A Massachusetts man charged with killing and dismembering his wife in 2023 pleaded guilty Tuesday to disposing of her body, according to a court document.
Brian Walshe was indicted in 2023 in connection with the murder of his wife, Ana Walshe, who was last seen on New Year’s Day that year. Prosecutors alleged he assaulted and beat her with intent to murder, and later moved her body or remains, according to the criminal complaint. Walshe had previously pleaded not guilty to all charges.
On Tuesday, the day jury selection was set to begin for his trial, Walshe changed his plea to guilty of “willfully conveying” his wife’s body and misleading police, according to the court document.
The filing states Walshe “disposed of and did convey the body of Ana Walshe after her death” and intentionally made false statements to Cohasset Police Department and Massachusetts State Police investigators during four interviews in January 2023.
Walshe is scheduled to go to trial on the first-degree murder charge, which begins December 1.
Attorneys for Walshe had previously asked the court to accept his guilty pleas, but the state initially rejected them, saying negotiations would only proceed if they included the murder indictment. The memorandum argued that a defendant has the right to plead guilty voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently, and to agree to the specific facts supporting a guilty finding.
The state responded that releasing the pleading publicly less than a week before trial could affect the selection of an impartial jury.
Walshe’s lawyers also requested last week that his prison sentence for misleading police not exceed four to six years, while the sentence for disinterring a body would not exceed two to three years.
Last week, Walshe was found competent to stand trial following an evaluation prompted by a jail attack his lawyers said caused him distress.
Judge Diane Freniere emphasized that being indicted on a murder charge does not mean Walshe committed the crime and instructed the jury that the Commonwealth must prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. She questioned Walshe about his guilty pleas before accepting them shortly after 10 a.m.
Assistant Norfolk District Attorney Greg Connor said Walshe disposed of Ana Walshe’s body in dumpsters and garbage receptacles in eastern Massachusetts and misled investigators by claiming she had left for work in Washington, D.C., via ride-share.
Ana Walshe, 39, a mother of three, was last seen on New Year’s Day at her home in Cohasset. Her employer requested a well-being check on January 4. Investigators found Walshe had made disturbing Google searches, including “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to,” “hacksaw best tool to dismember,” and “can you be charged with murder without a body.” Ana Walshe’s body has never been recovered.
Blood and a damaged, bloodstained knife were discovered in the couple’s basement. Walshe also reportedly spent hundreds of dollars on cleaning supplies, mops, and tape the day after his wife disappeared.
He was arrested and later indicted on charges of murder, misleading a police investigation, and improper conveyance of a human body. The couple’s three young children were placed in state custody.
A first-degree murder conviction in Massachusetts carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. Walshe has not yet been sentenced for the two charges he pleaded guilty to Tuesday.
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