Brian Walshe murder trial: Prosecutors say husband dismembered wife Ana to dodge prison in art fraud case
Ana Walshe, who split her time between Washington, D.C., and her family home in Cohasset, Massachusetts, was last seen on New Year's Day 2023, when she reportedly got into a rideshare to catch a flight to D.C. to deal with a work emergency. Police in Massachusetts confirmed Walshe never got on the plane.
Her husband of seven years is charged with first-degree murder, improper transport of a human body and misleading police in his wife Ana's disappearance and faces separate federal charges for art fraud. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors, however, have laid out a broader and more calculated motive. As first reported by Los Angeles Magazine, state attorneys allege Brian Walshe believed that if Ana were "deceased or disappeared," he could avoid federal prison time from a previous art fraud conviction in Los Angeles.
In 2021, Walshe pleaded guilty to a federal art fraud scheme involving the sale of two fake Andy Warhol paintings. He was sentenced in February 2024 to 37 months in prison and three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $475,000 in restitution, according to the Department of Justice.
This theory, according to prosecutors, casts Walshe's alleged actions as a deliberate effort to eliminate his wife as a means to remove his looming federal prison term.
Ana reportedly confided in a friend shortly before her disappearance that Walshe was convinced having custody of their children in Massachusetts would help him evade incarceration in the federal case, according to prosecutors.
Despite the defense's objections, Judge Diane Freniere ruled prosecutors may introduce digital evidence at trial, including Brian Walshe's alleged Google search history and references to his wife's extramarital affair as part of their motive theory.
According to prosecutors, in the early hours of Jan. 1, 2023, just hours after Ana Walshe was last seen, Brian allegedly used his son's iPad and his own phone to search phrases like "dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body," "how long before a body starts to smell" and "hacksaw best tool to dismember."
At a recent evidence hearing July 24, Walshe's lead defense attorney, Larry Tipton, argued prosecutors have no proof Brian knew about Ana's affair, a central piece of the state's theory of premeditation. Fox News Digital has reached out to Tipton for comment.
Without direct evidence of that knowledge, Tipton said, the state's claim of motive was "pure speculation."
But retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Jack Lu told Fox News Digital premeditation doesn't require a long timeline.
"A decision to kill may be formed over a period of days, hours, or even a few seconds," Lu said.
He added that the legal threshold at the grand jury level is only probable cause, not proof beyond a reasonable doubt, making it unlikely the defense can suppress the search data.
"These are absolutely top-shelf lawyers. Everyone knows what they're doing, and nobody makes foolish claims. It's demanding for the judge, but it's also easier because it's all on the record, and the legal arguments are very clean," he said.
Judge Freniere recently denied the defense's motion to exclude the incriminating digital evidence, allowing jurors to consider Walshe's alleged search history for body disposal during the trial.
"Good for the defense to move to dismiss this for multiple reasons, including legal staging for related arguments," Lu noted. "However, at the end of the day, dismissal on these grounds is almost impossible. Grand jurors are entitled to accept or reject evidence as they see fit."
Additional court filings revealed that, on Christmas Day 2022, Walshe allegedly Googled the name of Ana's rumored lover, identified in court only as "W.F.," six times.
Prosecutors also disclosed that Walshe's mother had hired a private investigator to follow Ana in Washington, D.C., where she lived during the week, and was allegedly conducting the affair.
The prosecution further cited a $2.7 million life insurance policy naming Brian Walshe as the sole beneficiary, bolstering what they claim is a financial motive in the case.
Jury selection in his trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 20, with proceedings expected to last approximately three to four weeks.
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