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Brian Walshe killed and dismembered his wife Ana Walshe and disposed of her body in dumpsters, a prosecutor with the Norfolk district attorney’s office said at his arraignment on Wednesday.
“Rather than divorce, it is believed that Brian Walshe dismembered Ana Walshe and discarded her body,” prosecutor Lynn Beland said.
Brian Walshe, 47, was arraigned in Quincy District Court on charges of murder and disinterring a body without authority. The hearing was the first time that prosecutors definitively said Ana Walshe, the Massachusetts mother of three who has been missing since the new year, is believed to be dead.
In court, Beland laid out some of the evidence that led to that charge, including the discovery of Ana Walshe’s belongings and her blood in the garbage.
Live updates: Brian Walshe arraigned on murder charge
Surveillance video captured a person appearing to be Brian Walshe tossing heavy bags into a dumpster in Abington and in Swampscott, Beland said. The bags in Swampscott contained blood stains, cleaning equipment, a hacksaw, a hatchet, boots and a purse worn by Ana Walshe and her Covid-19 vaccination card, the prosecutor said. Her and her husband’s DNA also were found on human blood in the trash, she said.
Further, in the days after her disappearance, Brian Walshe allegedly made a series of Google searches: “How to dispose of a dead body if you really need to,” “dismemberment and how to dispose of a body,” “can you be charged with murder without a body,” and “can you identify a body with broken teeth,” according to the prosecutor.
In court, Brian Walshe shook his head once but did not otherwise react to the gruesome allegations. He spoke in court to say he acknowledged the charges, and a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
The judge ordered him held without bail. His next court date is February 9.
In a statement, Brian Walshe’s defense attorney Tracy Miner said she would not comment on the case and suggested the evidence was not strong.
“I am not going to comment on the evidence, first because I am going to try this case in the court and not in the media. Second, because I haven’t been provided with any evidence by the prosecution. In my experience, where, as here, the prosecution leaks so-called evidence to the press before they provide it to me, their case isn’t that strong,” she said.
“When they have a strong case, they give me everything as soon as possible. We shall see what they have and what evidence is admissible in court, where the case will ultimately be decided.”
Brian Walshe arrived at court just after 8 a.m. Wednesday for his hearing. He has been in jail since January 8, when he was arrested and charged with misleading investigators; he has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors have accused him of intentionally delaying investigators in order to cover up evidence, alleging he lied about some of his actions in the days following his wife’s disappearance.
Since Ana Walshe’s employer reported her missing January 4, authorities have scoured the couple’s home, performed a sweeping search of the town of Cohasset, and poured through dumpsters looking for any sign of what happened to the 39-year-old mother of three.
Police also have found blood stains and a bloody, broken knife in the couple’s basement, prosecutors have said.
Ana Walshe’s friend and former colleague Pamela Bardhi felt rage and relief upon hearing investigators believe her friend was murdered, she told CNN.
“I just had this horrible gut feeling and I prayed I was wrong,” she said Tuesday. “I prayed that it wasn’t the…
Read More: Brian Walshe accused of killing his wife Ana Walshe and dismembering her body, prosecutors say