William Walsh Confessed
Leah Walsh's husband faked everything, cops sayThis story was reported by staff writers SOPHIA CHANG, MATTHEW CHAYES, BILL MASON, LAURA RIVERA and JENNIFER SMITH. It was written by SMITH.
11:20 AM EDT, October 30, 2008
Nassau County police officials provided details Thursday afternoon on the murder of Leah Walsh, a Bethpage woman who was a schoolteacher in Glen Cove.
Nassau Police commissioner Lawrence Mulvey and Det. Lt. John Azzata of the homicide squad confirmed that William Walsh, Leah's husband, confessed to the crime Wednesday after her body was discovered and 'should not enjoy one nanosecond of freedom for the rest of his life.'
They also alleged everything in the aftermath of her death, from the text messages to the pleas for her return home.
William Walsh was arrested and charged with her murder yesterday after the 29-year-old woman's body was found in a wooded area in North Hills, Nassau County Police said last night.
VideoRelated links
Leah Walsh's school mourns loss of 'extraordinary teacher'
William and Leah Walsh family, friends remember 'happy' couple
Leah Walsh case Video
Photos: Leah Walsh>>
The latest photos from the Leah Walsh case.
Leah Walsh: A biography
Map: Leah Walsh case points of interest View Detailed VersionReset Map'The medical examiner's office and the Nassau County Police Department have confirmed that the body found in North Hills today is that of Leah Walsh,' Det. Lt. Kevin Smith said, reading a brief statement at police headquarters in Mineola.
'William Walsh, age 29, her husband, is in police custody at this time,' Smith said. 'He's being charged with murder.'
The exact cause of her death remains under investigation, Smith said.
Police said they would discuss the case in more detail at a news conference scheduled for this morning.Confirmation last night that the body found was Leah Walsh and the prime suspect in her death was her husband capped a dramatic series of events that began early Monday morning when her abandoned car was found on the shoulder of the Seaford- Oyster Bay Expressway.
Her body was found by a worker at the North Hills Country Club just before 8 a.m. yesterday near the Long Island Expressway's north service road between Shelter Rock Road and New Hyde Park Road.
William Walsh Jr. had been visibly emotional since his wife's disappearance, pleading with any witnesses to come forward and passing out missing persons fliers bearing an image of a beaming Leah Walsh on her wedding day.
Earlier in the week, Walsh told police that his wife, a special-education teacher who worked with autistic children, left for work early Monday morning for her job at the School for Language and Communication Development in Glen Cove.
Walsh said in interviews that he last heard from his wife early Monday morning, when she sent him a text message.
Yesterday, police said they were interested in speaking with a Los Angeles man who reportedly text-messaged with Leah Walsh on Saturday night. In the exchange, she mentioned having a fight with her husband, according to media reports.
William Walsh Jr.'s stepmother said he was distraught Tuesday night when he came by the family's Farmingdale home. The visit followed an hours-long meeting with Nassau detectives at a Levittown police station.
'He was just crying,' said Madelyn Harper-Walsh in an interview before police announced Walsh's arrest. 'He would look at the TV and go under the blanket and cry. I was holding him,' she said, her eyes welling with tears.
Walsh stayed at the house past midnight, and family members said yesterday they had not seen him since.
Before his arrest, Walsh sobbed yesterday morning as he walked from the couple's Bethpage apartment to his car, where a stack of missing persons posters sat in the passenger seat.
'I miss her more than anything,' Walsh said. He urged any witnesses who may have seen something to 'just let us know, call the cops,' adding before he drove away, 'I just wanna know where she is. I want my wife.'
Homicide detectives delivered the news of Leah Walsh's death to her parents last night at their home in Rockville Centre, where the family had been waiting in anguish for news of their daughter.
Earlier yesterday afternoon, her father, Howard Hirschel, emerged briefly from the house to hug a neighbor who dropped off a plate of food.
Hirschel 'seems very broken up,' said the neighbor, who gave her name only as Eva. Calling Leah Walsh 'the sweetest girl,' the neighbor said she had watched her grow up. 'We're holding out hope that she's alive,' she said.
