Brian Walshe, the Cohasset, Massachusetts, man accused in the alleged murder of his wife, Ana Walshe, appeared in court for a hearing Thursday morning.
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Brian Walshe's lawyers argue prosecutors lack evidence to show premeditated murder
Brian Walshe, the Cohasset, Massachusetts, man accused in the alleged murder of his wife, Ana Walshe, appeared in court for a hearing Thursday morning.
Walshe, who was due in court for a hearing last Friday that ended up not taking place, was present in person at Plymouth Superior Court.
Much of the hearing was about the defense's motion to dismiss, as Walshe's attorneys argued that the commonwealth did not produce sufficient evidence to a grand jury to support their first degree murder indictment.
Larry Tipton, Walshe's primary defense attorney, spent much of the hearing attacking the evidence presented by the Commonwealth to the grand jury. He argued that much of their evidence dealing with alleged premeditation of the murder relied on inference and not trustworthy fact.
Tipton clashed with Norfolk County prosecutors on their interpretations of various pieces of evidence and testimony in the case, and what they mean for Walshe's mindset preceding the alleged murder.
A big issue was whether or not Walshe was aware of an affair it seems that Ana was having before her death. Walshe's team denied that he knew about it — something that Judge Freniere pushed back on, referencing an interview that Walshe gave police on Jan. 4, 2023, when he stated he had access to her iMessage and Instagram accounts.
Freniere noted that there were messages between Ana and a man from Washington D.C., where she traveled to and from Cohasset for work, that "leave little doubt there was an affair going on."
Tipton said that just because Walshe had access to the accounts doesn't necessarily mean he saw the messages.
The Commonwealth brought up a number of other motives they allege are possible — primarily centering around the art fraud case he was dealing with at the time. Prosecutors pointed to the significant life insurance plan on Ana and the high restitution costs related to the art fraud case. They also speculated that Walshe may have thought he had a better chance at avoiding prison time at his sentencing if he were a single parent.
Then, there's the issue of the alleged Google searches about getting rid of a body. One of the Commonwealth's theories is that they could have been made while Ana was still alive, which would support their claims of premeditation.
Tipton pointed out, though, that prosecutors have shown a double standard for the timeline of New Year's Day 2023 — that their claims of the Google searches being made while Ana was still alive rely on Brian's statements about the timing of that morning — which prosecutors had cast doubt on in other arguments.
In his latest filings, Tipton seeks Freniere to remove the extreme atrocity or cruelty theory from the indictment.
Premeditation and extreme atrocity or cruelty are key parts of the qualifications to be charged with first degree murder in Massachusetts.
State law here defines first degree murder as "murder committed with deliberately premeditated malice aforethought, or with extreme atrocity or cruelty, or in the commission or attempted commission of a crime punishable with death or imprisonment for life."
If the crime is not this, the charge falls to murder in the second degree.
Walshe has pleaded not guilty to the charges he's facing in connection to his wife's disappearance.
There will be another hearing in the case on Aug. 1 at 2 p.m.
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