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Brian Walshe is expected to be sentenced on Thursday for the brutal murder of his wife, whose murder he was found guilty of.
Anna Walshe, a real estate agent who immigrated from serbiawas last seen early on January 1, 2023, following a New Year’s Eve dinner at the couple’s home.
Two days after being found guilty of first degree murder, Walshe will return to court to hear his sentencing. That charge carries a mandatory sentence of life in state prison without parole.
During the trial, prosecutors relied heavily on digital evidence found on devices belonging to Brian Walshe, including online searches such as “best methods for dismembering a body and disposing of it”, “how long before a body starts to smell” and “hacksaw is the best dismemberment tool”.
Prosecutors told the jury that investigators also found a laptop containing messages such as “how long would it take for a missing person to inherit”, “how long does it take to go missing” and “can you throw away body parts”.
Surveillance video also shows a man resembling Walshe throwing a heavy garbage bag into a dumpster not far from the couple’s home. A later search of a waste processing facility near his mother’s home found bags that contained an axe, hammer, shears, hacksaw, towels and a protective Tyvek suit, cleaning agent, a bag. prada Purse, shoes similar to the one Anna Walshe was last seen wearing and a COVID-19 vaccination card with her name on it.
Prosecutors told the jury that Massachusetts State Crime Laboratory examined some items dna and found Anna and Brian Walshe’s DNA on the Tyvek suit and Anna Walshe’s DNA on a hatchet, hacksaw, and other objects.
There were several possible motives for the murder that were stated by prosecutors.
It could have been financial. An insurance executive testified that Brian Walshe was the sole beneficiary of Anna Walshe’s $1 million life insurance policy. But prosecutors also portrayed a marriage that was falling apart, with Brian Walshe imprisoned at home in Massachusetts awaiting sentencing in an art fraud case, while Anna Walshe worked in Washington, D.C., and returned home.
A year before he died, his wife had begun an affair, details of which were shared in court by her lover, William Fastow. Brian Walshe’s lawyer denied that his client knew about the affair.
In his opening remarks, Walshe’s attorney, Larry Tipton, argued that this was not a case of murder, instead calling it Anna Walshe’s “sudden unexplained death.” They played a couple who were in love with each other and planning for the future.
The couple, who have three young children now in state custody, lived in the affluent coastal community of Cohasset, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) to the southeast. boston,
But Walshe’s defense never called any witnesses, and Brian Walshe refused to testify.
When initially questioned by investigators, Walshe said that his wife had been called to Washington, D.C., on New Year’s Day for a work emergency. But witnesses testified that there was no evidence that Anna Walshe took a ride service to the airport or flew. Walshe did not contact his employer until January 4.
Walshe later admitted that he had dismembered her body and thrown it in a garbage can, saying that he did so only out of panic when he saw that his wife was dead in the bed.