Ernestine Ryans, a 47-year-old mother and grandmother, was remembered by her family as a happy person who was the life of the party. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, on October 23, 1970, she was a stylish woman who loved to swim and go to the beach. Her brother described her as kind and caring, someone who would do anything for you. Ernestine had two daughters, Kierra Starks and Miracle Thomas, and two grandchildren, Jevian and Emmarra.
In early 2018, she was living in Springfield, Massachusetts, not far from the home of a man who would cut her life tragically short.
On March 18, 2018, Ernestine was reported missing. A family member told police she had not been seen since March 8. While she had gone missing before, it had never been for such a long period, causing her loved ones significant worry. For weeks, her whereabouts remained a mystery, leaving her family to hope for her safe return while fearing the worst. Their fears were realized in the late spring of that year, in a discovery that would shock the city of Springfield and reveal a string of horrific crimes.
The break in the case came not from the search for Ernestine, but from a routine traffic stop on May 27, 2018. When Springfield police pulled over a car, they found a terrified woman inside who said the driver, Stewart Rudolph Weldon, had held her captive for a month, repeatedly beating and sexually assaulting her. The woman's injuries were described by police as "grotesque and violent." Weldon was immediately arrested. This arrest prompted investigators to look at his residence at 1333 Page Boulevard, a home owned by his mother. After Weldon's mother reported a "foul odor" coming from the property, police obtained a search warrant.
Beginning on May 30, 2018, a search of the home and surrounding property uncovered a house of horrors. Investigators found the decomposing bodies of three women. On June 4, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni identified the victims as Ernestine Ryans, 47, America Lyden, 34, and Kayla Escalante, 27. The discovery brought a devastating end to the search for Ernestine, confirming her family's deepest fears. The medical examiner would later determine the women were victims of violence, including strangulation and blunt force trauma.
Stewart Weldon, then 40, was a serial killer and rapist who preyed on vulnerable women. The investigation revealed that over the course of a year, he had victimized at least 11 women. In August 2018, a grand jury indicted Weldon on 52 counts, including three counts of first-degree murder, as well as numerous charges of aggravated rape, kidnapping, and strangulation. Prosecutors described his actions as an "elaborately organized pattern" of violence orchestrated to serve his own depraved desires.
Initially, Weldon pleaded not guilty to the charges. His trial was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and mental health evaluations, which ultimately found him competent to stand trial. Then, on September 28, 2021, just weeks before his trial was set to begin, Weldon abruptly changed his plea to guilty on 39 charges, including the murders of Ernestine, America, and Kayla. "I just want to close this case," he told the court.
On September 30, 2021, Stewart Weldon was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. During sentencing, the prosecutor detailed the horrific, final moments of the victims, who were strangled to death. The eight surviving victims were praised for their courage in coming forward, which was pivotal to securing the conviction. For Ernestine Ryans' family, the legal conclusion brought a measure of justice, but it could never fill the void left by the loss of a beloved mother, grandmother, and sister who was remembered as the life of the party.
