DEDHAM, Mass. — Jurors in the high-profile murder trial of Brian Walshe will soon decide his fate. Closing arguments are scheduled for Friday morning in Dedham’s Norfolk Superior Court.
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In Dedham Superior Court for Brian Walshe Closings.
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Courtroom getting full. Some of Ana's friends, including Gem Mutlu and Alyssa Kirby are here. Also, some investigators. Walshe's mother is seated alone, as she has throughout the trial. @boston25 #brianwalshetrial
Walshe is accused of killing and dismembering his wife, Ana Walshe, in their Cohasset home around New Year’s Eve 2022. Her body has never been found.
He still faces a first-degree murder charge after previously pleading guilty to misleading police and unlawful disposal of a body.
Defense strategy
Brian Walshe chose not to testify in his own defense, and his attorneys did not call any witnesses.
Legal experts say that the decision suggests the defense relied heavily on cross-examination rather than presenting new evidence.
The defense argues Ana died of a sudden, unexpected medical event and that Walshe panicked after finding her dead in bed.
They did not call a medical expert to support that claim but insisted that such deaths, while rare, can happen.
Prosecution’s case
Prosecutors allege Walshe murdered Ana as his marriage unraveled, then covered up the crime by dismembering her body and disposing of the remains in area dumpsters.
Boston defense attorney Elyse Hershon told Boston 25 News the defense likely felt they had accomplished enough during cross-examination.
“They must have felt through the cross-examination of the medical examiner and the life insurance agent that they got what they needed. There’s never a right or wrong answer, and a lot of times those decisions are made with the client in real time.”
What’s next
After the closing arguments, Judge Diane Freniere will instruct the jury before deliberations begin.
The trial could conclude as early as today.
Key testimony
On Wednesday, prosecutors called two of Ana’s close friends to testify, including Alyssa Kirby, who last saw Ana on December 29, 2022.
Kirby told jurors Ana confided that her marriage was strained but insisted Brian wasn’t jealous.
“When she told me that, I was surprised. She said they were open and he wasn’t jealous,” Kirby testified.
This detail contrasts sharply with the defense’s claim that Brian was unaware of Ana’s affair and that their marriage was “going good” at the time of her death.
Gem Mutlu, the last person to see Ana alive at a New Year’s party at the Cohasset home of Brian and Ana, also offered emotional testimony.
Mutlu testified 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 was having marital problems.
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.
DNA discoveries
Jurors have already been presented with significant evidence, including confirmation that blood found on several items recovered from a North Shore dumpster matched Ana Walshe’s DNA.
Those items include slippers, a towel, a rug, the head of a hatchet, and a hacksaw.
Under cross-examination, the defense argued that DNA evidence does not reveal how or when it was deposited, with the witness confirming that DNA cannot tell us how or when it was deposited on an item.
Surveillance footage
On Tuesday, the jury also viewed surveillance footage showing Walshe shopping the day after Ana disappeared.
The video shows him buying rolled carpets and candles at a HomeGoods store in Norwell.
According to a company security official, Walshe paid for those items using two TJX value cards belonging to Ana—cards she had received for merchandise returns in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Prosecutors on Monday played a video recorded on Jan. 1, 2023, about 15 hours after Ana disappeared, showing Walshe outside a Swampscott liquor store throwing away a trash bag.
Minutes later, Walshe was seen at a Lowe’s in Danvers, wearing a black face mask and blue gloves, spending more than $460 on cleaning supplies and tools.
Three days later, he was recorded at a Lowe’s in Weymouth with a child, possibly his son, buying a trash can.
Blood evidence in the home, on tools
Investigators discovered blood in the basement, on the basement stairs, and on a support beam. Jurors also saw a knife recovered from a kitchen cabinet above the refrigerator, which Massachusetts State Police say had blood on it.
The jury was also shown blood-stained tools, including a hacksaw, hammer, hatchet, and hedge pruners, which prosecutors say were found in dumpsters near Walshe’s Cohasset apartment complex. Walshe has been accused of using those items to dismember Ana’s body.
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Medical examiner testimony
A state medical examiner testified that without Ana’s body, he cannot determine the cause or manner of death.
The defense claims Ana died of sudden unexpected death and that panicked.
Prosecutors allege Walshe murdered Ana, dismembered her, and disposed of her remains in dumpsters.
Affair and digital evidence
Jurors also learned last week that Ana was having an affair. They reviewed emails and messages exchanged between Ana and William Fastow, a D.C. realtor, including communications on New Year’s Eve, hours before Ana disappeared.
A state police trooper testified that Ana’s last message to Fastow was sent at midnight on New Year’s, and said he found no evidence that Walshe was aware of those messages.
“You did not see any communication between Ana Walshe and William Fastow?”“Not that I recall,” the trooper testified.
Grisly internet searches
Jurors last week heard about troubling internet searches made on a device owned by the Walshe family, which were discovered by police after Ana Walshe went missing.
The searches, made between New Year’s Day and January 4th, included queries such as "how to dispose of a body," “how to get blood out of hardwood floors,” and “best tool to dismember.”
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