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‘Massive amount’ of evidence found in home with bodies
By Laura Crimaldi
Globe Staff

Investigators tagged nearly 200 pieces of evidence from the Springfield home where police found the bodies of three women last month, according to heavily redacted court documents made public Sunday.

The records said detectives uncovered a “massive amount of evidence’’ at Stewart Weldon’s home on Page Boulevard, but what they seized remains unknown because authorities redacted nearly everything from the 13-page inventory.

The bodies of America Lyden, 34, and Ernestine Ryans, 47, both of Springfield, and Kayla Escalante, 27, of Ludlow, were found on the property after police arrested Weldon, 41, on May 27 for allegedly kidnapping and beating another woman. No one has been charged with their deaths and authorities have not said how the women died.

The new documents said police went to Weldon’s home three days after his arrest because another resident there called 911 and complained about a “rancid smell.’’

Officers entered the home, using keys provided by the person who complained about the stench, and then sought a warrant to search the premises, including a tool shed, garage, and the car Weldon was driving when he was arrested, records show.

Weldon is being held on $2 million bail in separate kidnapping cases. He has pleaded not guilty.

In the first case, Weldon is accused of holding a woman captive and beating her with a hammer. She was rescued after police pulled over Weldon’s car for a broken taillight on May 27 and found the woman inside the vehicle.

After that case became public, a second woman came forward, telling police Weldon had offered her a ride home in February, but then drove her to his home on Page Boulevard and tried to drag her inside as she fought his advances. The woman escaped, she said, after another woman intervened.

The Globe reported the woman’s account of her encounter with Weldon on June 17. A police report about the alleged confrontation had been kept secret until Sunday, when authorities released a redacted version.

The Republican newspaper in Springfield, its website MassLive, and the Globe, had gone to court to push for the police report to be made public.

Under a court ruling, the redacted portions of the police report and documents about the search of Weldon’s home are to remain secret until officers conclude their investigations.

Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @lauracrimaldi.