DEDHAM, Mass. — Anticipation over whether or not Brian Walshe would take the stand in his own defense in his high-profile trial had been bubbling, but the Cohasset murder suspect made his intentions clear on Thursday morning: he will not testify.
The decision came as the defense unexpectedly rested its case, signaling that the trial is moving toward its conclusion.
Judge Diane Freniere revealed that when the trial began nine days ago, Walshe had planned to testify — a rare move in a murder trial — but that strategy changed overnight after a pair of key witnesses testified on behalf of the Commonwealth’s case.
After waiving his right to testify, Walshe answered a series of questions from the judge to confirm his decision.
Boston 25 News legal analyst Peter Elikann says he’s “shocked” by the development.
“Throw a blanket over me. I am in shock,” Elikann said. “The evidence has come out that he cut up his wife’s body and disposed of it, and the jury won’t hear any explanation whatsoever that he’s justified, or ‘I didn’t kill her,’ or anything like that.”
In opening statements, the defense claimed Walshe discovered his wife, Ana Walshe, dead in their bed on New Year’s Day 2023 and panicked. They argue Ana died of natural causes, not at Brian’s hands. Prosecutors, however, continue to argue that Walshe murdered Ana, chopped her up, and disposed of her remains.
Given the talent of Walshe’s legal team, Elikann speculated that “there has to be some good reasoning” behind the defense strategy.
“He’s charged with first-degree murder, which is usually premeditated, intentional killing of somebody. We didn’t hear anything that he intended to kill her. We didn’t hear anything that it was premeditated. He was certainly scrambling in the middle of the night to try to find out online how to get rid of a body, but we didn’t hear any evidence that he killed her,” Elikann explained.
Ana’s remains have not been found.
Despite the prosecution not having a body to use as evidence against Walshe, Elikann speculated that the jury would have a hard time looking past the slew of surveillance video and DNA evidence laid out by the prosecution over eight days of testimony when deliberations begin.
“Is the jury just going to say, Look, we can’t get past this, this is a hard sell...Why would you have a loved one who suddenly died, you’re cutting up their body, and you didn’t have anything to do with harming or killing them?” Elikann said.
Elikann added that it’s too early to tell if Walshe caused himself any harm by not taking the stand.
Elikann also wasn’t surprised by the defense not calling witnesses.
“I don’t know how many other witnesses there would have been...If the defense was ever going to be that he didn’t kill her, he was the only one there. There were no witnesses,” Elikann explained. “He [Walshe] was probably just about the only person who could have testified."
Elikann also speculated that the defense wanted to guard against the prosecution asking Walshe on cross-examination, “Why did you dismember your wife? Where is she?”
Closing arguments are scheduled for Friday.
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