DEVELOPMENTS. SARAH. JESSICA AND BEN JURORS BEGAN THEIR DELIBERATIONS AT 1222 THIS AFTERNOON, AND WE EXPECT THEM TO BE WRAPPING UP FOR THE DAY ANYTIME NOW. THEY WRAPPED UP, THEY BEGAN THEIR DELIBERATIONS AFTER SOME PRETTY DRAMATIC CLOSING ARGUMENTS. THIS CASE MUST BE DECIDED BASED SOLELY ON THE BASIS OF THE ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE. THE JUDGE INSTRUCTING THE JURY ABOUT THE TASK BEFORE THEM, DECIDING WHETHER BRIAN WALSH IS GUILTY OF MURDER. PROSECUTORS ALLEGE HE KILLED HIS WIFE, ANNA, THREE YEARS AGO ON NEW YEAR’S, THEN DISMEMBERED HER BODY AND DUMPED HER REMAINS WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN FOUND. ANNA WALSH’S DEAD BECAUSE HE MURDERED HER. OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS, JURORS SAW EVIDENCE OF ONLINE SEARCHES WALSH ALLEGEDLY MADE IN THE HOURS AND DAYS AFTER ANNA WENT MISSING. LIKE, CAN YOU BE CHARGED WITH MURDER WITHOUT A BODY? PROSECUTORS ALSO SHOWED ANNA’S BELONGINGS AND BLOODSTAINED ITEMS FOUND IN THE TRASH AT LOCATIONS WHERE WALSH IS CAPTURED ON VIDEO, AND HE CUT UP ON HIS BODY. THE WOMAN THAT HE CLAIMED TO LOVE, AND HE THREW HER INTO DUMPSTERS. BUT THE EVIDENCE IN THE CASE CONSIDERED CIRCUMSTANTIAL. WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE THAT SOMETHING VIOLENT HAPPENED IN THIS HOUSE? WALSH’S ATTORNEY, POINTING TO A LACK OF BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOUND IN THE HOUSE, CLAIMING THAT ANNA SUFFERED A SUDDEN, UNEXPECTED DEATH, AND WALSH THEN PANICKED. THERE’S NO EVIDENCE THAT HE DELIBERATELY PREMEDITATED MURDER. THERE’S NO EVIDENCE THAT HE EVER INTENDED TO KILL ANNA WALSH. NONE WHATSOEVER. NOW, THE JURORS DID HAVE ONE QUESTION TODAY THAT CAME WITHIN THE LAST HOUR THAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR AN EXHIBIT NUMBER FOR A PARTICULAR PHOTO, THE JUDGE SENDING THEM BACK THE ANSWER, BUT ALSO SENDING THEM A LIST OF EXHIBITS TO HELP THEM, TO HELP KEEP T
Brian Walshe found guilty of murder in the first degree for death of his wife, Ana
Jurors reached a guilty verdict Monday in the murder trial of Brian Walshe, the Massachusetts man accused of killing and dismembering his wife, Ana Walshe, after the defense and prosecution delivered their closing arguments Friday. He was convicted of murder in the first degree. A jury of six men and six women decided Brian Walshe is guilty of first-degree murder, which required prosecutors to prove premeditation, or second-degree murder, which requires a lower burden of proof.Jurors began their work on Friday, and they quickly submitted one question, asking for the exhibit number corresponding to a photo of Ana Walshe lying on a rug, which the prosecution said was later found bloodied in a dumpster.The Cohasset, Massachusetts, man is accused of killing and dismembering Ana Walshe, 39, around New Year’s Day in 2023. Prosecutors allege that Brian Walshe disposed of his wife’s remains in dumpsters around the area.Ana Walshe was last seen alive on New Year’s Eve in 2022. What began as a missing person search in Cohasset and Washington, D.C., quickly escalated. Within days, Brian Walshe was arrested and accused of misleading investigators.Prosecutors said he killed his wife, believing she was having an affair, then dismembered and disposed of her body, which was never found.Brian Walshe’s defense team said he discovered his wife was dead when he climbed into bed with her after celebrating on New Year’s Eve and that Ana Walshe’s death was due to “sudden unexplained death.”During the trial, Massachusetts State Police investigators testified about internet searches made on Brian Walshe’s devices, including “how to saw a body,” and “is it possible to clean DNA off a knife.” Audio of police interviews with Brian Walshe was played, and photos of Ana’s belongings were shown, which were found in the trash after she went missing.Will Fastow, a real estate broker in Washington, D.C., where Ana was living and working, testified about his romantic involvement with her.”We quickly became close friends, confidants, and then an intimate relationship,” Fastow said.The defense argued that Brian was unaware of the affair, with Fastow