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A Massachusetts judge overseeing the murder trial of Brian Walshe ruled Monday that prosecutors can show jurors a still image taken from video of his missing wife playing with their children on a rug inside the family’s Cohasset home, after defense attorneys argued the images were too inflammatory.
Prosecutors wanted to show the entire video to illustrate the connection between the victim and the rug itself. They told the court the carpet seen in the clip was identical to one later recovered 40 miles from a dumpster near the home of Brian Walshe’s mother Diana, along with a saw and a “bone fragment”.
Brian Walshe, a 50-year-old convicted fraudster, is accused of murdering his wife Ana after learning she was having an affair. Prosecutors also say he believed he would have a better chance of avoiding federal prison time for his art fraud conviction if he became the sole guardian of their three children.
JUDGE DECLINES BOSTON FRAUDSTER BRIAN WALSHE COMPETENT TO BE TRIED IN MURDER OF HIS WIFE
Murder suspect Brian Walshe listens during his final pretrial hearing, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. He is accused of killing and dismembering his wife, Ana Walshe, whose remains have not been found. (Pool)
But Ana Walshe planned to move with the children to Washington, D.C., where she worked and ran the business, according to prosecutors.
Her alleged lover is on the witness list, defense lawyers say, and is expected to testify.
He declined to answer questions about the case when contacted Sunday.
PROSECUTORS SAY HUSBAND DISMEMBERED WIFE TO AVOID PRISON IN ART FRAUD CASE
Ana Walshe wears a Washington Capitals jersey in a December 2022 post. (Ana Walshe/Instagram)
Brian Walshe was the beneficiary of his wife’s $2.7 million life insurance policy and owed nearly $500,000 in restitution in her federal case, according to court records.
He entered the court around 9:05 a.m. Monday, carrying a stack of documents and wearing a navy blue suit and green tie. A bailiff released his handcuffs once he arrived at the defense table.
Judge Diane Frenière considered a number of motions in limine during the final pretrial hearing before jury selection was scheduled to begin Tuesday.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ANA WALSHE AND THE ARREST OF BRIAN WALSHE
Brian and Ana Walshe toast their wedding day in the living room of L’Espalier in Boston, Massachusetts, Monday, December 21, 2015. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
She said the trial would be broadcast on Zoom. She warned the defense that whatever Walshe’s attorneys planned to use in their opening statement would have to be shared with the court and the prosecution before being presented to jurors. She agreed to the defense’s request to add questions to the juror questionnaire, including one about whether potential jurors would agree not to use social media or watch the news during the trial.
She also allowed prosecutors to present some evidence from Brian Walshe’s federal conviction to demonstrate their alleged motive, but she said she would not allow investigators to obtain certain location data obtained through his monitoring bracelet, which she said had “little probative value.”
ANA WALSHE MURDER: HUSBAND BRIAN WALSHE DROPPED HACKSAW WITH POTENTIAL KEY PIECE OF EVIDENCE: DOCS
Ana Walshe pictured in a December 2022 Instagram post. (Ana Walshe/Instagram)
The judge also said she would likely allow statements from Ana Walshe’s friend, Melissa Kirby, regarding a discussion the two had on Dec. 29, just three days before Ana Walshe was last seen alive. They discussed Ana Walshe giving her husband an “ultimatum” and an argument over Christmas.
The judge ruled that this conversation was evidence of both motive and Ana Walshe’s state of mind shortly before her disappearance.
Brian Walshe appears in a Massachusetts court for arraignment after being charged with the murder of his wife, Ana. (Pool)
Her remains have not been found, but prosecutors say Brian Walshe killed her, dismembered her and hid the evidence. The defendant pleaded not guilty.
Investigators say they found digital proof showing that Walshe allegedly Googled more than a dozen times for instructions on how to dispose of human remains. Then they say they found a video of him at Home Depot, buying mops, glasses and a knife.
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Former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, who was a detective on the case, lost his job over his handling of the investigation of Karen Read following the death of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe.
Read was acquitted of all homicide-related charges in the case earlier this year.
