Brian Walshe trial testimony focuses on bloodstained items found in dumpster
Jurors in the Brian Walshe murder trial saw photographs of bloodstained items police said they found in a dumpster while they were searching for his missing wife. Prosecutors have previously said that Walshe allegedly murdered then dismembered Ana Walshe.
Walshe, 50, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife in Cohasset, Massachusetts in January 2023. Her body has never been found. The couple had three children together.
Brian Walshe has pleaded guilty to improperly disposing of his wife's body and misleading police during the investigation. He pleaded not guilty to murder.
Jurors do not know that Walshe was previously charged with those counts and pleaded guilty. Judge Diane Freniere told attorneys after the jury left for the day that she is still considering if jurors will be given the information or if it will be left out entirely.
Walshe first told police that his wife left early on New Year's Day to get a ride to the airport and fly to Washington, D.C. for a work emergency. Police said they later found a damaged and bloody knife in the basement of the Walshe's home.
There will be another full day of testimony on Thursday in Norfolk Superior Court, followed by a half day on Friday. The judge in the case said the trial is on or ahead of schedule. She had previously said the trial is expected to last three or four weeks.
Wednesday's proceedings came a day after testimony centered around dozens of disturbing internet searches.
Jurors see bloodstained items
Davis Gould from the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab began to testify after the lunch break and was the final witness of the day.
He showed photos of gloves that were found in the Walshe family's Volvo, along with a red or brown stain. The gloves were found on the floor and center console of the car.
Gould said swabs from the area of the stain tested positive for blood.
Jurors also were shown photographs from items police found in a dumpster outside of Brian Walshe's mother's house.
There were several bloodstained items, pieces of stained carpet, safety goggles and a protective suit, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, and more. Also found in the dumpster was a sheer, hammer, wire snips, a hatchet, and a hacksaw with red or brown stains.
A COVID vaccination card belonging to Ana Walshe was also found in the dumpster.
Defense attorney Larry Tipton on cross-examination attempted to show that the items removed from the dumpster may not have been stained when they were thrown away, but were contaminated by items that had blood on them.
WBZ-TV legal expert Jennifer Roman talked about the evidence jurors saw Wednesday.
"We know that there was a hacksaw involved and a knife involved. But that doesn't mean that's how she died. But the truth is nobody knows how she actually died is what the defense is really kind of honing in on and chipping away at," Roman said.
Life insurance policy
Mark Selvaggi, a representative from New York Life Insurance, took the stand late Wednesday morning.
Earlier in the week during his opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor said financial records show Ana Walshe had more than $1 million in life insurance, and her husband was the beneficiary of that policy.
Under direct questioning Wednesday, Selvaggi said that Ana Walshe had a term life policy for $1 million and a whole life policy for $250,000. He said Brian Walshe was the beneficiary.
Selvaggi also said that Ana Walshe received an "excellent health rating" for her policy. Defense attorney Kelli Porges highlighted on cross-examination that health ratings are not done by a medical professional.
Porges questioned if there are any tests done on applicants' lungs or heart or their neurological system. Selvaggi said he did not know. The defense argued in its opening statement that Ana Walshe died suddenly and Brian was shocked to discover her unresponsive when he got into bed.
During cross-examination, there were several sidebars and objections.
Porges said that Brian Walshe also applied for life insurance policies numerous times but was denied because of his pending federal charges in an art fraud case.
"When you were going through this with Mr. Walshe, actually he even referred you to other friends and colleagues of his," Porges said, prompting a prosecution objection as Selvaggi answered yes.
"I think it's time to go to lunch," Judge Freniere interjected.
Ana Walshe's travel
The jury heard testimony Wednesday from representatives of Uber, Lyft, and JetBlue.
A Lyft representative testified that Ana Walshe did not take any rides between Dec. 30 and Jan. 8, while an Uber official said that she took two rides on Dec. 30, and none after that.
Thomas Menino with JetBlue corporate security testified that Ana Walshe had reservations for flights between Boston and D.C. on Jan. 3, Jan. 13, Jan. 16, Jan 27, and Jan. 30 of 2023, but was a "no show" for all of them.
Earlier on Wednesday, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent testified that Ana Walshe left the country on Nov. 23, 2022 traveled to Dublin, Ireland and Germany. She returned to the U.S. on Dec. 7, 2022 and did not leave the country again, the agent said.
Jurors also heard from a Cohasset police officer who was dispatched to the home after Brian Walshe filed a missing person's report.
"He contacted her workplace and he had not heard from her in a few days," Officer Gregory Lowrance recalled Walshe saying.
Walshe landlord testifies
Peter Capozzoli, who rented the Cohasset home to the Walshe family, testified that that the lease began in March 2022 and he visited the property a few times to make small repairs.
Capozzoli said that in the first week of January 2023, he got a phone call from Brian Walshe, who asked if there were security cameras at a business the landlord owned right next to to the home.
"He had asked me if I had security on my building and I said no, not at this time," Capozzoli testified. "I said, 'why?' He said, 'well my wife is missing.'"
What's happened in the Walshe trial?
During opening statements Monday, Walshe's attorney Larry Tipton offered a different explanation for what he called Ana Walshe's "sudden and unexplained death." Walshe said he found his wife dead in their bed after a dinner party at their home on New Year's Eve, and then panicked because he was worried about what would happen to their children.
Tuesday's testimony centered around dozens of internet searches that Massachusetts State Trooper Nicholas Guarino said he pulled off Brian Walshe's laptop from the day his wife went missing.
Those searches included "how long does DNA last," "how long before a body starts to smell," "hacksaw, best tool for dismembering a body," "can I use bleach to clean my wood floors from blood stains," and "can you be charged for murder without body."
There were also a series of searches made days before Ana's death that included "best state to divorce for a man," according to Guarino.
The defense said none of the searches show any signs Brian Walshe was planning to kill his wife. Their theory is that the divorce was mutual so they could protect the family's assets as Walshe faced charges in an art fraud scheme, and they say he was even planning to buy her a diamond ring.
"These searches that you just testified to regarding searching for diamonds, they occurred just before the searches that you told us about regarding the divorces yesterday, correct?" Tipton asked Wednesday.
"Yes," replied Guarino.
If Walshe is convicted of first-degree murder, he will be sentenced to life in prison without the chance at parole.