A Massachusetts man set to go on trial for the 2023 killing and dismemberment of his wife pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts: willfully conveying a human body and misleading police.
Brian Walshe was arrested on Jan. 8, 2023, and initially charged with misleading authorities investigating the disappearance of Ana Walshe, a Serbian American real estate executive who was reported missing by her employer.
Two weeks later, he was also charged with first-degree murder and willfully disposing of her body.
Following his indictment in March 2023, Brian Walshe pleaded not guilty to all counts.
On Tuesday, he appeared in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., where jury selection for his trial was set to begin. But just before the proceedings were to start, Walshe withdrew his not-guilty plea and entered guilty pleas on the two lesser charges.
He did not change his plea on the murder charge.
While confirming if he was aware of the consequences of his decision, Judge Diane Freniere asked the defendant to tell the court, in his own words, why he was there.
“I’m here to plead guilty,” he responded.
The judge accepted his guilty pleas shortly after 10 a.m. and jury selection began in the afternoon, NBC Boston reported.
Ana Walshe was last seen on Jan. 1, 2023, following a New Year’s Eve dinner with her husband and a family friend at the couple’s home in Cohasset, just southeast of Boston, where they lived with their three young kids.
Brian told investigators his wife had booked a ride-sharing service to the airport for a work trip to Washington, D.C., but police said there was no record of her taking a car or boarding a flight.
He also said she had been called to Washington for a work emergency, but prosecutors said her employers later contradicted those claims.
Investigators later found disturbing searches on an iPad belonging to one of the couple’s sons. The searches — allegedly made by the defendant — included “dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body,” “how long before a body starts to smell,” and “what is the rate of decomposition of a body found in a plastic bag compared to on a surface in the woods.”
A bloody knife was also recovered from the basement of the couple’s home, police said. Ana Walshe’s body has never been found.
Jury selection for Brian Walshe’s first-degree murder trial is set to continue on Wednesday.
With News Wire Services
