A jury is hearing opening arguments in the murder trial of Brian Walshe, who is accused of killing and dismembering his wife in 2023.
Walshe has denied killing Ana Walshe but has pleaded guilty to lesser charges of misleading police and improper conveyance of a human body.
- Ana Walshe, a 39-year-old immigrant from Serbia, was last seen in her Cohasset home on New Year's Day 2023.
- Her body was never found, but investigators said a search of a trash processing facility near the home of Brian’s mother uncovered bags containing a hatchet, hacksaw, towels, a protective Tyvek suit, cleaning agents, a Prada purse, boots like the ones Ana was last seen wearing and a COVID-19 vaccination card with her name.
- Walshe has claimed they had a happy marriage, but prosecutors say he researched divorce shortly before his wife's disappearance.
Stay with Newsweek for the latest on Walshe's trial.
...Dec 01, 2025 at 12:25 PM EST
About the investigation into Brian Walshe
Brian Walshe, husband of missing Massachusetts mother Ana Walshe, was first arrested on January 8, 2023, for misleading investigators after police determined he had fabricated details about his whereabouts. Prosecutors later alleged that he visited a Home Depot on January 2 and spent hundreds of dollars on cleaning supplies. A search of the family’s home uncovered blood and a damaged knife in the basement.
On January 18, Walshe was charged with murder and disinterring a body without authority. Prosecutors cited disturbing Google searches from multiple devices, including queries about dismemberment and disposing of a body. He pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
By March 30, Walshe was formally indicted on counts of first-degree murder, misleading police, and improper conveyance of a human body. Nearly three years later, on November 18, 2025, he changed his plea to guilty on the two lesser charges of misleading investigators and improper conveyance, while continuing to contest the murder allegation.
The case has drawn widespread attention in both the United States and Serbia, where Ana was born. Serbia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has coordinated with Massachusetts prosecutors to keep Ana’s mother informed about the investigation.
Dec 01, 2025 at 12:13 PM EST
Walshe described his wife’s activities, mood on New Year’s Eve 2022, in police interview
Brian Walshe told Sgt. Schmidt in the 2023 police interview, being played in court, about his wife's schedule on December 31, 2022.
Walshe said that Ana had a Barre workout class and got her nails done, before the couple hosted a New Year's Eve dinner party with her friend and former boss Gem Mutlu.
He said that Anna had seemed "under pressure" during the party but he put that down to her having issues at work.
"The only problem we had in our marriage is we weren't spending time together," Walshe said. "I think I was putting more pressure on her for more family time."
Walshe said that Ana had warned him on New Year's Eve that she would need to leave early in the morning on New Year's Day. He then told the investigator that a work emergency had come up New Year's Day morning which meant she rushed out to Washington D.C.
Dec 01, 2025 at 12:12 PM EST
What to know about the disappearance of Ana Walshe
Ana Walshe, a 39‑year‑old Serbian‑American real estate executive, was reported missing on January 4, 2023, by both her employer and her husband, Brian Walshe. She was last seen in the early hours of January 1 at the family’s home in Cohasset, Massachusetts, after celebrating New Year’s Eve with Brian and a friend.
Brian Walshe initially told police that Ana had left for Washington, D.C. due to a work emergency. Still, investigators later determined she never boarded her scheduled flight and her bank cards had not been used since January 1.
Days later, Brian was arrested for misleading investigators about his whereabouts. On January 18, he was charged with murder and disinterring a body without authority. Prosecutors allege he killed Ana, dismembered her, and disposed of her remains. Walshe has pleaded not guilty.
Ana, born Ana Ljubičić in Belgrade, emigrated to the United States in 2005 and built a career in hospitality before becoming a regional general manager at Tishman Speyer in 2022. She and Brian married in 2016 and had three young sons. At the time of her disappearance, Brian was on house arrest following a federal fraud conviction tied to counterfeit Andy Warhol artwork.
Dec 01, 2025 at 12:04 PM EST
Police sergeant becomes first witness to take the stand
Cohasset Sgt. Harrison Schmidt, the lead investigator into the disappearance of Ana Walshe, has taken the stand as the first witness to testify in today's murder trial.
An interview that Sgt. Schmidt conducted with Brian Walshe, at his Cohasset home on January 4, 2023, is played in court.
Walshe can be heard discussing text messages shared between himself and Ana during the interview, as his children play in the background.
The texts include discussions around travel arrangements.
Dec 01, 2025 at 11:59 AM EST
Prosecutors highlight divorce searches in Walshe trial
Prosecutors in Brian Walshe’s murder trial told jurors that the defendant portrayed his marriage to Ana Walshe as happy in interviews with police, even as digital evidence suggested otherwise.
