Brian Walshe pleads not guilty to murdering wife Ana as prosecutors share DNA evidence

Brian Walshe’s extensive Google searches about divorce, murder, dismemberment and decomposing bodies were revealed today in a Massachusetts courtroom as he pleaded not guilty to beating his wife Ana to death. 

Walshe, 47, is accused of murdering Ana in the basement of their home in Cohasset, Massachusetts, on January 1 in the early hours of the morning, then discarding her body in a dumpster. 

He uttered just two words his 14-minute court appearance, saying ‘I do’ when asked by Judge Mark Coven if he understood the charges against him. 

Standing dispassionately in court, his hands cuffed in front of him and with his long dark hair swept back, he looked at Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Lynn Beland with a dull stare as she began the litany of evidence against him. 

Among the searches, conducted on an iPad belonging to one of his young sons, were ’10 ways to dismember a body’, ‘does baking soda make a body smell good?’ and ‘how long is someone missing before you can inherit?’ 

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Brian Walshe pleaded not guilty to beating his wife Ana to death this morning as prosecutors laid out a mountain of evidence against him

Ana Walshe has not been seen since 1.30am on January 1. Police say Brian, her husband of 18 years, murdered her. Her body has not been found

On December 27, five days before Ana vanished, he Googled: ‘Best state for divorce for a man.’ 

‘Rather than divorce, Brian Walshe dismembered Ana Walshe and discarded her body,’ Beland said on Wednesday, as she asked the judge to deny him bail – a request that was immediately granted. 

Beland revealed that Ana’s DNA, along with Brian’s, was found on blood-stained clothes found in a dumpster near her mother’s house along with the Hunter boots and Prada handbag he said she was wearing when she vanished. 

He shook his head during the brief hearing and was denied bail. Brian will return to court on February 9th for a status hearing. 

Walshe told police he last saw Ana at 6am on January 1st, claiming she left for work. 

Today, it was revealed that in the hours before that, he’d been frantically researching how to dispose of a body, and how long decomposition takes. 

On December 27th, days before she vanished, he Googled: ‘What’s the best state to divorce for a man?’ 

Ana was last seen alive at 1.30am on January 1st by friends who had been in their home for a New Year’s Eve party. 

Shortly before 5am on January 1st, using his son’s iPad, he searched; 

• ‘How long before a body starts to smell?’ 
• ‘How to stop a body from decomposing?’ 
• ‘Ten days to dispose of a dead body if you really need to?’ 
• ‘How long for someone to be missing before you inherit?’ 
• ‘Can you throw away body parts?’
• ‘What does Formaldehyde do?’ 
• ‘How long does DNA last?’ 
• ‘Can an ID be made on partial remains?’ 
• ‘Dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body?’ 
• ‘How to clean blood from a wooden floor?’
• ‘Ruminal to detect blood’  

January 2nd 

After purchasing rugs from a Home Goods store while wearing rubber gloves and a face mask, he returned to the iPad for more research. 

He also spent $450 on cleaning supplies from a Home Depot including mops, buckets, tarps, drop cloths and various kinds of tape.  

This time, prosecutors say he searched; 

• Hacksaw best tool to dismember
• Can you be charged with murder without a body?   
• Can you identify a body with broken teeth? 

January 3rd

Police say he visited a dumpster in Abingdon, where he was seen carrying a heavy-looking garbage bag. 

‘He had to heft it into the dumpster,’ according to police. 

Prosecutors tried to track down those trash bags, but by the time they got to them they had been destroyed in an incinerator at a trash transfer center. 

• Walshe then did more research, allegedly Googling; 
• What happens to hair on a dead body? 
• What is the rate of decomposition of a body found in a plastic bag compared to on a surface in the woods?
• Can baking soda make a body smell good? 

January 4th 

Walshe bought bath mats, men’s clothing and towels at TJ Maxx and Home Goods. He then visited Loewes. 

That same day, a colleague of Ana’s in Washington DC called police in Cohasset to report her missing and request a welfare check at her home. 

Police visited the family house, where they noticed the seats in Brian’s Volvo were down, and a large, plastic liner was in the backseat.  

January 5th

Police returned to the Walshe family home, where they noticed Brian’s Volvo had been freshly cleaned. 

When questioned, he said he’d thrown out the plastic liner they saw the previous day. 

That same day, he visited the dumpster near his mother’s home. 

January 8th

Walshe is arrested for misleading police. A search warrant for the house is obtained, and police discover blood stains in the basement. They also found a knife with traces of blood on it. 

Police then searched the dumpster near his mother’s home and found 10 trash bag that were stained with blood. Inside, they discovered; 

• Slippers with both Ana and Brian’s DNA on it 
• Rags, tape, a medical suit with Brian and Ana’s DNA on it 
• Ana’s Hunter boots
• Ana’s Prada handbag 
• Ana’s COVID-19 vaccine card, with her name on it
• A hacksaw
• Hatchet 
• Cutting shears 

Walshe, 47, arrived at Quincy District Court early in a black SUV.  He entered through a side door, wearing a gray top, khaki pants and black sneakers. 

Brian Walshe leaves court today after being charged with the murder of his wife Ana 

Walshe, 47, arrived at Quincy District Court early in a black SUV. He entered through a side door, wearing a gray top, khaki pants and black sneakers

The 47-year-old had chains around his waist and was handcuffed as he was led into court 

According to friends, she and Brian had been fighting over her grueling work schedule. 

She had been spending more time working in Washington DC for the real estate firm Tishman Speyer, while her husband was at home in Cohasset, Massachusetts. 

The hearing is expected to begin shortly after 9am. 

Ana, a Serbian immigrant who met wealthy Walshe in 2005 while working in hotels, was enjoying her busy working life when she disappeared. 

She regularly posted about her colleagues on social media, where mentions of her husband were few and far between. 

She’d been working for Tishman Speyer for two years, and spending much of her time away from her family. 

On January 1, she failed to show up to work in Washington DC. 

Four days later, the head of security for Tishman Speyer in DC called police in Cohasset, where she lived with her family, requesting a welfare check. 

The caller said he’d informed Brian that Ana was missing. 

On January 8, Brian was arrested for misleading the police investigation into his wife’s disappearance. 

Ana, 39, had been enjoying her life as a busy working mother, splitting her time between Cohasset, Massachusetts, and Washington DC, where she worked for a real estate firm 

It then emerged that police had found traces of blood in the couple’s basement. 

A search of a trash transfer center later turned up bloody items including a hatchet and a rug. 

Walshe had researched ‘how to dispose of a 115-pound body’ on the internet, and he’d also been seen lingering around a trash dumpster next to his mother’s house, according to prosecutors. 

Long before his wife went missing, he was arrested on suspicion of stealing and trying to sell two fake Andy Warhol paintings. 

Family friends described him as a ‘sociopath’ who turned on his ailing, elderly father in a desperate grab for his wealth. 

After the murder charge was announced against her husband last night, friends started paying tribute to the vivacious mother-of-three. 

Abdulla Almutairi, her colleague and best friend, said: ‘You’ll always be my best friend and family. 

‘Rest easy, Heaven is a lot brighter; be the sunshine and the moonlight that you always are.’