Brian Walshe appears in Massachusetts court for arraignment
Brian Walshe appears in a Massachusetts court for arraignment on new charges, including murder, for the death of his wife, Ana.
QUINCY, Mass. — Brian Walshe, the Massachusetts man accused of killing his real estate executive wife, Ana, used his son’s iPad to conduct well over a dozen Google searches in the days after her alleged disappearance, prosecutors said Wednesday.
"At 4:55 a.m. on January 1, he searched, ‘How long before a body starts to smell?’" Commonwealth attorney Lynn Beland told the court on Wednesday during Walshe’s arraignment on upgraded charges. "At 4:58 a.m., ‘How to stop a body from decomposing.’"
The Google searches allegedly continued for days. Walshe, 47, was charged Wednesday with murdering 39-year-old Ana Walshe and then disinterring and improperly transporting her body, officials have said. Ana, who shares three sons with Brian, was last seen in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, after ringing in the New Year with Brian and the couple’s friend.
Brian Walshe, center, listens during his arraignment Wednesday at Quincy District Court, in Quincy, Mass., on a charge of murdering his wife, Ana. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Walshe, a convicted art swindler, was charged earlier this month with misleading the police investigation for allegedly giving police incorrect information and withholding details regarding his whereabouts.
A non-guilty plea was entered on Walshe’s behalf during Wednesday’s hearing.
TIMELINE OF ANA WALSHE'S DISAPPEARANCE AND BRIAN WALSHE'S ARREST
Brian and Ana Walshe raise a toast on their wedding day in the lounge of L'Espalier in Boston on Dec. 21, 2015. (Fox News Digital)
He was ordered held without bond and is due to return to court on Feb. 9.
On Dec. 27, Brian Walshe Googled, "What’s the best state to divorce for a man?" Beland told the court.
"Rather than divorce, it is believed that Brian Walshe dismembered Ana Walshe and discarded her body," she added.
WHO IS BRIAN WALSHE, HUSBAND OF MISSING COHASSET WOMAN ANA WALSHE?
The late-December search inquiry was allegedly the first of many.
SUNDAY, JAN. 1
Missing Massachusetts mom Ana Walshe in an undated photo; Brian Walshe appears in a Norfolk County court on Jan. 9 for allegedly misleading police. (Instagram: Ana Walshe | Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger /POOL)
Brian Walshe searched, "How long before a body starts to smell?" around 4:55 a.m. and Googled three minutes later, "How to stop a body from decomposing," Beland said.
At 5:28 a.m., he allegedly searched, "How to embalm a body," and then, at 5:47 a.m., looked up, "Ten ways to … dispose of a dead body if you really need to."
Brian Walshe's mugshot. (Cohasset Police Department )
At 6:25 a.m., he searched, "How long for someone to be missing to inherit," Beland said.
"At 6:34 a.m. on the 1st, ‘Can you throw away body parts?’" she went on. "At 9:29 a.m., ‘What does formaldehyde do? At 9:34 a.m. on the first, ‘How long does DNA last?’"
General view of the home at 516 Chief Justice Cushing Hwy in Cohasset, Massachusetts, on Jan. 6, 2023. The home belongs to Ana Walshe, who disappeared on Jan. 1. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
At 9:34 a.m., Walshe allegedly searched, "Can identification be made on partial remains?" And two hours later, Beland said, he Googled, "Dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body."
BRIAN WALSHE CHARGED IN ANA WALSHE'S MURDER IN MASSACHUSETTS
But he allegedly wasn’t done for the day.
Individuals could be seen draining the pool at Ana Walshe's home. (David McGlynn for Fox News Digital)
Walshe searched at 11:44 a.m., "How to clean blood from wooden floor," and at 11:56 a.m., "Luminol to detect blood," Beland said.
"At 1:08, ‘What happens when you put body parts in ammonia?’" the prosecutor said. "At 1:21 p.m., ‘Is it better to throw crime scene clothes away or wash them?’"
MONDAY, JAN. 2
Brian and Ana Walshe seen in September 2016. (Ana Walshe/Facebook)
Walshe’s Google-spree allegedly continued the next day.
At 12:45 p.m., Walshe searched, "Is a hacksaw the best tool to dismember?" Beland said.
SEE IT: BRIAN WALSHE SEEN ONE DAY AFTER WIFE ANA WALSHE WENT MISSING
ANA WALSHE WAS MAKING PLANS FOR FUTURE, BUYING MORE PROPERTY BEFORE DISAPPEARANCE: SOURCE
He allegedly searched at 1:10 p.m., "Can you be charged with murder without a body?" and at 1:14 p.m., "Can you identify a body with broken teeth?"
TUESDAY, JAN. 3
ANA WALSHE CASE: POLICE LOGS RAISE QUESTIONS, SHED LIGHT ON DETAILS OF MISSING COHASSET WOMAN
Walshe returned to Google around 1:02 p.m. that Tuesday, questioning, "What happens to hair on a dead body?" Beland said.
At 1:13 p.m., he allegedly searched, "What is the rate of decomposition of a body found in a plastic bag compared to on a surface in the woods?"
Seven minutes later, he allegedly asked: "Can baking soda mask or make a body smell good?"
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Walshe's attorney, Tracy Miner, spoke only briefly during Wednesday's arraignment, but did not contest the prosecutors' request for no bail. She did not speak to the allegations against her client, but she released a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
"It is easy to charge a crime and even easier to say a person committed that crime," she said. "It is a much more difficult thing to prove it, which we will see if the prosecution can do. I am not going to comment on the evidence, first because I am going to try this case in the court and not in the media.
"Second, because I haven’t been provided with any evidence by the prosecution. In my experience, where, as here, the prosecution leaks so-called evidence to the press before they provide it to me, their case isn’t that strong. When they have a strong case, they give me everything as soon as possible. We shall see what they have and what evidence is admissible in court, where the case will ultimately be decided.
"Although it is probably fruitless, I ask that you not inundate my office, my home or my cell phone with media requests. I will not be giving any media interviews or comments. I intend to win this case in court, not in the media, which has already tried and convicted Mr. Walshe."
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