QUINCY, Mass. — A status hearing for the Cohasset father, Brian Walshe who is accused of murdering his wife and dismembering her body last month, has been set for March 1 after appearing in court via Zoom for his initial status hearing Thursday morning.
Walshe, 46, appeared virtually in Quincy District Court from the Norfolk County House of Corrections, where he is being held without bail on charges that he murdered and discarded the remains of 39-year-old Ana Walshe, whose body has still not been found.
Brian Walshe appeared at his status hearing via Zoom. He was wearing a DOC orange shirt and said little. New prosecutor, Greg Connor, has case. He anticipates grand jury findings sometime in March. Next court date 3/1. @boston25
— Bob Ward Boston 25 (@Bward3) February 9, 2023
The prosecution is expected to provide the evidence that has been gathered thus far. That potentially includes items that were still being tested at the State Crime Lab when Walshe last appeared in court for his murder arraignment three weeks ago.
Walshe has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges filed against him.
Prosecutors have alleged that he killed his wife Ana in their Cohasset home on New Year’s Day. The couple’s three young boys were reportedly home at the time.
Investigators suspect that Ana’s discarded remains may have been incinerated in a trash facility.
“There is a preponderance of a lot of things here that really point in one direction,” said Peter Raider, who was friends with Ana Walshe. “There are so many unanswered questions.”
Raider, who met Ana through their work in the real estate industry, is anxious to see how the case unfolds.
“Everybody who knew and cared about Ana is really watching this thing,” he said. “She had this genuine heart of gold that she wanted to spread around the world.”
Prosecutors have already said that Brian Walshe made more than a dozen disturbing Google searches on his son’s iPad, including “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to” and “how to stop a body from decomposing”
The state has already presented evidence collected from 10 trash bags that were reportedly disposed of in a dumpster at the Swampscott apartment complex of Brian Walshe’s mother.
Some of that evidence includes a piece of a necklace that Ana had been wearing, a Prada purse, a COVID vaccine card with her name and other items containing both Brian and Ana’s DNA.
At some point in the investigation, prosecutors could bring all of the evidence gathered to a grand jury.
The grand jury would then vote on whether to directly indict Brian Walshe on the charges.
Boston 25 News reached out to Brian Walshe’s attorney, Tracy Miner, on Wednesday afternoon and did not hear back.
Boston 25 News also reached out to DCF to ask if the Walshe’s 2-year-old, 4-year-old and 6-year-old boys remain in state custody.
A DCF spokesperson said “due to state and federal privacy requirements, there is no further information.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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