Defense rests without Brian Walshe testifying or putting on any evidence
By Lauren del Valle, CNN
(CNN) — Brian Walshe did not take the stand in his murder trial before his attorneys rested their case Thursday morning without putting on any evidence.
This appears to be a change of course for the defense – his attorneys had indicated during a sidebar at the end of the day Wednesday that he would testify, Judge Diane Freniere said before the jury entered the courtroom.
When she asked the defense to confirm whether Walshe, 50, still planned to take the stand Thursday morning, defense attorney Larry Tipton said no – Walshe wouldn’t testify and they wouldn’t put on a defense.
Walshe said, “I will not testify,” when the judge asked him to confirm the decision in his own words.
Prosecutors in Massachusetts rested their case on Wednesday, after calling about 50 witnesses across eight days of testimony.
The judge sent the jury home for the day minutes after they came into the courtroom Thursday morning. The jurors are expected to hear closing arguments and legal instructions Friday morning before they begin deliberating.
Walshe faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if he’s convicted of first-degree murder.
Prosecutors say he killed his wife, Ana Walshe, 39, sometime around January 1, 2023, then dismembered her body and illegally disposed of her remains and other evidence.
Unbeknownst to the jury, Walshe pleaded guilty to illegally disposing of her body and misleading police ahead of the trial.
Still, he insists he did not kill his wife, a real estate manager and mother of three. His attorney said during opening statements that Walshe found his wife inexplicably dead in their bed after ringing in the new year at home.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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