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Jurors have reached a verdict in the trial for Brian Walshe, who is charged with murdering his wife, Ana, after she disappeared on New Year’s Day in 2023.
The decision was reached after jurors began deliberating on Friday. Brian’s lawyers rested their case on Thursday morning without calling him to the stand. He previously pleaded guilty to lying to police officers after Ana disappeared and improperly disposing of her body, but he denied killing her.
Prosecutors said Brian, who allegedly killed his wife before disposing of her remains, made a series of incriminating internet searches on Jan. 1, 2023, which included “how long for someone to be missing to inherit,” “best way to dispose of a body” and “best way to dispose of body parts after a murder.”
Larry Tipton, Brian’s attorney, said during closing arguments that his client “loved Ana Walshe, the mother of his three children.”
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“There’s no evidence that he deliberately premeditated the murder. There’s no evidence that he ever intended to kill Ana Walshe. None whatsoever. Brian Walshe is not guilty. He’s not guilty,” he said on Friday during closing arguments.
Assistant Norfolk County DA Anne Yas, however, said that Brian murdered Ana then hid her body to hide the crime.
“Ana Walshe is dead because he murdered her and he intended her death. And Walshe was not missing,” Yas said. “Dying a sudden death from natural causes defies common sense. She was in great shape.”
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On Tuesday, a forensic scientist testified that DNA consistent with Ana’s profile was found on a hatchet and hacksaw recovered from the trash.
Saman Saleem, a DNA unit supervisor at the state police crime lab, also said that several items found at a Peabody, Massachusetts, trash collection site also had Ana’s DNA on it, which included pieces of a rug, a Tyvek suit, unknown tissue and slippers.
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Brian’s wife had a $2.7 million life insurance policy which he was the beneficiary of, court records show. He owed nearly $500,000 in restitution for his federal case.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
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