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Sep 20, 2008 10:52 pm US/Central
Friends Shocked Woman Found May Have Been Murdered
(WCCO)
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Natasha Waalen, 28, was discovered dead next to her motorcycle in Andover early Friday morning, Sept. 19.
CBS
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Natasha Waalen's 33-year-old boyfriend Ryan Boland was arrested for suspicion of first degree murder.
Anoka County
An Anoka man is accused of killing the mother of his 4-year-old daughter. Twenty-eight-year-old Natasha Waalen was found dead Friday morning. The man she had been living with on and off, 33-year-old Ryan Boland, is being held in the Anoka County Jail, accused of murdering Waalen.
Her body was discovered with her motorbike on Tulip Street at 168th Avenue in Andover. At first, investigators thought she had died in a motorcycle crash, but now say it was murder.
Waalen's friends said she was good at everything. She loved the outdoors, loved to snowboard, and loved being a mother to her 4-year-old daughter Savannah. She was also an acupuncturist who had a remedy for just about anything.
"She would light up a room, everyone says that, with her smile. Everybody around her lights up when they are with her, around her, just because she just touched everybody in a good way," said her friends Kelly and Shannon.
The news of her death came as a shock to Waalen's friends. They initially thought she died doing something else she loved, riding her motor bike. But authorities now say her injuries were not consistent with an accident.
"Today we wake up and it's a whole different story. Ryan's in custody so it could be potentially been him that could have murdered her and it's just really shocking," said Kelly.
Friends said Waalen and Boland had an on and off relationship for about 11 years. They said Waalen and Boland were living together in Anoka, but were no longer a couple.
Sunday, authorities continued to search for clues and a memorial was left on Tulip Street in Andover where Waalen's body was found next to her motorbike. Her friends find it hard to believe Boland could have caused her death.
"You wouldn't think that no one would ever do anything like that especially to his daughter. That's what is most shocking to everybody, because they both loved her so much," said Kelly and Shannon.
Friends said Waalen grew up in Andover and Anoka and had a lot of friends in the area. There has not been any information released about a possible motive or cause of death.
Boland was convicted of domestic assault in 1999. He received two years probation. He could be charged with murder early next week.
One of Waalen's friends said she was actually looking to move out of the couple's home at the end of the month. But that same friend said she didn't have any reason to think Boland would do something like this.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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