BOSTON (AP) — Brian Walshe was found guilty Monday of first-degree murder in the grisly death of his wife, who he was accused of killing and dismembering nearly three years ago.
Ana Walshe, an immigrant from Serbia, was last seen early Jan. 1, 2023, after a New Year’s Eve dinner at the couple’s home.
Click to Gallery
Brian Walshe, left, and lawyer Larry Tipton listen as the jury is polled about their guilty verdict of the first degree murder of his wife Ana in 2023 by a Norfolk Superior Court jury in Dedham, Mass., on Monday Dec. 15, 2025. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Judge Diane Freniere gives instructions to the lawyers during Brian Walshe's murder trial, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Stuart Cahill/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)
Brian Walshe's mother Diane sits in court as the jury starts their second day of deliberations in Dedham, Mass., on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Brian Walshe, left, is escorted out of court after being found guilty of the first degree murder of his wife Ana in 2023 by a Norfolk Superior Court jury in Dedham, Mass., on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Brian Walshe looks at the jury while seated with his attorney Kelli Porges in Norfolk Superior Court on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Brian Walshe, facing a first-degree murder charge for allegedly killing his wife Ana Walshe, speaks with his lawyer during testimony in his trial, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via AP, File)
There was no reaction in the courtroom or from Walshe as the verdict was read. Walshe, who faces life in state prison without parole, is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday. He was handcuffed and shackled before being led out of the courtroom. Last month, Walshe pleading guilty to lesser charges of misleading police and illegally disposing of her body.
“It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about getting the right answer and this was the right answer,” Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey told reporters outside court. “We don’t look at cases as wins or losses. We look at getting justice for someone, so let's not lose sight of that fact.”
Morrissey said his office had heard from Ana Walshe's sister, who told them “justice had been served.”
Prosecutors leaned heavily on digital evidence in presenting their case against Brian Walshe, including online searches such as as “dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body,” “how long before a body starts to smell” and “hacksaw best tool to dismember” that were found on devices connected to him.
Investigators also found searches on a Macbook that included “how long for someone missing to inherit,” “how long missing to be dead,” and “can you throw away body parts,” prosecutors told the jury.
An article titled “is it possible to clean DNA off a knife,” a search for “best way to dispose of body parts after murder” as well as websites and searches about “cleaning blood with ammonia, bleach and hydrogen peroxide” were also highlighted during trial.
Surveillance video also showed a man resembling Walshe throwing what appeared to be heavy trash bags into a dumpster not far from their home. A subsequent search of a trash processing facility near his mother’s home uncovered bags containing a hatchet, hammer, sheers, hacksaw, towels and a protective Tyvek suit, cleaning agents, a Prada purse, boots like the ones Ana Walshe was last seen wearing and a COVID-19 vaccination card with her name.
Prosecutors told the jury that the Massachusetts State Crime Laboratory examined some of the items for DNA and found Ana and Brian Walshe’s DNA on the Tyvek suit and Ana Walshe’s DNA on the hatchet, hacksaw and other items.
Prosecutors also presented bags containing some of that evidence and grisly photos of what they had recovered.
An insurance executive also testified that Brian Walshe was the sole beneficiary of Ana Walshe $1 million life insurance policy.
In his opening, Walshe’s attorney, Larry Tipton, argued this was not a case of murder but what he called the “sudden unexplained death” of Ana Walshe. He portrayed a couple who loved each other and were planning for the future before Ana Walshe died after celebrating New Year’s Eve with her husband and a friend.
The couple, who have three young children now in state custody, lived in the affluent coastal community of Cohasset, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) southeast of Boston.
The expectation was that the defense would put up a case proving that theory and raising doubts about the investigation.
The defense considered calling several forensic DNA experts as well as Michael Proctor, who was fired from the Massachusetts State Police after came under fire for his role in investigating the Karen Read case. There was also speculation that Walshe would take the stand.
But in the end, Walshe's defense team rested without calling any witnesses.
When initially questioned by investigators, Walshe said his wife had been called to Washington, D.C., on New Year’s Day for a work emergency. But witnesses testified there was no evidence Ana Walshe took a ride service to the airport or boarded a flight. Walshe didn’t contact her employer until Jan. 4.
Walshe later admitted that he dismembered her body and disposed of it in dumpster, saying he did so only after panicking when he found his wife had died in bed.
