Brian Walshe sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his missing wife Ana

DEDHAM, Mass. — Brian Walshe, the Cohasset man convicted of murdering his wife, Ana Walshe, whose body was never found, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Thursday morning.

Walshe appeared in Dedham’s Norfolk Superior Court, where Judge Diane Freniere handed him the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder in Massachusetts.

“That sentence is immensely appropriate and just, given your murderous acts and the life trauma you inflicted on your own children,” Freniere told the court, describing his criminal acts as “barbaric and incomprehensible.”

After the court hearing, Walshe was handcuffed and loaded into an awaiting van for transport to begin serving his sentence.

Brian Walshe escorted out of court in handcuffs to begin serving life sentence

The defense had tried arguing that the sentence was “inhuman and demeaning,” but prosecutor Gregory Connor was quick to fire back.

“They say the Commonwealth’s recommendation is inhumane. I suggest that it is not the appropriate word choice because if we were to look at that word, I would suggest that it would describe the defendant’s actions of murdering his wife, dismembering her, and getting rid of her remains by throwing her away like garbage,” Connor told the court.

In addition to his life sentence, Freniere ordered Walshe to serve no less than 19 years but no more than 20 years for misleading police and no less than two years but no more than three years for disposing of Ana’s remains. All of the sentences will be served consecutively.

On Dec. 1, before the start of his trial, Walshe pleaded guilty to misleading police and dismembering his wife’s body.

The court heard an emotional victim impact statement from Ana Walshe’s sister, Aleksandra Dimitrijevic, before Freniere handed down the sentence.

“Ana will never be forgotten. We will carry the light of her life with us forever,” Dimitrijevic told the court.

Dimitrijevic added, “I struggle with the grief that comes without warning...This is all just a terrible dream."

On Monday, the jury in his high-profile trial found Walshe guilty of first-degree murder.

Jurors deliberated for less than six hours before returning the verdict. Walshe showed no emotion as the decision was read.

Ana Walshe, a mother of three, vanished on New Year’s Day 2023. Prosecutors argued Walshe killed Ana and then dismembered her remains, discarding them in area dumpsters.

The defense conceded that Walshe disposed of Ana’s body but claimed she died unexpectedly in bed after a New Year’s Eve party at their home. Walshe did not testify, and the defense called no witnesses during the trial.

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After Monday’s verdict, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey praised the jury’s decision, saying, “It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about getting the right answer. And this was the right answer.”

Morrissey said Ana’s mother told him after the verdict that justice had been served.

Sentencing was originally scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed to today.

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