Two days after Tyler Tessier tearfully pleaded for his missing girlfriend’s return, he was charged with killing the pregnant Maryland high school teacher. Laura Wallen, 31, was found dead in a shallow grave that police say Tessier dug to hide her body.

Nancy Grace assembled a team of experts in this Crime Stories episode to discuss what police are saying about Wallen’s murder, including Cold Case Research Institute director Sheryl McCollum, Los Angeles psychoanalyst Dr. Bethany Marshall, Crime Online reporter Leigh Egan, and co-host Alan Duke. The same panel will return to update the case in Friday’s episode.

Also read: BREAKING: Missing pregnant high school teacher found dead; boyfriend arrested

Only California Gov. Jerry Brown stands in the way of former Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten’s release from prison nearly five decades after she and other “Manson family” members were convicted in the sensational Los Angeles murder spree.

A parole panel has approved her release but Gov. Brown has the power to veto their decision. Van Houten, who was 19 when she killed for Manson during a series of murders that terrorized Los Angeles over the summer of 1969, appeared before the parole panel for the 21st time.

Grace and Duke discuss the parole decision with major crimes investigator Karen Smith and Alisa Statman, author of  “Restless Souls: The Sharon Tate Family’s Account of Stardom, the Manson Murders, and a Crusade for Justice.” 

Also read: Manson family murderer Leslie Van Houten granted parole in shock decision

“Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” is now a national radio show, heard on SiriusXM’s Triumph Channel 132, five times a day. You can also subscribe and download the daily podcasts at iTunes and Google Play.