BOSTON (AP) — A Boston-area man was sentenced Thursday to life in a Massachusetts state prison for the grisly murder of his wife, who disappeared nearly three years ago and whose body has never been found.
Brian Walshe was convicted Monday of first-degree murder in the killing of Ana Walshe. The sentence carries no possibility of parole.
He pleaded guilty in November to misleading police and illegally disposing of a body after admitting he had dismembered her body and disposed of it in a dumpster. He said he did so only after panicking when he found she had died in bed.
Ana Walshe, a real estate agent who immigrated from Serbia, was last seen early Jan. 1, 2023, after a New Year’s Eve dinner at the couple’s home.
During the trial, prosecutors leaned heavily on digital evidence found on devices connected to Walshe, including online searches for “dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body,” “how long before a body starts to smell,” and “hacksaw best tool to dismember.”
Investigators also found searches on a laptop that included “how long for someone missing to inherit,” “how long missing to be dead,” and “can you throw away body parts,” prosecutors told the jury.
Surveillance video showed a man resembling Walshe throwing what appeared to be heavy trash bags into a dumpster not far from the couple’s home. Items linked to Ana, including a hatchet and hacksaw, were later discovered in a trash processing facility.
Prosecutors speculated on several possible motives for the murder. Not only was Walshe the sole beneficiary of Ana's $1 million life insurance policy, but witnesses testified to the strain within their marriage. Ana was commuting to Washington, D.C., for work, while Brian was awaiting sentencing for an art fraud case.
Details of Ana's affair were revealed during the trial, and although Brian's defense claimed he was unaware of her infidelity, the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and the evidence against him were too compelling.
When initially questioned, Walshe claimed his wife had been called away for a work emergency, but evidence suggested otherwise. Their three children are currently in state custody following their mother’s disappearance.
