Body ID'd as Missing Teacher, Husband Arrested

Photograph of Nassau County police removing a body found in an embankment by Rick Maiman/AP

Police say that the body discovered yesterday morning in North Hills is that of teacher Leah Walsh, who had been missing since Monday morning. And her husband, Bill Walsh, was arrested and charged with her murder.

Leah Walsh, 29, never showed up to her job as a teacher to autistic children in Glen Cove; the school contacted her family, who reported her missing. As WCBS 2 explains, "Her car was found -- coincidentally by her father, a bus driver who happened to be on the highway later Monday morning. Her purse was found in a ditch nearby."

Her husband, Bill Walsh, also 29, had made tearful pleas begging for her return and hanging posters of her picture, "I miss her more than anything. I need everybody's help. Anybody that could have seen anything, just let us know." However, police apparently found inconsistencies with his story and say he lied about their marital problems.

Leah Walsh's friend Lucas Bean told the Daily News he received text messages from her over the weekend that indicated trouble in the marriage, "She told me the marriage is over. [She said] 'I'll tell you why when I talk to you. It's something really, really bad.' [She said] she was definitely getting a divorce, there was no way she could stay with him after what he'd done." Bean indicated that Leah Walsh found her husband had been cheating on her.

Hours before his arrest, Bill Walsh told WCBS 2, "I don't know what to do. I just keep talking to the cops. I keep asking questions. I wish I could give them more. I don't know where to look. I don't know what to do. I just want my wife back. I miss her more than anything."

Update: The Nassau County police had a press conference, saying that Walsh choked his wife to death on Sunday, fabricating the text message he received from her on Monday morning, leaving her car on the Seaford-Oyster Expressway with the flat tire and making "phony emotional pleas in the media." From Newsday:

Leah Walsh, 29, was killed by her husband at their Bethpage home early Sunday after he returned home from a trip to Atlantic City and the couple argued over his possible infidelity, Nassau police said.

Walsh dumped her body in the woods in North Hills on Sunday night and then staged her disappearance Monday morning. His wife's body was found Wednesday.

Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey added that Walsh "should not enjoy one nanosecond of freedom for the rest of his life." However, the suspect's family says the police coerced him into confession (cops say they have a written confession) without a lawyer present.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on October 30, 2008 12:20 PM

Comments [rss]

Future Taliban

She had such a long giraffy-like neck that maybe he couldn't help but squeezing it.

sartre_is_for_lovers

he looks like a bottom

bornbrednewyorker

She's a former Howard Stern Show intern. They said nice things about her on todays show.

lanciano

oh for F*CKS SAKE, travisnyc, get a freaking life already.

captainblackout

@36 - He confessed.

danisaint

This is a very sad story, it is also a common one. One spouse kills the other....very sad...

travisnyc

@lanciano: "oops, just noticed by typo!"

Another one?

everyAframe

Ah, young couples starting out.

Amanda Harletsch

I bet the horrible thing he did that upset the wife so much was not your normal extramarital affair

Kevin Walsh

I have no idea why some people believe murder is the answer to whatever problems there are.

Give the guy the death penalty or life in prison but first get in his head and see what would set him off to this degree. Perhaps other murders can be prevented.

www.forgotten-ny.com

lanciano

oops, just noticed by typo! my bad.

no need to be such haters zodak, travisnyc. my comment was not nasty, but yours were.

Spirit of 76

Of course, there are exceptions to that rule, as the Huffington Post blogger in the story below demonstrated.

Spirit of 76

It's just the way many men are wired. A study years ago showed that when you do something bad to women, they feel hurt and internalize the pain. Men, on the other hand, tended to strike back when hurt. So the wife wanted the divorce here and the husband wanted to hurt her back in the worst way. There may also be that "If I can't have her, nobody can" attitude.

Guest

I'm not defending the guy, but did he confess or did the Nassau police just become judge, jury, and executioner at a press conference?

