Ana Walshe murder: New DNA evidence expected in Brian Walshe case

COHASSET, Mass. — Results from DNA analysis conducted by an independent laboratory are expected in the murder case against Brian Walshe, the man accused of dismembering his wife, Cohasset mother Ana Walshe.

Prosecutors have said that Brian, 48, murdered Ana, 39, with a hacksaw and disposed of her remains after using his son’s iPad to Google the best ways to get rid of a body, among a slew of other incriminating searches.

The evidence was expected to be discussed Thursday during Brian’s pretrial hearing that was rescheduled from Aug. 23 to Nov. 2 after both prosecutors and the defense team were still awaiting the new DNA results.

“The Commonwealth and the defense are still in the process of identifying and exchanging discovery. In addition, the Commonwealth is currently awaiting DNA analysis from an independent laboratory and is expected to have those results in approximately two weeks. Both parties are moving for the joint motion to continue,” court documents obtained by Boston 25 News in August stated.

In court on Thursday morning, it was announced that the hearing was postponed again until Jan. 23, 2024.

In March, a Norfolk County grand jury indicted Brian on charges of murder, misleading a police investigation, and improper conveyance of a human body in the death of Ana.

Prosecutors have alleged that Brian killed his wife in their Cohasset home on New Year’s Day, dismembered her body, and dumped her remains at multiple transfer stations. The couple’s three young boys were reportedly home at the time.

Investigators suspect that Ana’s discarded remains may have been incinerated in a trash facility. Tuesday’s search comes more than eight months after investigators scoured a nearby dumpster transfer station, where a hacksaw and a blood-soaked rug believed to contain biological evidence were recovered.

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Other evidence was said to be collected from 10 trash bags that were disposed of in a dumpster at the Swampscott apartment complex of Brian Walshe’s mother.

Some of that evidence included a piece of a necklace that Ana had been wearing, a Prada purse, a COVID vaccine card with her name, and other items containing both Brian and Ana’s DNA.

After the alleged murder, Brian made more than a dozen disturbing Google searches on his son’s iPad, including “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to” and “how to stop a body from decomposing,” prosecutors said.

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