The trial for a Massachusetts man, previously found guilty of fraud, who now stands accused of murdering his wife amid suspicions of infidelity, commenced on Monday. The prosecution presented their opening remarks shortly before 10 a.m.

Last month, Brian Walshe, 50, unexpectedly admitted guilt to lesser charges of obstructing a police investigation and improper handling of a corpse during jury selection.

Despite these admissions, he still faces a first-degree murder accusation. A conviction on this charge could result in a life sentence without parole.

Authorities allege that Walshe killed and dismembered his 39-year-old wife, Ana Walshe, though her body has yet to be recovered. Walshe’s defense claims he found Ana deceased in their bed, attempted to wake her, and then concealed her remains while misleading authorities about the situation.

Brian Walshe appeared in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, MA on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. He is on trial for the alleged murder of his wife, Ana. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)

During his opening statement, defense lawyer Larry Tipton recounted to the jury how Walshe discovered his wife was unresponsive after he tried to wake her.

“Now he was panicking, and he doesn’t understand what has happened and what is happening,” Tipton said. “It didn’t make any sense to him. It didn’t make sense that somebody he had just been with, and enjoyed New Year’s Eve with into New Year’s Day, would suddenly be dead.”

Tipton said evidence would show a “sudden, unexplained death” and that such a thing “happens.” He denied the prosecution’s allegation that his client was aware of Ana’s suspected affair with a friend from Washington, D.C., where she commuted to work.

“Brian Walshe is not a killer,” he concluded.

She was last seen on New Year’s Day in 2023, and prosecutors allege her husband dismembered her in their Cohasset, Massachusetts, home before hiding her remains. She was reported missing days later by her boss.

Cohasset Police Sgt. Harrison Schmidt, who responded to take the missing person report, was the first witness.

Brian and Ana Walshe pose for a shot in Boston Public Gardens, Boston, Massachusetts on their wedding day on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

With Schmidt on the stand, prosecutors played recordings of Walshe’s initial interviews with police, in which he acknowledged marital trouble stemming from his art fraud conviction and his inability to move with the family to Washington, where he said his wife was making $315,000 a year.

Schmidt testified that he checked the trunk of Walshe’s Volvo SUV and saw it was covered with plastic sheeting. The detective said he returned to the Cohasset police station and put a tracker on Ana’s passport. He also showed photos taken during a walkthrough of the home, which showed Walshe was sleeping in a separate bedroom that had a hole in the ceiling.

This image from the Cohasset Police Department shown in court depicts the sparsely furnished bedroom used by Brian Walshe. There was a hole in the ceiling, additional images show. (Pool)

Prosecutors have alleged that police recovered evidence from a dumpster near Walshe’s mother’s house, including a rug from the family home, clothing and a COVID vaccination card belonging to the victim, a hatchet, a hacksaw and red and brown stained towels.

Prosecutors have laid out two potential motives in the case. The first is that Walshe allegedly discovered an affair between his wife and another man, whose name he is accused of searching on Google six times. The second is that he allegedly believed being the sole caretaker of their children would help him avoid prison in connection with a federal art fraud case.

William Fastow leaves an open house in the Spring Valley area of Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. Fastow was a friend of the late realtor, Ana Walshe, and the two were allegedly involved in an affair before her death. (Fox News Digital)

And he was the beneficiary of her $2.7 million life insurance policy.

Investigators say they found digital evidence showing Walshe allegedly searched Google more than a dozen times for instructions on how to dispose of human remains. Then they say they found video of him at Home Depot, buying mops, goggles and a knife.

The trial before a jury of nine women and seven men is expected to last two to four weeks. 

Schmidt is expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday, but prosecutors said they were already running ahead of schedule.