Watch live: One of last people to see Brian Walshe’s wife alive testifying in murder trial

DEDHAM, Mass. — A key witness is expected to take the stand when testimony resumes Wednesday morning in the murder trial of Brian Walshe, the Cohasset man accused of killing his wife, Ana Walshe, on New Year’s Day 2023.

Gem Mutlu, one of the last people to see Ana alive, was called to testify when jurors returned to Norfolk District Court in Dedham at 10 a.m. for Day 8 of the trial.

• Follow Boston 25’s Bob Ward on X for more updates from court

Mutlu is a friend of the couple who attended their New Year’s Eve party. Prosecutors say people at that gathering were among the last to see Ana before she vanished.

Walshe is charged with first-degree murder, but his defense claims Ana died of natural causes, and that he panicked upon finding her dead in their bed. The prosecution alleges that Walshe murdered his wife and dismembered her before dumping her body parts in dumpsters and cleaning up the house.

Since the start of the trial on Dec. 1, prosecutors have been presenting a slew of incriminating evidence to the jury.

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.

0 of 14

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.”

Trial coverage

Boston 25 News is streaming the trial live every day on Boston25News.com, on X, on Facebook, and on YouTube.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2025 Cox Media Group