3 bodies were found at the Springfield home of a man accused of kidnapping and raping a woman. Here’s what we know.

Investigators are scouring a Springfield property where three bodies were found after a man accused of kidnapping and rape was arrested earlier this week. The series of events began on Sunday when 40-year-old Stewart Weldon was arrested after leading Springfield police on a chase when they attempted to pull him over for a broken taillight. A woman in his car told officers she had been held captive for a month at his home where she said she was repeatedly raped and beaten. As of Friday morning, authorities say three bodies have been found “in and around” the Springfield home where they say Weldon was a resident. He has not been charged with any crimes related to the bodies found at the home. Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said Thursday night that “all hands are on deck” for the “very complicated investigation.” “We expect this to extend in a very intense way into the next day or two at the very least, and more information will be released as time goes on,” he said. Here’s what we know about Weldon, what authorities are saying about the investigation, and how the events of the week unfolded.

A timeline of the week

An expert in ground-penetrating radar pushes a device across the front yard as investigators continued to work at the home and yard of Stewart Weldon.

Sunday, May 27: When Weldon was pulled over by Springfield police for a broken taillight, he drove off as the two officers got out of their cruiser, leading a chase through half a dozen streets before he was boxed in by authorities, MassLive reports. In trying to escape, Weldon slammed into a police cruiser and wrestled with officers when he was pulled from the car at gunpoint.

“He put forward a very violent struggle with police before his arrest,” Gulluni said during a press conference.

According to MassLive, police said in a report that a woman who was “crying uncontrollably” in the car told officers she had been held captive for a month at a home on Page Boulevard where she said Weldon repeatedly raped, beat, and threatened to kill her.

“Thank you guys for saving my life, I didn’t think I was ever going to get away,” the woman told officers, according to The Boston Globe.

When he was taken into custody, the 40-year-old was carrying a large knife in his hooded sweatshirt and had a second knife in a back pocket, the newspaper reported.

The woman had visible signs of prolonged abuse, and she was treated at a hospital for stab wounds to her stomach, a possible fractured jaw, an infection in her leg, and marks from being hit by a blunt object, according to MassLive.

On Friday, the DA’s office said the woman remained under care in a hospital but said that she is recovering.

Tuesday, May 29: Weldon pleaded not guilty to nine charges, which included kidnapping with serious bodily injury, threat to commit a crime (murder), and resisting arrest, according to MassLive.

“I believe that due to the grotesque and violent nature of [the woman’s] statements” and Weldon’s previous cases, “that he is a high flight risk, and an extreme danger to the public,” Springfield Officer Daniel Moynahan wrote in the police report on Weldon’s arrest, according to the Globe.

Weldon was ordered held on $1 million bail, and his release on three other open cases was revoked.

Wednesday, May 30: The DA’s office said two bodies were found “in and around the house” at 1333 Page Blvd., where authorities say Weldon was living until his arrest days before.

Authorities have declined to say exactly why investigators went to the Springfield home on Wednesday, in what has been described as an otherwise safe and quiet neighborhood.

“There was some additional information that came to light that led to police’s arrival at the address,” Gulluni said.

The DA’s office said police arrived at the home mid-evening Wednesday and their investigation continued into the early morning hours.

Thursday, May 31: A third body was found on the property around 2 p.m. on Thursday, according to the DA’s office. Gulluni has not specified where the bodies were found, the bodies’ genders, ages, or how long the people had been dead.

Friday, June 1:  The DA’s office said Friday investigators would continue to work at the property for several days. Gulluni said authorities were using ground-penetrating radar as part of the investigation.

“We’re looking for objects underneath the surface,” he said.

What we know about Stewart Weldon

Stewart Weldon, 40, of Springfield.

Authorities have so far refrained from calling Weldon a suspect in connection to the three bodies that were discovered on the property.

MassLive reports that the New York native was incarcerated in Massachusetts on a 2005 charge of assault with a dangerous weapon, for which he was released in 2008. In 2015, he was charged with breaking and entering with the intention of committing a felony with a dangerous weapon, a charge he also served time for, getting released in January 2012.

In 2017, he was arrested three times, according to the Globe.  

According to MassLive, a traffic stop on Oct. 14, 2017, resulted in 10 charges being leveled against Weldon, including failure to stop for police, multiple counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a police officer.

He also has a criminal and civil court history in New Jersey, where he served time on a burglary charge and was given probation for unlawful possession of a weapon, according to the publication.

The Globe reports that Weldon is unemployed and listed a “bullet wound” on his booking sheet. The home at 1333 Page Blvd., where authorities say he was living, is owned by his mother.

Neighbors told the Globe that Weldon moved into the home about two years ago and lived in the house with a young woman and a teen. They described the 40-year-old as antisocial and told the newspaper that loud arguments could often be heard coming from inside the house.

“A simple wave. A smile. Nothing from him. He wouldn’t even look your way,” Brenda Quinones told the newspaper. “Sure, it takes a while to get to know a new neighbor, but he couldn’t even do the basics.”

Another neighbor, Stefan Davis, told the Globe that the young woman at the house didn’t look much older than a high schooler. He said that she never spoke, and, on the rare occasion she was seen outside, it was when she was moving quickly between a car and the home.

Another neighbor, Jerry Devalles, told the newspaper that he had been walking his own daughter to and from work at a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts after she told him that Weldon had been following her.

Devalles told the Globe he saw Weldon searching outside his home with a shovel in the rain the weekend before his arrest.

Davis told the newspaper he saw Weldon searching the front yard of the house on Sunday frantically in the rain.

“It was odd. He had his front door and windows wide open,” Davis said. “And he was searching through the dirt like a madman.”

What authorities are saying

Investigators continue to work at the home on Page Bloulevard.

Gulluni said there were residents in the Page Boulevard home as the investigation unfolded, but declined to say if they were related to Weldon.

“Additional facts are coming in moment-to-moment,” he said.

The state’s Department of Children and Families told the Globe Friday that a child from Weldon’s home had been taken into “emergency custody” and that the agency is “investigating in collaboration with law enforcement.”

According to the Globe, Weldon received permission while on bail in December 2017 to travel to Baystate Medical Center for the birth of his child, but it wasn’t clear if he’s since had custody.

When asked about the status and whereabouts of the children alleged to be connected to Weldon during a press conference, Gulluni said Friday that “any children involved or possibly involved are safe and accounted for.”

He said the bodies that were found on the property have not been identified and are being evaluated at the medical examiner’s office in Boston.

The investigation on the property is expected to continue for several days, Gulluni said.

“We’re intensely searching” he said.