confirming that Ana spoke positively about Brian and cared for him deeply.Close friends of Ana also took the stand, with one woman describing Ana’s stress about her marriage. Prosecutors highlighted that Brian and their three children had to remain in Massachusetts while he faced a federal art fraud case.”She told me how upset she was and how frustrated she was and how she was really at a breaking point,” the friend said.The jury was shown surveillance video of Brian Walshe shopping for items prosecutors claim he used to dismember Ana, including a hacksaw, a hammer, and a hatchet.As jury selection was beginning two weeks ago, Brian Walshe abruptly changed his plea to guilty on charges of misleading police and moving his wife’s body.The change of plea is an admission that Brian Walshe knows his wife is dead, which means that his defense team cannot argue that there is no proof of her death. It also means that prosecutors will need to overcome questions about the cause of her death.
Jurors reached a guilty verdict Monday in the murder trial of Brian Walshe, the Massachusetts man accused of killing and dismembering his wife, Ana Walshe, after the defense and prosecution delivered their closing arguments Friday. He was convicted of murder in the first degree.
A jury of six men and six women decided Brian Walshe is guilty of first-degree murder, which required prosecutors to prove premeditation, or second-degree murder, which requires a lower burden of proof.
Jurors began their work on Friday, and they quickly submitted one question, asking for the exhibit number corresponding to a photo of Ana Walshe lying on a rug, which the prosecution said was later found bloodied in a dumpster.
The Cohasset, Massachusetts, man is accused of killing and dismembering Ana Walshe, 39, around New Year’s Day in 2023. Prosecutors allege that Brian Walshe disposed of his wife’s remains in dumpsters around the area.
Ana Walshe was last seen alive on New Year’s Eve in 2022. What began as a missing person search in Cohasset and Washington, D.C., quickly escalated. Within days, Brian Walshe was arrested and accused of misleading investigators.
Prosecutors said he killed his wife, believing she was having an affair, then dismembered and disposed of her body, which was never found.
Brian Walshe’s defense team said he discovered his wife was dead when he climbed into bed with her after celebrating on New Year’s Eve and that Ana Walshe’s death was due to “sudden unexplained death.”
During the trial, Massachusetts State Police investigators testified about internet searches made on Brian Walshe’s devices, including “how to saw a body,” and “is it possible to clean DNA off a knife.” Audio of police interviews with Brian Walshe was played, and photos of Ana’s belongings were shown, which were found in the trash after she went missing.
Will Fastow, a real estate broker in Washington, D.C., where Ana was living and working, testified about his romantic involvement with her.
“We quickly became close friends, confidants, and then an intimate relationship,” Fastow said.
The defense argued that Brian was unaware of the affair, with Fastow confirming that Ana spoke positively about Brian and cared for him deeply.
Close friends of Ana also took the stand, with one woman describing Ana’s stress about her marriage. Prosecutors highlighted that Brian and their three children had to remain in Massachusetts while he faced a federal art fraud case.
“She told me how upset she was and how frustrated she was and how she was really at a breaking point,” the friend said.
The jury was shown surveillance video of Brian Walshe shopping for items prosecutors claim he used to dismember Ana, including a hacksaw, a hammer, and a hatchet.
As jury selection was beginning two weeks ago, Brian Walshe abruptly changed his plea to guilty on charges of misleading police and moving his wife’s body.
The change of plea is an admission that Brian Walshe knows his wife is dead, which means that his defense team cannot argue that there is no proof of her death. It also means that prosecutors will need to overcome questions about the cause of her death.