In his opening statement, prosecutor Greg Connor revealed that Ana was involved in a romantic relationship with William Fastow in Washington, D.C., where she worked. Connor said Ana missed much of Christmas with her family in Massachusetts before arriving late on December 25, and was last seen on New Year’s Eve when the family hosted her former boss.
Investigators later discovered that Walshe’s devices had been used to search Fastow’s name on December 25. Two days later, a MacBook linked to his Apple ID showed searches for “best strategies to divorce for a man” and “Washington, DC, divorce laws.”
Connor argued the searches contradicted Walshe’s statements to police in early January, when he insisted he and Ana were happily married and denied knowledge of any affair.
Dec 01, 2025 at 11:53 AM EST
Defense offers first explanation for Ana Walshe’s death
In a dramatic opening statement, defense attorney Larry Tipton told jurors that Brian Walshe discovered his wife Ana unresponsive in their bed, marking the first time the defense has explained her death.
Tipton acknowledged that Walshe lied to investigators in the days following Ana’s disappearance but argued those actions stemmed from panic and grief. He pointed to Google searches Walshe made on January 1, saying they reflected a man “wrestling with the fact that Ana Walshe was dead.”
According to Tipton, Walshe had gone downstairs to clean the kitchen and check emails before returning to bed. When he tried to lie beside his wife, she was unresponsive, and her body rolled off the bed. Tipton described the moment as shocking and unexplained, insisting Walshe intended nothing more than to be with “the woman he loved.”
Dec 01, 2025 at 11:50 AM EST
Brian Walshe’s art fraud case: What to know
At the time of Ana’s disappearance, Brian Walshe was awaiting sentencing for an unrelated art fraud case involving the sale of two fake Andy Warhol paintings.
The buyer paid Brian $80,000 but could not find any Warhol Foundation authentication stamps on the paintings, prosecutors said. The buyer tried and failed to get his money back.
Brian was sentenced to 37 months in prison and ordered to pay $475,000 in restitution.
Dec 01, 2025 at 11:47 AM EST
Brian Walshe’s search history: What to know
Prosecutors alleged that Brian made 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” beginning on January 1, 2023, and for several days after.
The court also heard that Walshe had researched divorce shortly before his wife disappeared.
Dec 01, 2025 at 11:47 AM EST
Defense links Walshe’s divorce searches to family concerns
Brian Walshe’s defense attorney told jurors that his client’s prior federal conviction strained his marriage and prompted discussions with his wife, Ana, about financial security if he went to prison. Attorney Larry Tipton argued that online searches for divorce strategies and Washington, D.C. divorce laws, highlighted by prosecutors, were isolated and tied to property sales rather than marital breakdown.
Walshe, who pleaded guilty in 2021 to selling forged Andy Warhol artwork, is serving a 37‑month federal sentence alongside state charges connected to Ana’s disappearance. He was also ordered to pay $400,000 in restitution.
Tipton said Walshe’s focus was on ensuring stability for his wife and three sons, not ending the marriage. He cited Ana’s own comments to a man she was involved with in Washington, suggesting divorce might be considered to “preserve the family essence.”
The defense added that Walshe misled investigators after Ana vanished to protect his children, not to conceal wrongdoing. “What would happen to their three boys now that Ana is no longer here?” Tipton asked the jury, framing Walshe’s actions as misguided attempts to shield his family.
Dec 01, 2025 at 11:45 AM EST
What did Brian Walshe do for a living?
Brian Walshe previously worked as a chief financial officer and international business strategist for consulting companies, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Dec 01, 2025 at 11:43 AM EST
What did Brian Walshe plead guilty to?
Walshe appeared in Norfolk Superior Court last month and pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of to misleading a police investigation and willfully conveying a human body, without a plea deal from the prosecution.
The maximum sentence for misleading a police investigation is 10 years in prison and three years for willfully conveying a human body, according to CBS News.
Dec 01, 2025 at 11:42 AM EST
Court plays interview with Brian Walshe in missing person case
Jurors on Monday heard audio from a January 4, 2023 interview between Brian Walshe and Sgt. Schmidt at the Walshe family home in Cohasset, Massachusetts. The interview was conducted as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Walshe’s wife, Ana.
In the recording, the couple’s children can be heard in the background while Walshe shows the officer text messages exchanged with Ana. The messages included details about travel arrangements. At one point, Walshe tells Schmidt, “Look at anything that’s going to help you,” as he provides access to the communications.
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