Judge cites ‘barbaric’ acts in sentencing Brian Walshe to life in prison without parole for wife’s murder

CNN

By Lauren del Valle, CNN

(CNN) — A judge in Dedham, Massachusetts, called the acts of Brian Walshe “barbaric and incomprehensible” before sentencing him Thursday to life in prison without parole for killing his wife, dismembering her body and discarding her remains in dumpsters.

The sentencing comes after a jury on Monday convicted Walshe of first-degree murder, finding he planned to kill Ana Walshe, the mother of their three children, just hours after ringing in the new year in 2023.

“The seriousness of your acts cannot be overstated. Your acts in dismembering your wife’s body and disposing of her remains in multiple area dumpsters can only be described as barbaric and incomprehensible,” Judge Diane Freniere said, addressing Walshe directly in court. “You had no regard for the lifelong mental harm that your criminal acts inflicted on your then two-, four- and six-year-old sons.”

The situation has had a “devastating impact on her children,” the judge noted, referencing a sealed letter from the state Department of Children and Families. Ana Walshe’s sister also spoke briefly on behalf of her family, telling the judge how Ana’s death “left us with an unbearable emptiness.”

The sentence of life without parole for a first-degree murder conviction is required by law. Freniere also ordered Walshe to serve consecutive prison sentences for two other convictions he pleaded guilty to ahead of the trial.

She ordered him to serve the statutory maximum on both of those lesser charges – up to 20 years for the count of misleading police and up to three years for the improper conveyance of a body.

The sentencing represents the culmination of a case that captured national attention almost three years ago, first with the initial search for 39-year-old Ana Walshe, and then with the grisly evidence that her husband googled topics like “how to dispose of a body” and other inquiries on cleaning up blood.

Before the judge imposed Walshe’s sentence, defense attorney Kelli Porges said consecutive prison sentences would be inhumane and, despite what’s been said in court, “He is a human. He is a father. He is a son, and he has been a friend to many. The life sentence is mandatory, but to do consecutive sentences, I think, is inappropriate and inhumane.”

Brian Walshe did not address the court and showed no visible emotion during the proceeding.

Walshe’s mother submitted a letter to the judge on her son’s behalf ahead of the sentencing.

“Although I consider the letter of Diana Walshe, I simply cannot reconcile the person Diana Walshe describes in her letter with the person who stands before me for sentence,” Freniere said. “Mr. Walshe, you will live with the guilt and burden of Ana Walshe’s death for the rest of your life.”

Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Walshe to consecutive sentences. Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor said the facts of the case call for a harsh penalty.

“We recognize it’s harsh and we think it’s appropriate based on the facts,” Connor said.

Brian Walshe, 50, left a trail of evidence prosecutors used to retrace his actions to dispose of his wife’s remains.

Prosecutors told the jury Ana met a violent death at her husband’s hand before he dismembered her body and disposed of her remains in area dumpsters.

Walshe then lied to investigators, claiming she had gone missing the morning of January 1, 2023, after leaving their Massachusetts home to handle a work emergency in Washington, DC, where she worked as a real estate manager and lived part time.

Ana Walshe’s body has never been found.

Prosecutors are working to get a death certificate for her after her husband’s conviction.

“He robbed her family and friends of the opportunity to bury her. There is no death certificate,” Connor said. “The church will not allow a funeral to go on. At this point in time, we are working on trying to work with the (medical examiner’s) office to see if we can get the death certificate issued now based on the conviction and based on the plea.”

Walshe was awaiting sentencing for fraud at time of Ana’s death

Prosecutors called about 50 witnesses over eight days, but they never offered the jury a theory of how exactly Walshe killed his wife.

Instead, they worked to shed light on purported strife in the Walshes’ marriage, stemming from a separate, federal criminal case against Walshe and an affair Ana was having in DC.

Walshe has always maintained he had nothing to do with Ana’s death. His defense team told the jury he found her dead in their bed hours into the new year, then panicked, fearing no one would believe him.

Prosecutors alleged Walshe found out about his wife’s monthslong affair with a man she met in Washington, DC, William Fastow, and feared losing his wife and kids to a new life she had there while he was facing the possibility of prison time and a hefty restitution bill for a federal fraud conviction.

When Ana died, Walshe was still awaiting sentencing for that conviction. He had pleaded guilty to selling forged Andy Warhol artwork and was granted home confinement ahead of sentencing because he was the primary caregiver for their three kids.

During the sentencing Thursday, the judge said she considered Walshe’s federal conviction as she determined his punishment connected to his wife’s murder. He’s now serving a 37-month sentence for that federal conviction, which is set to run concurrent with his sentence in this case.

“Your criminal history shows a long and well-documented history of deceitful and manipulative behavior. (I) considered your character or lack thereof, your behavior and your background,” the judge said.

Digital data recovered from Walshe’s devices revealed he also googled divorce and William Fastow days before his wife’s death.

Over two days of deliberation, jurors asked just one question, indicating they wanted to see a photo of Ana Walshe lying on a rug in the living room of their Cohasset home that prosecutors had submitted as evidence.

Prosecutors told the jury the rug ended up covered in Ana’s blood in a dumpster near the apartment complex where Brian Walshe’s mother lived days after Ana’s death. When investigators found pieces of the rug in garbage bags, they also found a piece of her necklace stuck in the fibers.

In opening statements, defense attorney Larry Tipton told the jurors they would hear from Walshe about how he found his wife inexplicably dead in their bed.

But Walshe ultimately didn’t testify, and the defense rested its case without offering any evidence.

While Walshe denied involvement in his wife’s death, he pleaded guilty to the illegal disposal of Ana’s body and misleading police – though jurors were unaware of his pleas.

In closing arguments, Tipton admitted there was indeed evidence Walshe had done both. But Tipton said there was nothing to prove his client planned to kill his wife.

Walshe’s conviction will be reviewed by the highest court in Massachusetts automatically, as all first-degree murder convictions in the state go before the Supreme Judicial Court.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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