Brian Walshe Trial — Day 1: Defense Claims Sudden Medical Death; Prosecutors Point to Internet Searches and Purchases

The murder trial of Brian Walshe opened Monday, nearly three years after his wife Ana vanished from their Massachusetts home on New Year’s Day 2023. The defense told jurors it will argue Ana died suddenly from an unexplained medical event; prosecutors say the evidence will show Walshe planned and concealed her death. Ana’s body has not been recovered. Walshe recently pleaded guilty to illegally disposing of her body and to misleading investigators, but he continues to deny killing her. If convicted of first-degree murder, he faces life in prison without parole.

Prosecution timeline and evidence

Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor reviewed a timeline of events surrounding Ana’s disappearance but did not present a specific cause of death in opening statements. According to the prosecution, Ana flew to Massachusetts from Washington, D.C., on Dec. 30, 2022, and the family hosted a New Year’s Eve guest the next day. That guest — Ana’s former boss — is expected to testify that he left the Walshe home after 1 a.m. on Jan. 1 and that the couple appeared happy when he departed.

Connor told jurors that Ana has not accessed her finances, email or phone since that time and that no body has been found. Investigators say Walshe waited until Jan. 4 to report Ana missing, at which point police visited the Walshe home and began a formal investigation.

Prosecutors said investigators later found internet searches made on Jan. 1 that included queries such as "best way to dispose of a body," "Can you throw away body parts" and "Is it possible to clean DNA off a knife." They also say Walshe purchased hundreds of dollars in equipment and cleaning supplies at home-improvement stores — items the prosecution lists as including a Tyvek suit, a hacksaw, a hatchet and roughly 20 pounds of baking soda. Law enforcement recovered items from a dumpster near Walshe’s mother’s home on Jan. 9 that the prosecution says include the Tyvek suit, a hacksaw, a hatchet and objects testing positive for both Brian and Ana Walshe’s DNA.

Defense theory: sudden, unexplained death

Defense attorney Mark Tipton presented a different narrative in opening statements. He said that after the guest left early on New Year’s morning, Brian and Ana went upstairs to continue celebrating. Tipton said Brian went downstairs briefly to clean the kitchen and check emails; when he returned to the bedroom he found Ana unresponsive in bed.

"Intending nothing more than to crawl into bed with Ana Walshe, the woman he loved," Tipton said, Brian found her "unexplainably dead in their bed."

Tipton acknowledged his client made alarming internet searches and lied to investigators during interviews, but he argued those actions were driven by panic, grief and a desire to protect his three sons rather than by consciousness of guilt. Tipton said those searches evolved as Walshe struggled to accept what he found and that his client feared no one would believe he had not harmed Ana.

Interviews, witness testimony and alleged motive

The court heard three recorded interviews from Jan. 4, 5 and 7, 2023, in which Walshe acknowledged later to his attorney that he had lied. In those recordings, he told investigators he last saw Ana before 7 a.m. on Jan. 1 when she left for the airport to return to Washington, D.C. He described making breakfast for his children and running errands while a nanny cared for them.

The prosecution has suggested a potential motive tied to an extramarital relationship Ana had with a man in Washington, D.C. Assistant District Attorney Connor said Ana was romantically involved with the real estate agent who helped her buy a townhouse in D.C.; prosecutors identified that man as William Fastow. Connor noted a phone associated with Brian Walshe searched Fastow’s name on Dec. 25, 2022, after Ana missed the holiday with her Massachusetts family. Messages between Ana and Fastow and his expected testimony later this week are likely to be part of the prosecution’s case.

Tipton told the jury that Walshe was unaware of an affair in any actionable sense and that Ana had only described a "crush" on the man. The defense emphasized that an undisclosed relationship — if it occurred — would not prove murder.

What happened Monday and what’s next

The prosecution’s first witness was Sergeant Harrison Schmidt of the Cohasset Police Department, who testified about the initial missing-person investigation that began after Ana’s employer reported her missing on Jan. 4, 2023. Schmidt is expected to resume testimony when the trial continues. The court also heard the recorded interviews with Walshe. Testimony is set to continue Tuesday, and the prosecution’s expected witnesses this week include the former boss who attended the New Year’s gathering and the man identified as William Fastow.