Defense claims Ana Walshe died from 'sudden unexplained death'

Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald on Dec 1, 2025

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The prosecution said Brian Walshe killed his wife amid financial and marital woes. But the defense claimed Walshe is only guilty of covering up a death, not causing it.

Attorneys for both sides laid out their cases in opening statements for Walshe’s murder trial in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., Monday morning.

Prosecutors alleged that Walshe committed first-degree murder when he plotted to kill his wife Ana and dispose of her body in January 2023. Walshe already pleaded guilty to lying to police and mishandling a body earlier this month.

The commonwealth alleged that Walshe searched “best state divorce for a man,” “best way to dispose of a body,” and “best way to dispose of body parts after murder,” around the time of Ana’s death.

Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor also claimed a man who appears to be Walshe on surveillance camera purchased shears, snips, a hacksaw, and a Tyvek suit, and that the suit and other items were later found disposed of with Brian and Ana’s DNA.

Before Ana’s death, the state laid out how she’d been having an affair while Walshe was awaiting sentencing on federal fraud convictions and faced $400,000 in restitution.

Walshe’s attorney Larry Tipton admitted that those facts — the purchase of tools, the searches, and the circumstances — were true, but they didn’t add up to the same conclusion the prosecutors purported.

“The evidence will be hard to understand, but it is true,” Tipton said.

Instead, Tipton claimed the defense would present evidence that Ana experienced “sudden unexplained death,” and that Walshe found her in their bed in the early hours of Jan. 1, 2023, following a joyful New Year’s celebration.

The defense said Walshe disposed of the body and lied to police following Ana’s death because of fear about what would happen to their sons if people believed he had killed her.

“He told a story. He told lies. He tried to hide so he could hang on to those boys,” Tipton said. “Brian Walshe never killed Ana. Brian Walshe never thought about killing Ana.”

Judge Diane Freniere cautioned members of the jury that “the opening statements are not evidence,” and instead explained that they are a summary of what evidence each side expects will be presented during the case.

Jurors will hear testimony from the Cohasset Police Sgt. Harrison Schmidt Monday afternoon.

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