New Hampshire man admits to killing ex-fiancé in 2018, sentenced to life in prison

SALEM, Mass. — A New Hampshire man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after pleading guilty to first-degree murder.

Brian Chevalier, 54, of Merrimack, New Hampshire, admitted to the 2018 killing in Salem Superior Court Friday.

The judge handed down the mandatory penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Prosecutors said Chevalier strangled his ex-fiancé Wendi Davidson to death using a USB chord inside her North Andover home. They said he planned the crime after Davidson sent him a break up text in April 2018.

Chevalier attempted to run away to Mexico but was captured days after the murder.

“I know there is nothing I can say that will take away your pain or bring Wendi back,” Chevalier said in court Friday, addressing Davidson’s family directly. “What I did was very selfish, and I will regret what I did every day for the rest of my life. Despite my actions, I loved Wendi. I wish to express my deepest sympathies to you all, and I pray that you will find a way to forgive me.”

The plea change spared Davidson’s family from having to sit through a jury trial.

“We thought it was going to go to a long, drawn trial, and we’d hear all the gory details of what he did to her,” said Sandy Holmes, Davidson’s aunt. “I’m just not sure that our family wanted to go through that. I’m so thankful so thankful for the district attorney’s office for everything they did to making him accountable for what he did.”

Davidson’s family wore matching “Justice for Wendi” masks in court Friday. Many of them read victim impact statements to the judge.

“Mom, we love you so much,” said Davidson’s eldest son Joshua Davidson. “We miss you every single day of our lives. I hope you’re looking down on us proud of what you’ve raised.”

Joshua Davidson and his brother Bryan carried a small urn as they addressed their mother’s murderer.

“You [Chevalier] didn’t kill her, she’s still with us,” said Josh Davidson. “She’s here with me and Bryan, in our necklaces, in this urn right here, and her spirit helps us through each and every single day.”

Family members hope Davidson’s story can inspire change and help create more protections for victims of domestic violence.

“There’s just so much of it [domestic violence] out there in this country, and these women that feel that they’re not powerful enough to walk away from a situation,” said Sandy Holmes, Davidson’s aunt. “That piece of paper, that restraining order, it’s not going to protect you. She [Davidson] walked away, and she still got murdered. I really wish that the president and the governors of every state and the advocates out there would do more for domestic violence victims.”

Davidson’s aunt said 60 family members wanted to attend Friday’s sentencing, but they were forced to cut the group down to just nine. Some of her loved ones waited outside the courthouse.

“She’s going to be remembered as one of the nicest people,” said Davidson’s father Al Balestrier. “She was there for everybody. She was a great mother; her kids are great kids. She’s going to be very missed by a lot of people in this world, and I miss her more than anything.”

Cox Media Group