(WPRI) — Tuesday marked day two in the Brian Walshe murder trial.
Day 2’s proceedings had prosecutors reveal that, beyond the original searches investigators found on Brian Walshe’s computer, he allegedly also looked up how to clean a knife that had been contaminated with HIV blood.
Prosecutors noted the search results happened on Jan. 1, 2023 — the day Ana Walshe went missing. They also documented Brian Walshe sought information about famed killer Robert Kearney. Kearney was dubbed the trash bag killer because he disposed of his victims’ body parts in trash bags.
Search results about divorce by Brian Walshe before Ana’s death were also provided as evidence by prosecutors.
Opening statements from the first day of the trial painted very different pictures of what may have happened to Ana Walshe. Prosecutors say Brian Walshe murdered his wife, while the defense claims she may have died suddenly and unexpectedly from an undetermined medical issue.
“We will prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the premeditated murder of his wife Ana Walshe,” Assistant District Attorney Gregory Connor said in his opening statement.
Brian Walshe’s attorney, Larry Tipton, argued this was not a case of murder but what he called a “sudden unexplained death” of Ana Walshe. He portrayed a couple who loved each other and were planning for the future before Ana Walshe died after celebrating New Year’s Eve with her husband and a friend.
“When he entered the bedroom and began to get into bed, he sensed something was wrong. You will hear evidence that it made no sense to him,” Tipton told the jury. “He nudged Ana his wife. She didn’t respond. He nudged her again a little harder. She didn’t respond. He nudge her now in a panicked and frantic reaction to where she actually rolled off the bed.”
Brian Walshe is accused of killing his wife, Ana Walshe, and dismembering her body two 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.
Brian Walshe has been in custody since he was arrested in connection with his wife’s disappearance.
Before the trial began, Brian Walshe changed his plea on two of the charges against him. He pleaded guilty to improper conveyance of a human body and misleading a police investigation, court documents show. He has maintained his innocence on the murder charge.