NEED TO KNOW
- Brian Walshe, 50, initially told police that his wife, Ana Walshe, 39, vanished after leaving for the airport on New Year’s Day in 2023
- During his trial, prosecutors told jurors about grisly internet searches he had made about how to saw a body
- Brian’s attorney told jurors that he did not kill Ana but found Ana dead in bed at about 2:30 a.m. and panicked
The Massachusetts man who told police his wife vanished on New Year’s Day in 2023 — and subsequently admitted to dismembering her and discarding her remains — has been found guilty of murdering her.
Brian Walshe, 50, of Cohasset, was on trial on accusations he murdered his wife Ana, 39, a successful real estate executive and mother of their three children, who was last seen in the early hours of Jan. 1, 2023, after hosting a friend at their home to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
The verdict of guilty on first-degree murder charges, reported by MassLive, WHDH and CBS News, was reached after around five hours of deliberation.
On Monday, Jan. 4, 2023, Brian called Ana’s employer in Washington, D.C., asking about her whereabouts, and the employer called police.
During questioning, Brian told detectives that Ana had left early for the airport for a work emergency.
Authorities later found what were believed to be Ana’s boots, clothing and purse in dumpsters, as well as a hacksaw and other tools covered in a reddish-brown stain, prosecutors said.
Ana’s body, however, has never been found.
Brian was arrested and charged with murdering his wife.
On Nov. 18, just before jury selection began in Walshe’s trial, he pleaded guilty to two lesser counts of willfully conveying a human body in violation of state law and misleading police.
Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald/Getty; Facebook
In opening statements on Monday, Dec. 1, defense attorney Larry Tipton made the shocking claim that his client found Ana dead in bed at about 2:30 a.m. and panicked and decided in that moment to “hide” what happened that fateful morning, according to a live stream shown on Masslive.com and reviewed by PEOPLE.
Brian worried about what would happen to the couple’s three young sons, Tipton told jurors.
During the trial, jurors learned about grim Google searches Brian had made after his wife died, including how to saw a body and how to clean blood off of wood floors.
Tipton claimed Brian’s internet searches were the result of being scared that he would be blamed for his wife’s death.
In 2021, Brian pleaded guilty to federal art fraud and was awaiting sentencing at the time of Ana’s death. (Brian was sentenced in 2024 to 37 months in federal prison.)
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Prosecutors alleged that Brian knew what he was doing. They said he was driven by anger over an affair Ana was having.
On Dec. 27, 2022, Brian allegedly searched for pornography related to a “cheating wife,” and looked for information on “best divorce strategies for men,” Commonwealth Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor told jurors, Masslive.com reports.
He was the sole beneficiary of his wife’s $2.7 million life insurance policy, NBC News reports.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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