Probation officer gives office BJ to boot-camp teen
No Accident: The Death of Natasha Waalen
Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Natasha Waalen's body was found at half-past midnight. She was lying in the street. Her beloved motorcycle was wrecked nearby.
It looked like the 28-year-old professional acupuncturist was the victim of an accident.
Then police told her father, Jeff Waalen, that Natasha's injuries were not consistent with a motorcycle mishap.
Things were not what they seemed.
Tasha Waalen didn't lose control of her bike that night. A press release from Anoka County, Minnesota authorities stated that "Multiple factors are not consistent with a motor vehicle accident."
Police believe the accident was staged by Natasha's live-in boyfriend, Ryan P. Boland, age 33. They arrested Boland, the father of Waalen's 4-year-old child, the day after Tasha was found dead on that quiet sidestreet.
Jeff Waalen said that the idea that Boland may have murdered his daughter was "hard to accept."
"It would be easier for me to believe something else," Jeff said, "than thinking it was the guy she had known for 10 years."
Tera Gilmore, Tasha's older sister, wouldn't comment on Boland's arrest. But she told a local television station that Tasha "was a wonderful mother, sister, daughter, friend to many, many people and I always said I wish I had a little Tasha in me because she was always so carefree, outgoing, so much fun. She was just a great person to be around."
Gilmore said her niece, Tasha's daughter, was staying with family. About Tasha's death, she said, "We're just all just waiting for someone to wake us up from this nightmare."
Ryan P. Boland is in the Anoka County Jail tonight. Come Monday, he may face charges of first-degree murder.
[StarTribune.com and KARE11.com. See also: TwinCities.com.]
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