Ex-Fiance Pleads Guilty To 2018 Murder Of North Andover Woman

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — The ex-fiancé of a North Andover woman who was found strangled in 2018 pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison Friday, the Essex District Attorney said.

Brian Chevalier, 54, of New Hampshire, pleaded guilty to the murder of Wendi Rose Davidson, 49. Davidson was found dead in her Lincoln Street, North Andover home in 2018.

Judge Thomas Drechsler imposed the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Previously in Patch: North Andover Murder Victim Was "Kind, Caring"

Police were called to a 50 Lincoln Street residence on April 21, 2018. Another woman who lived in the multi-unit building had found the body and alerted Davidson's brother, who in turn called the police.

According to prosecutors, Chevalier had entered Davidson's home after 6 p.m. the previous day and strangled her to death with a USB cord, before dragging her to the basement and taking her phone, car keys and purse.

Her car was found by police in the Choice Fitness parking lot, about 1 mile away, the district attorney's office said. Chevalier was seen on surveillance video leaving the lot and used Davidson's ATM card to withdraw cash multiple times and rent a UHaul to New Hampshire. Davidson's car keys and phone were later found in his abandoned car in New Hampshire.

Soon after, Chevalier was arrested in Mexico and then turned over to California officials, before being extradited to Massachusetts.

Davidson and Chevalier had gotten engaged on Valentine's Day, two months before her death. But Davidson broke off their relationship in late March or early April, according to family members.

“This was a cruel and senseless killing of an innocent woman,” Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said in a statement. “For Ms. Davidson’s friends and family, nothing will ever take away their pain. It is my hope that knowing that defendant will never again walk free will provide them with some solace. It is for this reason that I oppose any effort to do away with life without parole sentences for first degree murderers.”

Davidson had two sons, one who was living Tewksbury and one in Danvers. She moved to North Andover four years before her death and worked as a staff accountant at AHA Consulting and Engineering company in Lexington. Davidson grew up in Malden and Stoneham and graduated from Stoneham High School in 1987, where she met Chevalier. Her father and step mother lived in Tewksbury, as of 2018.

"On behalf of the entire North Andover Police Department, I extend our continued support to the friends and loved ones of Wendi Rose Davidson," North Andover Police Chief Charles Gray saidin a statement. "Her murder was shocking to this community and devastating to her family. Our detectives worked tirelessly alongside the Essex District Attorney's Office and the Massachusetts State Police to hold the man responsible for their loss accountable,"

Chevalier was convicted of kidnapping in 2003 and was released from a New Hampshire prison in Dec. 2017. A 33-year-old Jaffrey, NH woman came home from work to find Chevalier waiting for her. According to court records, he attacked her and forced her into the bedroom. He then beat her, repeatedly sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her.

"While these efforts cannot restore the loss of Ms. Davidson, we hope that it offers some peace to all who loved her," Gray said.

North Andover and state police investigated the case. Chevalier was represented by Attorney Rebecca Whitehill.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.