Fifteen years after Scott Peterson killed his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, a similar case has emerged. Police believe that Tyler Tessier killed his girlfriend, Laura Wallen, who was four months pregnant with his child, and charged him with first degree murder on Thursday, Sept. 14.

In case you’re unfamiliar with Laura’s case, the Maryland school teacher’s body was recently found dead in a shallow grave. Laura was reported missing on Sept. 5 after she didn’t show up to work on the first day of school. Police believe Tyler shot her in the head. According to court documents, Tyler was engaged to another woman and just one week before her death, Laura texted the other woman, writing, “looking for en explanation.”

laura wallen - cbs news

(Photo Credit: CBS News)

Quite shockingly, Laura’s mother and father, Gwen and Mark Wallen, sat beside Tyler during a press conference before their daughter’s body was found. Prior to the conference, Gwen and Mark were told by police that they suspected Tyler killed Laura.

“It was absolutely the hardest thing that my wife could do would be to sit next to him and hold his hand,” Mark told reporters on Thursday, per CBS News. “But we did it because… we were pretty sure it was Tyler but we didn’t know where she was, and you can’t put someone away on a missing person. Someone doesn’t go to prison for life on a missing person.”

Mark went on to say that Laura was a “wonderful girl” and “so bright,” adding that her relationship with Tyler “was the only thing that [she] and her family ever fought about.” Not surprisingly, true crime enthusiasts and social media users are comparing Scott — who was eventually sentenced to death for the murder of Laci and their unborn child — to Tyler.

“Whoa these two gotta be related. Crazy how similar these cases are,” one person tweeted, while another wrote, “Tyler Tessier is the new Scott Peterson. What kind of sick person can kill the mother of their child?? Cut from the same cloth obviously.”

Have a tip? Send it to us! Email In Touch at contact@intouchweekly.com.