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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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Brian Walshe appears at Quincy District Court on a charge of murdering his wife Ana Walshe, in Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S. on January 18, 2023. (Ana Walshe, Craig F. Walker/Pool via REUTERS)
“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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Brian Walshe arrives at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
Brian Walshe enters the courtroom clutching papers and a rosary. Opening statements in the Brian Walshe murder trial in Norfolk Superior Court, Dedham, Mass., Monday, Dec. 1, 2025 (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
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 Walshe is seen on surveillance camera at Lowe’s in Danvers on Jan. 1. 2023 with a shopping list buying $463.26 in goods, including cleaning supplies. This evidence was presented in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Brian Walshe is seen via surveillance camera at Lowe’s in Danvers on Jan. 1. 2023, where he bought cleaning supplies, among other goods. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
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.