her and beat her with a hammer and other objects, police said.

"Thank you for saving my life," the woman told officers, according to a police report. "I never thought I would get away."

The woman was taken to a hospital with what police called "grotesque and violent" injuries, including a possible fractured jaw, stab wounds to her abdomen, marks from being hit with a blunt object and a leg infection.

She was still in the hospital on Friday but is expected to live, Gulluni said.

Weldon pleaded not guilty to a variety of charges on Tuesday and was held on $1 million bail. His bail in several unrelated cases was revoked.

He has not been charged in connection with the discovery of the bodies.

Gulluni said the three bodies have yet to be identified. Autopsies are being conducted at the medical examiner's office in Boston on Friday. He did not release the genders of the bodies or how long they might have been at the property.

The public defender who represented Weldon at his arraignment did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Police said there is no ongoing threat to the public.

"There's no heightened threat, no reason to believe there were any accomplices who can do harm to anybody," Gulluni said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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