A Massachusetts man The suspect accused of murdering his wife and dismembering her body appeared in court on Monday afternoon as a judge set the trial date for October next year.
Ana Walshe, mother of three young children and real estate professional worked in Washington, D.C., disappeared on New Year’s Day 2023 and was reported missing a few days later. Her body was never found.
Prosecutors and investigators allege that her husband, Brian Walshe, killed 39-year-old Ana in January 2023 and misled authorities about her disappearance.
UPDATED DETAILED TIMELINE OF ANA WALSHE’S DISAPPEARANCE AND BRIAN WALSHE’S ARREST
Brian and Ana Walshe pose at Boston Public Gardens in Boston on their wedding day, Monday, December 21, 2015. Brian is accused of killing Ana in January 2023. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
Judge Diane Freniere on Monday set Walshe’s trial date for Oct. 21, 2025, during a hearing in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham. The judge expects the trial to last no longer than four weeks.
Walshe appeared in court on Monday he was wearing glasses, a blue suit with an aqua tie and a white shirt, and his hands were handcuffed.
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During the hearing, the defense asked prosecutors to investigate possible police bias since the lead investigator in the Walshe case was Trooper Michael Proctor, who was also the lead on the case. Karen Read casethat ended in a mistrial after inappropriate texts from him came out during testimony.
Proctor has since been suspended without pay after admitting unprofessional conduct in that case, including disparaging comments about Read.
The prosecutor agreed to ask investigators if they are aware of records such as emails or text messages from law enforcement that would indicate bias when it comes to the handling of the Walshe case, and if any information has been lost gone or destroyed.
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Ana Walshe holds her three children in an October 2022 Instagram post. (Ana Walshe/Instagram)
Walshe was indicted in March 2023 on charges of first-degree murder, misleading police and improper transportation of a human body. He pleaded not guilty to charges that he beat his wife to death in their Cohasset home, dismembered her body and threw it away.
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Surveillance footage from the store shows Walshe buying several items at a Home Depot, including three mops and brushes, two splash-proof glasses and a knife, which investigators believe he disposed of from her body, according to court records.
Authorities also searched trash cans and dumpsters in the areas where Brian Walshe traveled after Ana’s disappearance.
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Brian Walshe, charged with the murder of wife Ana, who disappeared on New Year’s Day 2023, enters the courtroom for his arraignment on Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Dedham, Massachusetts. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Brian Walshe, left, in Quincy District Court on January 18, 2023. Ana Walshe, right, on her wedding day at Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Newbury Street in Boston on Monday, December 21, 2015. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool; obtained by Fox News Digital)
During the search for Ana, investigators found a hacksaw with a “small bone fragment” on it in a dumpster across the street from Walshe’s mother’s home. Other evidence found in the dumpster included Ana’s COVID vaccination card, a Hermes watch and a Gucci necklace she was known to wear, Hunter boots, a black Prada bag and a short black coat, according to the court records.
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Walshe is also said to have used his son’s iPad to create more than a dozen Google searches the days after his wife’s disappearance revolved around disposing of a body, prosecutors said.
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A motion hearing on DNA testing is scheduled for January 8, 2025.
Chris Eberhart of Fox News contributed to this report.
