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.
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 the Cohasset home of Brian and Ana.
According to Mutlu, he had met Brian first before being introduced to Ana, and the three had all become close friends.
“She was an exceptional human being,” Mutlu said.
Mutlu testified on Wednesday that it was a festive party on the night of December 31, 2022, and Brian and Ana were getting along.
However, he tried to tell the jury that days before he had a long 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 could happen on New Years Day 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.
Mutlu was visibly emotional as he described Ana rushing up to hug him the last time he saw her. He said he saw the couple’s kids as “his own.”
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.
[ Man who was in a relationship with Ana Walshe testifies at Brian Walshe’s murder trial ]
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 prosecution rested, 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.
[ Jury sees chilling video of Brian Walshe buying tools, cleaning supplies at Lowe’s, CVS, Stop & Shop ]
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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