In court today
• Happening now: Prosecutors are giving their closing argument in the murder trial of Brian Walshe, who is accused of killing his wife around New Year’s Day 2023 at their Massachusetts home.
• What the defense argued: Defense attorney Larry Tipton said that there’s no proof Walshe planned to murder his wife, and he repeated the argument that Walshe found his wife inexplicably dead in their bed.
• What’s next: After the prosecution speaks, the judge will finish giving the jury instructions.
• Possible sentence: Walshe faces life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder in his wife’s death. Last month, he pleaded guilty to lesser charges, and he faces up to 10 years in prison for misleading police — though that could be enhanced up to 20 years if he is convicted of murder.
Prosecutor says defense's argument that Ana Walshe died unexpectedly "defies common sense"
It “defies common sense” to suggest that Ana Walshe, a fit 39-year-old woman, could’ve died a sudden unexplained death, prosecutor Anne Yas told the jury.
The defense team has argued that Brian Walshe didn’t kill his wife, but rather, he discovered her dead in their bed. But in her closing statement, Yas said that Walshe “needed” her dead.
Yas argued that Walshe needed to resolve his federal fraud case and attempt to avoid prison time for that conviction.
“Being the primary caregiver allowed him to avoid prison,” Yas told the jury.
Prosecution's opening statement begins: "Ana Walshe is dead because he murdered her"
Prosecutor Anne Yas is now giving the commonwealth’s closing argument in the murder trial of Brian Walshe.
Defense disputes the inference of some evidence presented in court
Doubling down on the lack of motive and proof, defense attorney Larry Tipton focused on the text messages between Ana Walshe and William Fastow and the fact that blood was only found in the Walshe’s basement.
On the affair: Tipton acknowledged that the text messages between Walshe and Fastow entered as evidence could enrage a husband. But he again offered that there is no evidence that Brian Walshe “ever saw anything going on” between the two.
On blood found in the basement: Tipton challenged the suggestion that Walshe cleaned up his whole house to hide a violent incident, as investigators only found blood in the basement. “Nothing violent happened in that house, and that’s why there is no biological or blood evidence anywhere in that house,” he said.
“The act of trying to hide the body of his wife and the blood evidence that is seen on that carpet — that’s what happened,” Tipton argued. “There was no blood in the living room. The inference might be that the carpet was taken downstairs.”
“There is no evidence of any killing that happened,” Tipton said.
Tipton closed by saying Ana and Brian Walshe were still in love and looking toward the future despite the challenges in their marriage. Tipton showed the jury a champagne box Ana signed with her husband and their friend on New Year’s Eve that expressed continued hope for the new year.
Defense casts doubt on the photo of a knife shown to the jury as evidence
Defense cast doubt on the commonwealth’s suggestion that a knife recovered from a cabinet above the refrigerator in Brian Walshe’s kitchen could have been the murder weapon.
Though preliminary testing was done on the knife, ultimately there was no confirmation that there was blood or any other biological evidence recovered from that knife, defense attorney Larry Tipton said.
Tipton also said police found no evidence that a violent incident occurred in the house.
Defense says there's no suggestion Walshe planned a murder in his grisly online searches
Defense attorney Larry Tipton is addressing the grisly online searches recovered from Brian Walshe’s laptop, which prosecutors argued during the trial show the defendant was researching the best ways to dispose of a body.
“The evidence of the searches — the dark, troubling evidence of the searches —they began at 4:52 a.m. on January 1, 2023,” Tipton said in his closing argument.
“The first one is ‘How do you dispose of a body.’ It causes chills, it causes disgust,” he said.
But Tipton said the searches “evolved” and show they were made “by a man who is in disbelief and confusion.” In opening statements, the defense said Walshe found his wife inexplicably dead in their bed.
“Look at all of those searches, think of how they evolved,” Tipton said. “Consider how they go from one subject to another.”
In thousands of digital records, there’s no suggestion that Walshe planned a murder, his attorney said.
Tipton noted that the first mention of “murder” in his searches comes up six hours after they begin and suggests it’s because he was switching up the searches to get different results.
“He couldn’t call a funeral parlor,” Tipton told the jury, and argued that Walshe was trying to figure out what he could do because he feared no one would believe he didn’t kill his wife.
There is no proof that Brian Walshe intended to kill his wife, defense argues
Defense attorney Larry Tipton started by portraying Brian Walshe as a loving husband and stated that there is no proof that the defendant knew about his wife’s extramarital affair or that he ever thought about harming her.
Tipton acknowledged there is evidence that Walshe lied to the police and disposed Ana Walshe’s body, but he argued that the prosecution has not established a motive for murder.
“There is no proof in all of the evidence that you have heard that he ever once thought about harming the woman he loved,” Tipton said.
Defense begins its closing argument in the trial of Brian Walshe
Brian Walshe’s defense attorney Larry Tipton is now presenting a closing argument to the jury.
