A jury has been seated in Brian Walshe’s Massachusetts trial after three days of selection. Walshe, who is accused of killing his wife Ana in 2023, is only facing a murder charge after pleading guilty to two other charges on the first day of jury selection.
Jury selection began November 18 inside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts.
After three days, a jury of 16 was seated on Thursday. Nine jurors were selected on the first day, three on the second and four on Thursday.
That sets the stage for the trial to begin as Walshe is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Ana Walshe, who was last seen in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2023.
The jury has not yet been sworn in. The trial is expected to begin on December 1.
Brian Walshe trial
Earlier this week, Walshe pled guilty to two lesser charges, misleading a police investigation, and improper disposal of a body, leaving the door open to a discount which would allow him to plead guilty to second-degree murder instead of first-degree murder and be eligible for parole.
WBZ-TV legal analyst Jennifer Roman says that possibility today seems farther off. “That plea seems to be probably not likely anymore, that reduction of charges. Given how far we’ve gotten in the empanelment process and that did not happen at the same time that he pled guilty to the two lesser charges but I don’t want to rule it out,” Roman said.
Judge Diane Freniere said previously she believes the trial will take between three and four weeks.
Death of Ana Walshe
Ana Walshe disappeared following a New Year’s Eve dinner rave at the couple’s Cohasset home.
Brian Walshe said she left overnight to get a ride to fly to Washington, D.C. for a work emergency. Police say there is no evidence that she ever was picked up or boarded a plane.
Police said they found a damaged and bloody knife in Walshe’s home. Prosecutors said during a pretrial hearing that they have “binders” of files from Walshe’s computer history. They have previously revealed violent Google searches that Walshe allegedly made.
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