Pull My Finger

Guys never get over the horney stage! You just need to keep it in control and think about the harm you will cause if you give in. This guy should be set on fire.

r1b2

Like I said, he felt guilty about cheating, and the only way he could minimize these feelings was to eliminate the person to whom he felt guilty. Small-minded douche. And he choked her. He squeezed the life out of her. Bastard.

Rob T Firefly

@28 - Just in case they can't, I've discovered a thing that can save the lives of the wives and much effort on the part of husbands. It's called "getting a divorce."

Dirk

I hope he enjoys prison.

PKinNYC

like i said g g g g g g g guilty

Jen Chung

@nycnewsjunkie--thank you.

jm1975

sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssshocking

Steven

ugh. Is it really so hard for men to keep your penis in your pants once you're married.

I hope the husband is sent to prison for life without parole.

kearnj

Good thing forensics can't tell when she was killed.

nycnewsjunkie

Breaking News

Nassau County police revealed new details in the case of slain teacher Leah Walsh Thursday morning. Investigators say Walsh's husband, Bill, killed her during an altercation early Sunday morning. He then allegedly kept her body in the home all day Sunday as he attempted to establish an alibi. Police say he then dumped his wife's body under the cover of darkness.

http://www.news12.com/LI

NannyState

Oh lordy, here comes Nancy Grace...

Gothamist_Cynic

hey girls stop dating and marrying assholes and scumbags.

robingee

Why does murder seem like the solution for so many people? How can you kill another human being so easily?

Snoopy

I ain't got no problemsw ith Jen's speling. It's refreshing to raed them.

Toby von Meistersinger

This isn't a surprise. I think most everyone's gut said that he did it. The only question now is which will come first the Lifetime Movie or the Law & Order episode.

mrmagoo

disgusting and so sad.

Jen Chung

@lanciano--thanks for pointing that out.

r1b2

Terribly upsetting, a young woman just finishing grad school, working as a teacher, doing good, and this scumbag tries to cover his guilt over his adultery by killing her. Piece of garbage.

@lanciano, I really enjoy this site. I like the way stories are treated here, but Jen's poor spelling is always troubling.

babyhitler

ripped from the headlines law and order here we come. Ba-dum-dum.

MFer

viz. Ronkonkoma. Makes you wonder why gay people want the right to get married. Domestic partners already get health insurance.

schizofriendly

Marriage is a great way to nurture archaic and unrealistic expectations towards one another. Is this suffering really worth the health insurance? Seriously.

RoDogg

Both 29 years old, to young for marriage. Maybe some marriages but I'll trust no marriage if both are still in their 20's. A better age range is 30-35. When I think of 20's I think of college kids how are still horny. Some women want to marry young and have children before 30, I understand that but sadly Leah Walsh picked a guy who was still in that horny stage for other women. They was married for three years so they got married at 26 ... still children, way to young. He wasn't mature yet and she didn't know who she was marrying.

travisnyc

Lanciano, if you're going to nitpick about typos, maybe you should keep them out of your own posts.

JRod5417

The only shocking thing about this story was how quickly he was arrested. Perhaps he should have consulted with Drew Peterson instead of Scott Peterson.

smacky

gross

Rob T Firefly

It's always the spouse, except when it's someone else.

Rocknrope

Wow, it really is always the spouse.

zodak

"It's interesting how many people are having MARTIAL problems are these days."

it's obvious why you used to be in publishing. next time comment on the story, idiot.

ides_of_march

Perhaps it's easier to beat a murder rap than get taken to the cleaners by a divorce lawyer.

darealest1

Somehow, I knew it was him when I read the first story about how he was "looking for her."

Dirk

Wow, that's a shocker... The husband did it...

PKinNYC

g.g.g.g.g.g.g.g.guilty!!!!!

Tgirl

dirtbag, first he cheats on her then he kills her

zodak

i'll never understand why these guys kill their wives & think they can get away with it.

get a divorce, it's less painful than prison rape.

lanciano

It's interesting how many people are having MARTIAL problems are these days. Damn UFC.

(Sorry Jen. I used to be in publishing. I can't help noticing these things!)