Judge says jurors can consider convicting Walshe of first or second degree murder
The jury in trial of Brian Walshe is now listening to legal instructions from Judge Diane Freniere before closings arguments begin.
Notably, the judge said jurors will be allowed to consider convicting Walshe of murder in the first or second degree.
What to know: A conviction on the less severe charge still carries a life sentence, but it allows Walshe parole eligibility.
The courtroom is filled with Ana Walshe's friends and family this morning
Closing arguments are expected to begin soon in the murder trial of Brian Walshe.
The left side of the gallery is filled with friends and family of Ana Walshe, including Gem Mutlu and Alissa Kirby, who both testified during the trial. Several supporters have hugged each other occasionally wiping tears.
Brian Walshe’s mother, Diana, is sitting alone in the front row feet away from them. The right side of the gallery is filled with media.
Correction: A previous version of this post misstated which phase of the trial begins today. Closing arguments will get underway today.
What the defense said about how Ana Walshe died
Defense attornies did not call any witnesses or present any evidence during the trial of Brian Walshe. But in his opening statement, defense attorney Larry Tipton said Walshe found his wife unresponsive in their bed.
Tipton referenced the Google searches Walshe made beginning January 1, explaining that Walshe made those searches as “he wrestled with the fact that Ana Walshe was dead” and acknowledged that his client lied to investigators.
Tipton says that shortly before Walshe found his wife dead, he went downstairs from their bedroom to clean the kitchen and checked his emails.
He then returned to the bedroom, “intending nothing more than to crawl into bed with Ana Walshe, the woman he loved.”
When he did, Ana Walshe was unresponsive — so much so that her body rolled off the bed. She was unexplainably dead in their bed, Tipton said.
Here's what to expect in court today
Prosecutors and defense attorneys are expected to deliver their closing arguments this morning in the murder trial of Brian Walshe, the man accused of killing his wife around New Year’s Day 2023 at their Massachusetts home.
The lawyers are planning to meet around 8:45 a.m. ET to handle any last-minute issues with the jury instructions. The jury is expected to be brought in around 9 a.m. ET, and closing argumnets should begin shortly after that.
Each side said yesterday said they’ll take about 45 minutes for their closing arguments.
The defense will give its closing argument first followed by the commonwealth. Prosecutors get the last word as they have the burden of proof.
A timeline of the first days of Ana Walshe's disappearance
Ana Walshe, a 39-year-old mother of three, was first reported missing by her coworkers in Washington, DC, on January 4, 2023.
Her husband, Brian Walshe, initially told investigators that he had last seen her on New Year’s Day when she left their Cohasset, Massachusetts, home for the airport.
But prosecutors say his statements to police were misleading, and they argue he secretly killed his wife, dismembered her body and disposed of her remains.
Here’s a timeline of those first critical days:
January 1: As Brian Walshe told police, Ana Walshe usually took an Uber, Lyft or taxi to the airport and left between 6 and 7 a.m. ET, the affidavit states.
He further told police a babysitter arrived in the afternoon and he left home to get groceries at about 3 p.m. ET, the affidavit states.
He told police he then went to see his mother at about 4 p.m ET. in Swampscott, about an hour drive from Cohasset, but did not have his cell phone and got lost, making the trip longer than usual, the affidavit states. He ran errands and eventually returned home at about 8 p.m. ET, according to the affidavit.
January 2: Ana Walshe’s cell phone pinged in the area of their Cohasset home on January 1 and 2, according to prosecutor Lynn Beland.
According to surveillance footage, Brian Walshe traveled to a Home Depot in Rockland wearing a surgical mask and gloves and made a cash purchase, the affidavit states. There, Walshe bought $450 of cleaning supplies, including mops, a bucket, tarps and various types of tape, according to Beland.
January 4: Ana Walshe’s workplace, real estate company Tishman Speyer, called police to report she did not show up for her job, Beland said. According to Brian Walshe’s defense attorney, he called her workplace to ask if they knew of her whereabouts prior to the workplace’s call to police.
Jan. 5: Cohasset Police announced Ana Walshe was missing and asked the public to come forward with any information.
The defense rested its case without calling any witnesses
Brian Walshe did not take the stand in his murder trial before his attorneys rested their case yesterday morning without presenting any evidence.
This appears to be a change of course for the defense – his attorneys had indicated during a sidebar at the end of the day Wednesday that he would testify, Judge Diane Freniere said before the jury entered the courtroom.
When she asked the defense to confirm whether Walshe, 50, still planned to take the stand yesterday morning, defense attorney Larry Tipton said no, Walshe wouldn’t testify and they wouldn’t put on a defense.
Walshe said, “I will not testify,” when the judge asked him to confirm the decision in his own words.
Prosecutors in Massachusetts rested their case on Wednesday, after calling about 50 witnesses across eight days of testimony.
