Brian Walshe Search History Includes How to Dismember, Dispose of Body, Wait for Inheritance: Court

The searches came after the time that Walshe has said his wife died, according to a courtroom report from the Boston Herald, citing Massachusetts State Police Trooper Nicholas Guarino's testimony on Tuesday.

The trial shifted its focus after Walshe unexpectedly pleaded guilty to lying to police after his wife's death and manhandling her body on November 18, as noted by The Independent, but has maintained that he did not kill her. He is facing a charge of first-degree murder.

Walshe's defense attorney's opening statement included the claim that it was a "sudden unexplained death," saying that he "panicked" after finding her dead in their bed and attempted to cover it up for fearing of losing their sons if it was believed he killed her.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, believe that as the sole beneficiary of his wife's $2.7 million insurance policy, and the fact he believed she was having an affair, Walshe was motivated by greed to kill his wife, per NBC News. Defense has argued he was not upset about the affair.

On Tuesday, the case was in prosecutors' hands, with Guarino breaking down what was found on Walshe's computer starting within hours of the time he has since said she suffered her "sudden unexplained death" in the early morning of January 1, 2023.

In that immediate window, Guarino said Walshe's computer logged searches for "how long before body starts to smell," as well as "how long for someone to be missing to inheritance." Searches continued through the day, per the Herald, including how to use a spouse's credit card or file for divorce when a spouse is missing.

There were additional searches for things like how to clean blood and two different videos titled "cleaning up a dead body" and "how to clean blood stains with hydrogen peroxide." Guarino also cited searches on the phrases "how to saw a body," "hacksaw the best tool for dismembering a body," and "ways to dispose of body parts after murder."

Over the next two days, Walshe's computer continued logging searches, including for things like "can you identify a body with broken teeth" and "can baking soda make a dead body smell good," per the Herald. Additional searches cited by CNN include "disposing of a body in the trash," and "can you be charge with murder without a body."

Guarino also testified to searches including "how to dispose of a cell phone," "how to dispose of a computer," "how to remove a hard drive from apple laptop," and "can police get your search history without your computer." The newspaper notes that all of these searches came through January 3, before Ana had been reported missing and before he'd been interviewed by police.

Also on Tuesday, audio was played of Walshe being asked by authorities why a device in his home might have search data for how to dispose of a body. His response: "I don't-- I have no idea." Police determined that search history was synced to a tablet that his son used from another device on the network.

On the stand, Guarino also rolled the calendar back to the days before Ana's death, reading out searches like "best divorce strategy for men." The computer was also allegedly used to research famed 1970s serial killer Patrick Kearney, per TMZ's coverage, also known as the "Trash Bag Killer" for dismembering his victims and discarding them in trash bags.

Additionally, the outlet reported that Guarino testified Walshe's computer had downloaded a pornographic video about a "cheating wife" on December 27, less than a week before her agreed-upon time of death, though Walshe's defense was able to argue there was no proof that the user was specifically looking for those search parameters.

Ana Walshe, 39, of Cohasset, MA was last seen on New Year's Day 2024 by a family member at home between 4-5am. She was supposed to take a ride share to Logan Airport in Boston that morning for a flight to Washington, DC -- but never boarded a plane.

She was reported missing by both her husband and employer on January 4, with police logs reportedly confirming her employer was the first to contact authorities. Her phone has been off since the 1st and there's been no activity on her credit cards since then, either.

During his arraignment for allegedly misleading investigators, Norfolk First Assistant District Attorney Lynn M. Beland claimed Brian bought $450 of cleaning supplies at Home Depot on January 2 -- after Ana was last seen but before she was reported missing.

According to Fox25 at the time, a prosecutor also said surveillance video at the store showed him "buying a tarp, mops, tape, and other cleaning supplies." Brian previously told police he had only left the house that day to get ice cream with his son.

CNN and NBC Boston both reported at the time that sources close to the investigation said "a troubling internet search history related to murder was found on Walshe's electronic devices."

Beland also said that while executing a search warrant at the home, blood and a "damaged knife" with blood on it were found in the basement. According to both CNN and CBS Boston, investigators later found "trash bags with blood, a hatchet, a hacksaw, a rug and used cleaning supplies" at a Peabody transfer station. CBS also reported husband Brian Walshe's vehicle contained "evidence it was recently cleaned."

In February 2024, the Justice Department announced Brian Walshe was sentenced to 37 months in prison and three years supervised release after his guilty plea in April 2021 on one count each of wire fraud, interstate transportation for a scheme to defraud, and unlawful monetary transaction after he allegedly sold two fake Andy Warhol paintings on eBay in 2016.

Walshe was also ordered to pay restitution of $475,000. An investigation showed that Walshe acquired the actual paintings from another victim, promising to help him sell them. Walsh then allegedly sold the paintings in 2011 to a gallery, where they ultimately made their way through multiple hands and left the country; they have not been recovered.

In that same year, he allegedly acquired a different set of replicas of those paintings, which he allegedly sold in 2015 to another victim. The eBay buyer discovered the paintings were fake and attempted to get a refund, leading to delayed responses and then excuses from Walshe.

Already serving his sentence for these charges, after his plea, Walshe is facing up to 10 years on the charge of misleading investigators, with a potential 20-year enhancement if convicted of murder, as well as three years for the count of disposing of a body.