A Massachusetts jury has found Brian Walshe guilty of the first-degree murder of his wife, Ana Walshe, a case that has gripped the United States and beyond due to the grim details and the fact that her body has never been found. The 50-year-old showed no emotion as the verdict was delivered in Norfolk Superior Court on Monday, 15 December 2025, after only hours of jury deliberations.
The Disappearance and the Deception
Ana Walshe, a 39-year-old Serbian immigrant and successful real estate executive, was last seen in the early hours of 1 January 2023 following a small New Year's Eve gathering at the couple's home in Cohasset. Her husband, Brian Walshe, claimed she had left for an emergency work trip to Washington, D.C., ordering a car to Logan International Airport in Boston.
However, this story quickly unravelled. Ana's employer, the first to report her missing, confirmed there was no work emergency. Prosecutors presented evidence that she never entered a rideshare vehicle and there was no record of her boarding a flight. Her mobile phone and financial cards went completely inactive after her disappearance.
Walshe did not report his wife missing until 4 January, only after her employer had contacted police. He had previously pleaded guilty to charges of misleading police and the improper disposal of a body, but steadfastly denied killing her.
The Damning Evidence: Searches and Purchases
During the trial, prosecutors painted a picture of calculated actions in the wake of Ana's disappearance. They revealed that on New Year's Day, Walshe travelled to multiple pharmacies and hardware stores, purchasing heavy-duty cleaning supplies, a Tyvek protective suit, and a utility knife.
These purchases were preceded by a series of chilling internet searches made from devices linked to Walshe, including:
- "How long before a body starts to smell?"
- "Dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body."
- "how to dismember a body with a hacksaw."
Surveillance footage later showed a man resembling Walshe discarding heavy rubbish bags in dumpsters. A subsequent search of a waste facility near his mother's home uncovered bags containing a hatchet, a hacksaw, towels, a protective suit, cleaning agents, a Prada purse, boots matching Ana's, and her Covid vaccination card. Prosecutors stated that many of these items tested positive for Ana Walshe's DNA.
"The defendant did not want anyone to find Ana’s body and to know how she died," prosecutor Anne Yas told the court. "So the defendant bought cutting tools ... and he cut up Ana’s body, the woman he claimed to love, and dumped her into dumpsters."
Motive and the Defence's Case
Prosecutors argued the murder occurred within a marriage in crisis. They noted that Walshe, who was on home confinement for a separate federal fraud case, "had no assets." In contrast, Ana was thriving professionally and had begun setting up rooms in her Washington, D.C. apartment for their three children.
Yas suggested Walshe needed the children with him to be seen as the primary caregiver, potentially to avoid prison. The court also heard that Ana had taken out a $2.7 million life insurance policy, naming her husband as the sole beneficiary.
In a surprising move, the defence rested its case without calling any witnesses, and Brian Walshe did not testify. His attorney, Larry Tipton, argued his client was "a loving husband and a loving father" with "no motive at all." Tipton claimed Walshe had panicked after a "sudden unexplained death," finding Ana unresponsive after their New Year's Eve celebration.
Tipton addressed the damning internet searches, questioning why the first search mentioning murder occurred six hours after the initial queries if premeditation was involved. "Context matters," he insisted, arguing the actions showed fear and confusion, not guilt of murder. He emphasised that with no body, investigators could not determine a cause of death.
The trial also heard testimony from William Fastow, whom prosecutors identified as Ana's boyfriend. Fastow said their intimate relationship began in March 2022 and that Ana was concerned about her husband finding out. They had planned to spend 4 January together to discuss their future; he last heard from her on New Year's Eve.
Brian Walshe is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday, 17 December 2025.
