Brian Walshe, accused of murdering his wife Ana Walshe, has been deemed fit to face trial after a competency assessment was conducted on Friday.
Massachusetts Judge Diane Freniere has slated Walshe’s trial to commence on December 1, following an hour-long session at the Dedham courthouse, according to FOX News Digital.
An evaluation by Bridgewater State Hospital confirmed Walshe’s competency to stand trial, with his defense team not challenging the report.
Judge Freniere also denied Walshe’s request to relocate the trial. Jury selection is expected to wrap up by the end of next week.
As noted by CrimeOnline, Walshe’s trial was initially scheduled for October 20 but was postponed after his lawyers sought a competency evaluation, a decision prosecutors contested, as per WBTS.
Ana Walshe, a 39-year-old mother of three, vanished on New Year’s Day 2023 and was reported missing shortly thereafter, with her remains yet to be discovered.
Prosecutors alleged that her husband killed her and provided false information to authorities about her disappearance.
Ana Walshe’s employer at a real estate company was the first person to report her disappearance.
“Police were notified around Jan. 4 by her employees in Washington, D.C., that she had not shown up for work on Jan. 4. That was the first time that police were notified that she was missing,” Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Lynn Beland previously said.
The defendant claimed that Ana had been called back to Washington, D.C., on January 1, 2023, for a work emergency, but he did not contact her employer until January 4, 2023.
“Brian explained the fact that he had not reported his wife missing was due to an incident he said occurred over Christmas when Ana had been unreachable for about 24 hours. Brian said when he told Ana how concerned he was, she told Brian not to worry and not to call her work looking for her,” the affidavit read.
Evidence presented at the defendant’s arraignment earlier this year indicated that he made numerous searches on his son’s iPad around the time Ana vanished, including, in part:
- ’10 ways to dismember a body’
- ‘Does baking soda make a body smell good?’
- How long is someone missing before you can inherit?
- ‘Can you throw away body parts?’
- ‘Can you be charged with murder without a body?’
- ‘Dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body?’
- Brian Walshe is also accused of buying $400 worth of cleaning supplies during the days surrounding his wife’s disappearance.
Prosecutors said investigators found blood in the family home’s basement, along with a bent knife that appeared to have blood on it.
Prosecutors also said a hacksaw and a rug with blood on it were found at a transfer station in Peabody, around 45 miles from the Walshe residence.
Brian Walshe also allegedly bought $400 in cleaning supplies during the days surrounding his wife’s disappearance.
Ana’s cellphone, credit card, and debit cards have not been used since New Year’s Day, and her phone last pinged at her home on January 1.
According to WBTS, a final conference and the trial itself were postponed. His attorneys said they have “grave concerns about the defendant’s ability to intelligently and meaningfully participate in the trial” in the request for the evaluation.
Part of the request stemmed from a stabbing in jail last month, they said, but prosecutors noted that Walshe went back in his cell shortly after, and there were no medical records to back up any competency concerns.
Nevertheless, the judge ordered a three-week evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital.
Walshe is charged with first-degree murder, intimidating a witness, juror, police officer, or court official, and disinterring a body. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Ana Walshe/Instagram]
