The murder trial of Brian Walshe, accused of killing and dismembering his wife, Ana Walshe, will begin Monday with opening statements.
Walshe is facing a charge of first-degree murder in the death of his wife nearly three years ago in Cohasset, Massachusetts.
The 50-year-old stunned a Massachusetts courtroom on November 18 by admitting that he misled investigators and disposed of his 39-year-old real estate executive wife’s remains, but has insisted that he is not a murderer.
While Walshe entered a shocking guilty plea to the two lesser charges, no plea deal had been reached on the final charge of murder, allowing the trial to move forward as planned.
His defense attorneys stressed that their client is “not admitting to…murder” with the partial plea.
Judge Diane Freniere said she expected the trial to last three to four weeks.
Walshe was arrested on January 8, 2023, for misleading police and was charged with murder later that month. He has been held in custody ever since, serving a concurrent federal sentence after pleading guilty to selling forged Andy Warhol artwork in a separate case.
With the new guilty pleas, he faces up to 10 years on the misleading charge, with a potential 20-year enhancement if convicted of murder, and up to three years in prison on the body disposal count.
Chilling evidence found by investigators
Prosecutors say investigators found trash bags allegedly thrown out by Brian Walshe containing a hacksaw, hatchet and items with both his and his wife’s DNA.
They also uncovered chilling Google searches he made after his wife disappearance, including “dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body” and “can you throw away body parts.”
Around 4:55 a.m. the morning of January 1, he looked up “how long before a body starts to smell,” prosecutors said.
The alarming searches continued through the morning and included queries of “how to stop a body from decomposing?” and “how long for someone to be missing before you inherit?” prosecutors said.
The following day, on January 2, he searched, “Can you be charged with murder without a body?” “Hacksaw best tool to dismember,” and “can you identify a body with broken teeth?”
Prosecutors now say they have “binders” full of electronic evidence that they plan to present to jurors.
One report, which is 1,000 pages, was found on a MacBook Pro from Walshe’s home and contains new material.
Isabel Keane1 December 2025 14:25
The disappearance of Brian Walshe’s wife, Ana
Ana Walshe, a 39-year-old real estate executive, vanished early on New Year’s Day 2023.
Her husband claimed she left for an emergency work trip to Washington, D.C., and that she took a car service to Logan International Airport in Boston.
However, her company refuted those claims, saying there was no work emergency.
Prosecutors also said there was no evidence Ana had taken a car service or a flight that day. Her cellphone, credit cards and debit cards were inactive after she disappeared.
Meanwhile, Brian Walshe said that after she left the house, he visited his mother, went grocery shopping and spent time with his children.
That claim, however, was disputed by investigators, who found surveillance footage appearing to show Walshe at a Home Depot that same day.
While at the store, he reportedly purchased $450 worth of cleaning products.
Isabel Keane1 December 2025 14:11
