Prosecution rests its case in the Brian Walshe murder trial

NORWOOD, MASS. — The Commonwealth has officially rested its case in the murder trial of Brian Walshe.

Walshe is accused of murdering his wife Ana on New Years Eve 2022 into 2023, dismembering her remains, and throwing them in area dumpsters.

Walshe told friends and family that Ana had left for a work emergency in the early hours of New Years Day, according to the prosecution, before reporting her missing.

The defense says Walshe, who has since plead guilty to misleading police and disposing of his wife’s remains, found Ana dead in their bed and panicked, but did not kill her.

In a major day of testimony, two friends of Ana took the stand for the prosecution including Alyssa Kirby and Gem Mutlu.

Mutlu was the last person to see Ana alive at a New Years party at their Cohasset home of Brian and Ana.

According to Mutlu, he had met Brian at a leadership conference where he was later introduced to Ana, and the three had all become close friends.

Mutlu testified on Wednesday that it was a festive party that night that he was invited to, and Brian and Ana were getting along.

However, he tried to tell the jury that days before he had a conversation with Ana and sensed that the couple were having marital problems.

Even though Ana signed a champagne bottle with best wishes for the New Year, he sensed there was more going on.

“You all signed the champagne bottle, right?” Mutlu was asked.

“I cannot know what was going on in their hearts and minds,” he said.

He also told the jury that he had learned Ana disappeared when Brian called him and told him she left because of a work emergency, using the word “incredulous” to describe his immediate reaction.

Mutlu then asked what kind of work emergency would happen on New Years and then asked Brian if the couple had a fight.

“His response was, I do remember this vividly as well, his response was ‘No, did it look like we had an argument? You were there,’” he said.

A tearful Alyssa Kirby told the jury on the stand that she remembered seeing her friend Ana for the last time on December 29.

“Their marriage had been strained for a long time, and she was, she told me how upset she was. How frustrated she was, and how she was at a breaking point.”

Kirby also testified that Ana had told Brian that she had a crush on William Fastow, the man who she was having a secret affair with.

Under cross examination, Kirby said Ana had told her that Brian did not get jealous.

“When she told me that I was surprised, she told me they were open and he wasn’t jealous,” said Kirby.

Walshe’s attorneys have contested that the couple were in good shape at the time of Ana’s disappearance.

As the defense rested its case, the defense made a motion to throw out the whole case in its entirety on the basis that the Commonwealth did not prove its case.

Judge Diane Freniere denied the motion and said the evidence the prosecution had provided was now in the hands of the jury.

On Wednesday, jurors also saw more surveillance video of Brian at Home Depot with a cart full of supplies wearing a mask and gloves.

Walshe paid $455 in cash.

Brian Walshe’s team is expected to call their witnesses tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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