DEDHAM, Mass. (WPRI) — Wearing a black mask and purple disposable gloves, Brian Walshe can be seen in security video bagging cleaning supplies at the Lowe’s self-checkout on Jan. 1, 2023.
The never-before-seen footage was shown in court Monday as Walshe’s murder trial entered its second week.
The 50-year-old Cohasset man is accused of killing his wife, Ana Walshe, and dismembering her body nearly three years ago.
Ana Walshe, 39, was reported missing back in January 2023, when it is presumed she was heading to Logan Airport. Investigators said the mother of three had booked a flight to Washington D.C., where she works, but never made it onto the flight.
Her body still has not been found. Brian has pleaded guilty to improperly disposing of her body and misleading police, but he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.
On Monday, prosecutors showed video from several stores between Jan. 1-4. In the footage from Lowe’s, Walshe is seen using cash to pay for the $463.26 bill.
The jury also heard from Massachusetts State Police forensic scientist Matthew Sheehan, who said he tested areas of the Walshe’s home for blood. He said areas like the basement came up positive, but not the bedroom.
He also found a knife in a kitchen cabinet next to bottles of hydrogen peroxide.
“The screening test for blood was positive on this blade,” he said.
Sheehan also tested items that were found in the dumpster outside of Brian’s mother’s house. And while a hacksaw tested positive for blood, Ana’s jacket did not.
“Screening on all of the stains, as well as the on stained areas was negative,” he added.
On Monday, the trial picked back up with Dr. Richard Atkinson, the medical examiner who tested what was found on pieces of a rug in the dumpster.
“It’s the correct color, shape, consistency of a blood clot,” he said. “I’ve seen thousands of them.”
In cross examination, the defense ran through a list of ways someone could die suddenly of natural causes.
“You can’t diagnose a cardiac dysrhythmia unless the person died while attached to a cardiac monitor,” Atkinson explained.
But the prosecution asked how uncommon they are.
“Without doing an autopsy to exclude all those things, a sudden arrhythmia disorder is at the very bottom of the list of possibilities,” he said.
Two of Ana’s coworkers also took to the stand Monday: the head of security at her work in Washington, D.C., as well as human resources. They said they started looking for Ana on Jan. 4, when Brian said she’d been missing since she left for a work emergency.
Both of them said they were not aware of any emergency at work.
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