NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (WHDH) — An arrest warrant was issued Friday for a man accused of murdering a North Andover woman, the Essex County District Attorney’s office announced.
Brian Chevalier, 51, is the former fiance of 49-year-old Wendi Rose Davidson, who was found strangled to death in the basement of her home on Saturday. He was initially labeled a “person of interest” in her death.
Chevalier, of Merrimack, was arrested in California overnight by the US Marshals Service for violating his parole in New Hampshire and on a larceny charge out of Essex County.
Accused killer Brian Chevalier will appear in CA courtroom Monday..could be back in North Andover after that #7news pic.twitter.com/NmJGyEKCjY
— Steve Cooper (@scooperon7) April 27, 2018
Chevalier was released from prison in Dec. 2017 after being granted parole while serving a 10-30 year sentence, corrections officials said. He was convicted in the 2004 kidnapping of Jaffrey woman in 2004. He was placed on probation until 2037.
A probation warrant was issued earlier this week when Chevalier traveled out of the state and failed to report to his probation officer, officials said.
Davidson broke off her engagement with Chevalier after learning about his past, prompting him to send hundreds of troubling texts, emails and phone calls, family members told 7News. They also said Chevalier threatened to kill her.
Chevalier disappeared after Davidson’s death, according to investigators. His car was recovered in Manchester, where he rented a U-Haul truck and drove to the West Coast, sources told 7’s Steve Cooper. He was found on the US-Mexico border and taken into custody.
Chevalier is expected to appear in a California court on Monday on a fugitive from justice charge. He could face a midweek arraignment in North Andover on the murder charges.
Davidson was laid to rest Friday in Tewksbury.
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