DEDHAM, Mass. — After two weeks of testimony, jurors in the Brian Walshe murder trial have now heard closing arguments and started deliberating whether he killed his wife, Ana Walshe, in their Cohasset home around New Year’s Eve 2022.
[ Live updates: Verdict watch on in Brian Walshe’s murder trial as jury deliberations begin ]
Defense: No motive, no proof of homicide
Defense attorney Larry Tipton told jurors the Commonwealth failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a homicide occurred. He argued there was no motive for Walshe to kill Ana and described his client as a “loving father and loving husband.”
“What could cause a loving husband and a loving father to do the things that you heard about in this case? Could it be something that was sudden, something that was unexpected, something that was unbelievable?” Tipton said. “Something that only a medical examiner would have knowledge of, not a man like Brian Walshe?”
Tipton said Ana’s death was the result of a sudden, unexpected medical event, and Walshe panicked. He urged jurors not to base their verdict on sympathy or anger over Walshe’s lies to police.
“There’s evidence that he lied to police, there’s evidence that he searched the internet, there’s evidence that he disposed of the body, but there is no proof in all of the evidence that you’ve heard and been presented that he ever once thought about harming the woman he loved,” Tipton said.
Prosecution: Evidence shows premeditation
Assistant District Attorney Anne Yas countered that the defense’s theory defies common sense. She pointed to Walshe’s internet searches — including “best way to dispose of a body” and “can you be charged with murder without a body” — and surveillance video showing him calmly buying cleaning supplies and cutting tools.
“The defendant deliberately got rid of Ana Walshe’s body. He cut up Ana’s body — the woman he claimed to love — and threw her into dumpsters,” Yas told jurors.
Prosecutors argue Walshe killed Ana as his marriage fell apart and ask the jury to convict him of premeditated first-degree murder, pointing to Walshe’s actions afterward as evidence of premeditation.
Jurors were shown surveillance footage of him at stores like CVS, Walgreens and Lowe’s, where he purchased items including hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. Jurors also were shown photos of tools that investigators testified tested positive for blood, including a hacksaw and a hatchet.
What’s next
Norfolk Superior Court Judge Diane Freniere sent 12 jurors out of the courtroom to start deliberating Walshe’s fate shortly before 12:30 p.m.
The jurors will deliberate until 4 p.m., meaning a verdict could come as early as today.
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