Brian Walshe has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Walshe was convicted of murdering and dismembering his wife, Ana Walshe. This verdict comes nearly three years after she was last seen at a New Year’s Eve dinner.

Following the closing arguments on Friday, the jury at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, delivered a guilty verdict on December 15, finding Walshe guilty of first-degree murder.

“This case is not about winning or losing; it’s about ensuring justice is served,” Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey stated to reporters outside the courtroom on Monday. “Our focus is on achieving justice for the victim, and this verdict represents just that.”

The decision followed Walshe’s earlier guilty plea to charges of misleading police and unlawfully disposing of Ana’s body, according to NBC News.

Walshe’s defense team argued that Ana suffered a “sudden, unexplained death” in their bed following a New Year’s Eve party, leading him to panic and falsely claim to investigators that she was missing. 

In the absence of a body, the prosecution relied heavily on digital evidence, including surveillance footage that captured a man resembling Walshe disposing of what appeared to be heavy trash bags into a dumpster near their residence.

Investigators later searched a trash processing facility, where they discovered bags containing a hatchet, hacksaw, cleaning agents and a COVID-19 vaccination card with Ana’s name on it. 

“The defendant did not want anyone to find Ana’s body and to know how she died,” prosecutor Anne Yas said in her closing statement. “So the defendant bought cutting tools at Lowe’s and Home Depot and he cut up Ana’s body, the woman that he claimed to love, and he threw her into dumpsters.”

At trial, which lasted roughly two weeks, prosecutors also produced a digital footprint containing multiple gruesome web inquiries. 

Per a state trooper’s testimony, Walshe’s internet searches after Jan. 1, 2023, included: “Best ways to dispose of body,” “How long before body starts to smell” and “How to saw a body,” among others. 

Brian and Ana shared three children, who were placed in state custody after Brian’s arrest. 

“He never thought anybody would believe that Ana Walshe was alive one minute and dead the next,” defense attorney Larry Tipton said in his opening statement. “All he could think about was their three boys: What will happen to their three boys now that Ana is no longer here? What will happen if they think he did something bad to Ana? Where will those three boys go?”

Walshe has a sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 17.