Brian Walshe found guilty of murdering his wife

Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald on Dec 15, 2025

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DEDHAM, Mass. — Brian Walshe was found guilty of murder in the first degree in Norfolk Superior Court late Monday morning in the killing and dismembering of his wife, Ana Walshe, in the early hours of New Year's 2023.

Over a 10-day trial in Norfolk Superior Court, prosecutors gave evidence that Walshe, 50, killed his wife before dismembering and disposing of her body, which was never found, over the next days.

After nearly seven hours of deliberation Friday and Monday, the jury, composed of six men and six women, unanimously found the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree just before noon.

Walshe gave no strong expression as the verdict was read, remaining stoic until he was guided from the courtroom in handcuffs.

“We took the job to speak for victims, and (the trial team) did one heck of a job speaking for Ana’s family,” Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey told reporters outside the courthouse. “And I just wanted to also to say we did hear from Ana’s sister, and her comment was, ‘Justice has been served.'”

Before the trial, Walshe pleaded guilty to additional charges of lying to police about his wife’s disappearance and mishandling her body after she was already dead, but maintained that he is innocent of killing his wife. The defendant was previously convicted of fraud in a separate federal case ongoing before the murder.

Lawyers gave alternate views of the night of Ana Walshe’s death over the course of the trial. Prosecutors argued the husband was motivated by his wife’s affair and money, as all the couple’s assets were in her name to protect them from his legal troubles stemming from the art fraud case against him.

Walshe’s defense alleged he was a “loving father and loving husband,” and when Ana Walshe suddenly died on Jan. 1, 2023, he reacted out of “confusion, panic, and fear.”

The jury had the options to decide if he was guilty of first-degree murder, which requires premeditation; a lesser charge of second-degree murder; or innocent.

The jury began deliberating after 12:20 p.m. Friday and reached a verdict at about 11:45 a.m. Monday.

Walshe is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on Wednesday at 9 a.m.

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