The first week of testimony in Brian Walshe’s murder trial is over. Here are takeaways from Day 5
By Lauren del Valle, CNN
(CNN) — The first week of testimony in Brian Walshe’s murder trial in Dedham, Massachusetts, has come to an end.
The jury heard from about two dozen witnesses called by the commonwealth in its case against Walshe as prosecutors work to prove he killed his wife, Ana Walshe, around New Year’s Day in 2023.
Unbeknownst to the jury, Walshe has already pleaded guilty to misleading police after her disappearance and improperly disposing of his wife’s body. But he maintains he did not kill the corporate real estate manager and mother of three. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.
On Friday, a Massachusetts state trooper who started testifying on Thursday continued to tell the jury about data he processed from Brian Walshe’s phone, including messages and calls recorded between his and Ana’s devices.
A retired state trooper took the stand briefly so prosecutors could admit more physical evidence into the record, including a hacksaw, hatchet and hammer that were recovered in January 2023 from a dumpster near the apartment complex where Brian Walshe’s mother lived.
Prosecutors have worked this week to show the jury evidence they say Walshe tried to throw away to cover up his wife’s killing.
A medical examiner began testifying Friday afternoon, telling the jury about his efforts to determine whether any human tissue could be detected on some of those items from the dumpster. He’s expected to retake the stand Monday when the trial continues.
Here’s what happened Friday:
Texts sent to Ana Walshe after her purported disappearance
Data from Brian Walshe’s cell phone shows messages sent to Ana Walshe’s cell phone between January 2 and 4 after her death. At the time in 2023, Walshe told investigators he hadn’t seen or heard from his wife since she left for a flight to Washington, DC, to handle a work emergency around 6 a.m. on New Year’s Day.
Walshe’s defense attorney told the jury in his opening statement that Walshe found his wife inexplicably dead in their bed in the early hours of New Year’s Day, panicked and then lied to investigators.
The cell phone messages were sent from Brian’s phone to his wife’s, but were never delivered, Massachusetts State Trooper Connor Keefe testified. Ana’s phone was never recovered by investigators.
January 2, 2023
2:33 p.m. ET: Hello Thomas found the phone playing on Williams bed! William said he forgot it was there! Haha. Ok call anytime
7:18 p.m. ET: Hello
Where are you
Please call text or email
Exhausting day with the boys and we had fun
Going to bed early, big day tomorrow for everyone
I still love you!!! haha
January 3, 2023
6:39 a.m. ET: Hello
6:39 a.m. ET: where are you
6:39 a.m. ET: I’m worried, please call, or email
8:30 a.m. ET: Where are you? I just called and it went straight to voice mail. Calling you in Viber now.
8:32 a.m. ET: I will call after I drop the boys
If I don’t hear from you this morning I am going to report you missing
12:16 p.m. ET: Hello,
I texted your sister and Alissa
I am calling Jeff if I don’t hear from you? Where are you?
7:03 p.m. ET: Hello
7:04 p.m. ET: Where are you?
The boys and I are worried
Im calling work tomorrow if I don’t hear from you.
January 4, 2023
10:14 a.m. ET: Where are you?????????
10:15 a.m. ET: I am calling Jeff now
Defense seeks to discredit investigation
Defense attorney Larry Tipton spent more than two hours cross-examining Keefe about the investigation into Ana Walshe’s disappearance that turned into a murder investigation centered around Brian Walshe.
Tipton questioned the investigative decisions made back in January 2023, working to undermine the investigation into the mother’s disappearance.
He suggested investigators could’ve expanded their search of Walshe’s devices beyond the limited window of December 25, 2022, through January 8, 2023.
Tipton also suggested prosecutors cherry-picked from Walshe’s devices location data and web searches they showed the jury, highlighting only a small percentage of a much larger digital history.
A wider look at the phone usage would show the jury innocuous searches for movies, restaurants and wine, Tipton said.
He also stressed the timeline revealed by the phone activity – no grisly searches about how to dispose of a body or clean up blood occurred before the morning of January 1, 2023.
Prosecutors must prove that Walshe planned to kill his wife to prove he’s guilty of first-degree murder. The defense has suggested that he didn’t kill his wife and panicked to dispose of her body, thinking no one would believe he didn’t cause her death.
During Keefe’s cross-examination, Tipton also invoked the name of a controversial former Massachusetts State Trooper, Michael Proctor, who was fired for misconduct that was uncovered through his participation in the prosecution of Karen Read.
Proctor was the case officer for Ana Walshe’s disappearance when Brian Walshe was arrested and was dishonorably dismissed from duty in July 2024 after an internal conduct review.
Judge Diane Freniere did not allow Tipton to dig into Proctor’s role in the Walshe case Friday, but the attorney indicated he may try to do so through later witnesses.
What’s to come
A medical examiner from Boston took the stand briefly before the trial adjourned Friday afternoon.
Dr. Richard Atkinson processed items that prosecutors say Brian Walshe threw away in dumpsters near where his mother lived.
The medical examiner said his job was to determine whether any human tissue could be recovered from the evidence. He’s expected to continue testifying about his findings on Monday when the trial resumes.
Prosecutors didn’t mention their upcoming witness order on the record before breaking for the weekend.
They’ve previously said the jury will hear from Ana Walshe’s former boss, who was with the Walshe family into the early hours of New Year’s Day and was the last person known to see Ana alive other than her husband.
More investigators may testify about the evidence that led them to arrest Walshe for his wife’s murder.
It remains unclear whether Brian Walshe will take the stand in his own defense. His attorney has said the defense would present evidence that Walshe found his wife dead in their bed in the early hours of New Year’s Day in 2023 and then he panicked and lied to police. Tipton also said the jury would hear a medical perspective about sudden unexplained deaths, which he suggested during his opening statement happened to Ana Walshe.
Before sending the panel home for the weekend, the judge said the attorneys appear to be working a bit ahead of schedule. She said at this point the jury could get the case after another two weeks of evidence from both parties.
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