Prosecutors in Brian Walshe murder case ask for regulation used in Karen Read trial

DEDHAM, Mass. — Prosecutors in the Brian Walshe case are asking that a courthouse regulation used for Karen Read be implemented again for the Cohasset man as his high-profile murder trial approaches.

Walshe’s defense team wants a buffer zone established around Dedham’s Norfolk Superior Court to prevent potential demonstrations.

According to The Boston Globe, the request was made on Friday. Prosecutors reportedly cited concerns that some high-profile witnesses, particularly law enforcement officials who testified in Read’s trial and retrial, could draw public attention and crowds.

This comes after an inmate at the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Correctional Center recently attacked and stabbed Walshe with a makeshift blunt instrument.

Walshe is accused of killing and dismembering his wife, Ana Walshe, with a hacksaw and disposing of her remains after using his son’s iPad to Google the best ways to get rid of a body.

In March 2023, a Norfolk County grand jury indicted Walshe on a charge of murder, misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice, and improper conveyance of a human body in connection with his wife’s death. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

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Ana Walshe, a mother of three young children and a real estate professional who worked in Washington, D.C., vanished on New Year’s Day 2023 and was reported missing a few days later, authorities said.

Prosecutors have alleged that Walshe killed his wife in their Cohasset home on New Year’s Day. The couple’s three young boys were reportedly home at the time.

Days after Ana’s disappearance, a hacksaw and a blood-soaked rug believed to contain biological evidence were recovered from their home by investigators.

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Police later searched trash bins, dumpsters, trash trucks, and trash facilities in the areas where Brian Walshe traveled following her disappearance.

Prosecutors have also previously said that a broken knife with blood on it was found in the basement of the Walshe family home.

Walshe has been held without bail since his arrest.

He is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for selling fake Andy Warhol paintings.

Walshe is slated to go to trial for murder on Oct. 20.

Ana’s body has never been found.

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