QUINCY, Mass. — Brian Walshe, the husband of Cohasset mother Ana Walshe, went online before and after he dismembered his wife and Googled ways to get rid of a body and how long DNA lasts, prosecutors allege.
Brian Walshe was arraigned on a murder charge Wednesday in Quincy District Court, where prosecutors detailed an exhaustive and incriminating list of Google searches that he allegedly made after Ana Walshe’s death.
Investigators say Brian used his son’s iPad to research an array of topics related to disposing of Ana’s remains. A prosecutor read the following Google searches aloud in front of a packed courtroom.
Before Ana’s death, on Dec. 27, Brian Walshe is said to have Googled, “What’s the best state to divorce for a man?”
Jan. 1, 2022
- 4:55 a.m. -- “How long before a body starts to smell?”
- 4:58 a.m. -- “How to stop a body from decomposing?”
- 5:20 a.m. -- “How to embalm a body?”
- 5:47 a.m. -- “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to”
- 6:25 a.m. -- “How long for someone to be missing to inherit?”
- 6:34 a.m. -- “Can you throw away body parts?”
- 9:29 a.m. -- “What does formaldehyde do?”
- 9:34 a.m. -- “How long does DNA last?”
- 9:59 a.m. -- “Can an identification be made with partial remans?”
- 11:34 a.m. -- “Dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body”
- 11: 44 a.m. -- “How to remove blood from a wooden floor?”
- 11:56 a.m. -- “Luminol to detect blood”
- 1:08 p.m. -- “What happens when you put body parts in ammonia?”
- 1:29 p.m. -- “Is it better to throw crime scene clothes away or wash them?”
Jan. 2, 2022
- 12:45 p.m. -- “Hacksaw best tool to dismember”
- 1:10 p.m. -- “Can you be charged with murder without a body?”
- 1:14 p.m. -- “Can you identify a body with broken teeth?”
Jan. 3, 2022
- 1:02 p.m. -- “What happens to hair on a dead body?”
- 1:13 p.m. -- “What is the rate of decomposition of a body found in a plastic bag compared to on a surface in the woods?”
- 1:20 p.m. -- “Can baking soda make a body smell good?”
Ana spent New Year’s Eve with her husband and three kids at their Cohasset home. The prosecutor said her phone turned off at 3:14 a.m. New Year’s Day. She wasn’t heard from after that.
Before Ana was reported missing by Brian, investigators say he was seen on video on Jan. 2 at the Home Depot in Rockland wearing a black surgical mask, and blue surgical gloves making a cash transaction. He is said to have purchased a tarp, mops, tape, and other cleaning supplies.
The missing person investigation surrounding Ana quickly shifted to a suspicious disappearance investigation after a blood-covered knife was found in the basement of their home.
Subsequent clues uncovered by investigators led them to the North Shore, where a hacksaw was found at a transfer station in Peabody.
While some trash bags that Brian dumped were incinerated before being found, other bags that were located contained bloody rugs, a COVID-19 vaccine card with Ana’s name, a hatchet, and the hacksaw, according to prosecutors.
Brian is due back in court at a later date.
Prosecutors say Brian Walshe dismembered his wife and disposed of her body. Judge ordered Walshe held without bail until next court appearance. @boston25
— Heather Hegedus (@HeatherHegedus) January 18, 2023
Some more of the internet searches Brian Walshe performed, according to prosecutors:
— Heather Hegedus (@HeatherHegedus) January 18, 2023
"How long before a body starts to smell?"
"How to embalm a body."
"How to get blood out of a wooden floor."
The searches were performed after Ana disappeared.
More of the searches prosecutors say Brian Walshe performed: "Hacksaw-- best tool to dismember?"
— Heather Hegedus (@HeatherHegedus) January 18, 2023
"What is the rate of decomposition of a body in plastic bag vs. in the woods?"
"Can baking soda make a body smell good?" @boston25
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