Efforts to reach William Walsh Jr.'s family after his arrest were unsuccessful. Yesterday afternoon his younger brother, Stephen Walsh, said: 'The only thing we know right now is he's missing, a body's been found, we don't know if it's hers. We want answers.'
11:20 AM EDT, October 30, 2008
Nassau County police officials provided details Thursday afternoon on the murder of Leah Walsh, a Bethpage woman who was a schoolteacher in Glen Cove.
Nassau Police commissioner Lawrence Mulvey and Det. Lt. John Azzata of the homicide squad confirmed that William Walsh, Leah's husband, confessed to the crime Wednesday after her body was discovered and 'should not enjoy one nanosecond of freedom for the rest of his life.'
They also alleged everything in the aftermath of her death, from the text messages to the pleas for her return home.
William Walsh was arrested and charged with her murder yesterday after the 29-year-old woman's body was found in a wooded area in North Hills, Nassau County Police said last night.
VideoRelated links
Leah Walsh's school mourns loss of 'extraordinary teacher'
William and Leah Walsh family, friends remember 'happy' couple
Leah Walsh case Video
Photos: Leah Walsh>>
The latest photos from the Leah Walsh case.
Leah Walsh: A biography
Map: Leah Walsh case points of interest View Detailed VersionReset Map'The medical examiner's office and the Nassau County Police Department have confirmed that the body found in North Hills today is that of Leah Walsh,' Det. Lt. Kevin Smith said, reading a brief statement at police headquarters in Mineola.
'William Walsh, age 29, her husband, is in police custody at this time,' Smith said. 'He's being charged with murder.'
The exact cause of her death remains under investigation, Smith said.
Police said they would discuss the case in more detail at a news conference scheduled for this morning.Confirmation last night that the body found was Leah Walsh and the prime suspect in her death was her husband capped a dramatic series of events that began early Monday morning when her abandoned car was found on the shoulder of the Seaford- Oyster Bay Expressway.
Her body was found by a worker at the North Hills Country Club just before 8 a.m. yesterday near the Long Island Expressway's north service road between Shelter Rock Road and New Hyde Park Road.
William Walsh Jr. had been visibly emotional since his wife's disappearance, pleading with any witnesses to come forward and passing out missing persons fliers bearing an image of a beaming Leah Walsh on her wedding day.
Earlier in the week, Walsh told police that his wife, a special-education teacher who worked with autistic children, left for work early Monday morning for her job at the School for Language and Communication Development in Glen Cove.
Walsh said in interviews that he last heard from his wife early Monday morning, when she sent him a text message.
Yesterday, police said they were interested in speaking with a Los Angeles man who reportedly text-messaged with Leah Walsh on Saturday night. In the exchange, she mentioned having a fight with her husband, according to media reports.
William Walsh Jr.'s stepmother said he was distraught Tuesday night when he came by the family's Farmingdale home. The visit followed an hours-long meeting with Nassau detectives at a Levittown police station.
'He was just crying,' said Madelyn Harper-Walsh in an interview before police announced Walsh's arrest. 'He would look at the TV and go under the blanket and cry. I was holding him,' she said, her eyes welling with tears.
Walsh stayed at the house past midnight, and family members said yesterday they had not seen him since.
Before his arrest, Walsh sobbed yesterday morning as he walked from the couple's Bethpage apartment to his car, where a stack of missing persons posters sat in the passenger seat.
'I miss her more than anything,' Walsh said. He urged any witnesses who may have seen something to 'just let us know, call the cops,' adding before he drove away, 'I just wanna know where she is. I want my wife.'
Homicide detectives delivered the news of Leah Walsh's death to her parents last night at their home in Rockville Centre, where the family had been waiting in anguish for news of their daughter.
Earlier yesterday afternoon, her father, Howard Hirschel, emerged briefly from the house to hug a neighbor who dropped off a plate of food.
Hirschel 'seems very broken up,' said the neighbor, who gave her name only as Eva. Calling Leah Walsh 'the sweetest girl,' the neighbor said she had watched her grow up. 'We're holding out hope that she's alive,' she said.
Efforts to reach William Walsh Jr.'s family after his arrest were unsuccessful. Yesterday afternoon his younger brother, Stephen Walsh, said: 'The only thing we know right now is he's missing, a body's been found, we don't know if it's hers. We want answers.'
