Brian Walshe found guilty of murdering his wife, who disappeared nearly
3 years ago
[December 16, 2025]
By MICHAEL CASEY
BOSTON (AP) — Brian Walshe was found guilty Monday of first-degree
murder in the grisly death of his wife, whom he was accused of killing
and dismembering nearly three years ago while he awaited sentencing in
an art fraud case relating to the sale of two fake Andy Warhol
paintings.
Ana Walshe, a real estate agent who immigrated from Serbia, was last
seen early Jan. 1, 2023, after a New Year’s Eve dinner at the couple’s
home.
There was no reaction in the courtroom or from Walshe as the verdict was
read. Walshe, who faces life in state prison without parole, is
scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday. He was handcuffed and shackled
before being led out of the courtroom. Last month, Walshe plead guilty
to lesser charges of misleading police and illegally disposing of her
body.
“It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about getting the right answer
and this was the right answer,” Norfolk County District Attorney Michael
Morrissey told reporters outside court. “We don’t look at cases as wins
or losses. We look at getting justice for someone, so let's not lose
sight of that fact.”
Morrissey said his office had heard from Ana Walshe's sister, who told
them “justice had been served.”
A digital trail of evidence
Prosecutors leaned heavily on digital evidence in presenting their case
against Brian Walshe, including online searches such as as
“dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body,” “how long before a
body starts to smell” and “hacksaw best tool to dismember” that were
found on devices connected to him.
Investigators also found searches on a Macbook that included “how long
for someone missing to inherit,” “how long missing to be dead,” and “can
you throw away body parts,” prosecutors told the jury.
An article titled “is it possible to clean DNA off a knife,” a search
for “best way to dispose of body parts after murder” as well as websites
and searches about “cleaning blood with ammonia, bleach and hydrogen
peroxide” were also highlighted during trial.
Surveillance video also showed a man resembling Walshe throwing what
appeared to be heavy trash bags into a dumpster not far from their home.
A subsequent search of a trash processing facility near his mother’s
home uncovered bags containing a hatchet, hammer, sheers, hacksaw,
towels and a protective Tyvek suit, cleaning agents, a Prada purse,
boots like the ones Ana Walshe was last seen wearing and a COVID-19
vaccination card with her name.
Prosecutors told the jury that the Massachusetts State Crime Laboratory
examined some of the items for DNA and found Ana and Brian Walshe’s DNA
on the Tyvek suit and Ana Walshe’s DNA on the hatchet, hacksaw and other
items.
There were several possible motives for the killing that were floated by
prosecutors.
It could have been financial. An insurance executive testified that
Brian Walshe was the sole beneficiary of Ana Walshe's $1 million life
insurance policy.
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Brian Walshe, left, is escorted out of court after being found
guilty of the first degree murder of his wife Ana in 2023 by a
Norfolk Superior Court jury in Dedham, Mass., on Monday, Dec. 15,
2025. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
But prosecutors also portrayed a marriage that was falling apart,
with Brian Walshe confined at home in Massachusetts awaiting
sentencing on the art fraud case while Ana Walshe worked in
Washington, D.C., and commuted back home.
Also the year before she died, his wife had started an affair,
details of which were shared in court by her boyfriend William
Fastow. Brian Walshe's attorney denied that his client knew about
the affair.
Defense: Walshe's death was ‘sudden’ and ‘unexplained’
In his opening, Walshe’s attorney, Larry Tipton, argued this was not
a case of murder but what he called the “sudden unexplained death”
of Ana Walshe. He portrayed a couple who loved each other and were
planning for the future before Ana Walshe died after celebrating New
Year’s Eve with her husband and a friend.
The couple, who have three young children now in state custody,
lived in the affluent coastal community of Cohasset, about 15 miles
(24 kilometers) southeast of Boston.
The expectation was that the defense would put up a case proving
that theory and raising doubts about the investigation.
The defense considered calling several forensic DNA experts as well
as Michael Proctor, who was fired from the Massachusetts State
Police after he came under fire for his role in investigating the
Karen Read case. There was also speculation that Walshe would take
the stand.
But in the end, Walshe's defense team rested without calling any
witnesses.
When initially questioned by investigators, Walshe said his wife had
been called to Washington, D.C., on New Year’s Day for a work
emergency. But witnesses testified there was no evidence Ana Walshe
took a ride service to the airport or boarded a flight. Walshe
didn’t contact her employer until Jan. 4.
Walshe later admitted that he dismembered her body and disposed of
it in dumpster, saying he did so only after panicking when he found
his wife had died in bed.
“Here, the evidence about dismemberment and improper disposal of a
body was overwhelming, so I suspect the defense goal was to concede
that through the guilty pleas, and make the case all about the
murder and the absence of direct evidence about intent and cause of
death,” said Daniel Medwed, a law professor at Northeastern
University.
“But the prosecution did an excellent job of introducing
circumstantial evidence and providing the breadcrumbs that led the
jury down the path toward finding premeditation.”
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