Brian Walshe, left, and lawyer Larry Tipton listen as the jury is polled about their guilty verdict of the first degree murder of his wife Ana in 2023 by a Norfolk Superior Court jury in Dedham, Mass., on Monday Dec. 15, 2025. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Judge Diane Freniere gives instructions to the lawyers during Brian Walshe's murder trial, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Stuart Cahill/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)
Brian Walshe's mother Diane sits in court as the jury starts their second day of deliberations in Dedham, Mass., on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Brian Walshe, left, is escorted out of court after being found guilty of the first degree murder of his wife Ana in 2023 by a Norfolk Superior Court jury in Dedham, Mass., on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Brian Walshe looks at the jury while seated with his attorney Kelli Porges in Norfolk Superior Court on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Brian Walshe, facing a first-degree murder charge for allegedly killing his wife Ana Walshe, speaks with his lawyer during testimony in his trial, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via AP, File)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Authorities knocked on doors Monday searching for any video there might be of the Brown University gunman, who could be seen in grainy footage walking away from the weekend attack that killed two students and wounded nine others.
Police renewed their search after releasing a person of interest Sunday once they determined the evidence pointed in a different direction. Meanwhile, details began to emerge about the students who were killed.
The abrupt announcement marked a setback in the investigation of Saturday's attack at the Ivy League school. Questions were mounting about campus security, the apparent lack of video evidence and whether the focus on the person of interest gave the killer more time to escape justice.
Providence residents and students were relieved early Sunday when officials said they had detained a man at a Rhode Island hotel in connection with the attack and lifted the lockdown. But that relief was short-lived, as Mayor Brett Smiley said hours later that investigators didn't know whether the gunman was still in the area.
Colin Moussette, who has friends at Brown and is considering enrolling next fall, said while visiting the campus Monday that he felt uneasy knowing that the suspect has not been caught.
“How someone got away, like in the middle of the day is, to me, not only heartbreaking but very concerning,” he said. “How they got access to the building is concerning.”
Providence police on Monday released a second video showing someone dressed in all black walking along a city street minutes after the shooting. The video — like an earlier one released the day of the shooting — did not show the suspect's face.
In a neighborhood near the university, a line of officers scraped their feet through a snow-covered yard looking for evidence. Meanwhile, agents identifying themselves as U.S. marshals asked locals if they had security cameras, one resident said.
The shooting happened in an auditorium-style classroom where students in a study group were preparing for an upcoming exam.
Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore who was vice president of the Brown College Republicans and beloved in her church in Birmingham, Alabama, was one of the students killed, according to her pastor at home.
In announcing her death Sunday, the Rev. R. Craig Smalley described Cook as “an incredible grounded, faithful, bright light” who encouraged and “lifted up those around her."
“Ella was known for her bold, brave, and kind heart as she served her chapter and her fellow classmates,” Martin Bertao, the president of the club, said in a message posted on X.
The other student who was killed was MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman majoring in biochemistry and neuroscience. He was helping a friend at a review session for an economics final when he was fatally shot, his sister said.
As a child, Umurzokov suffered a neurological condition that required surgery, and he later wore a back brace because of scoliosis, said Samira Umurzokova, noting that the family immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan when she, her brother and sister were young.
“He had so many hardships in his life, and he got into this amazing school and tried so hard to follow through with the promise he made when was 7 years old,” she told the AP by phone Monday.
The release of the person of interest, who was taken into custody early Sunday at a hotel outside of Providence, left law enforcement without a known suspect.
“We have a murderer out there,” state Attorney General Peter Neronha said.
Authorities said one of the reasons they lacked video of the shooter was because Brown's engineering building doesn't have many cameras.
Providence was no longer on lockdown and the city's schools were open Monday. But some colleges and universities, including in Rhode Island and some Ivy League schools, were increasing security in light of the attack. Yale said extra security would be in place for Hanukkah celebrations.
The shooting occurred as final exams were underway at Brown, one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious schools.
Investigators were not immediately sure how the shooter got inside the first-floor classroom.
The attack set off hours of chaos on campus and in the surrounding neighborhoods, as hundreds of officers searched for the shooter. Many students barricaded their rooms and hid behind furniture and bookshelves.
Li Ding, a Rhode Island School of Design student who is on a dance team at Brown, was upset that there wasn’t better security on campus.
“The fact that we’re in such a surveillance state but that wasn’t used correctly at all is just so deeply frustrating,” Ding said.
One of the nine wounded students was released from the hospital, Brown President Christina Paxson said Sunday. Seven others were in critical but stable condition, and one was in critical condition.
The mayor said he visited some wounded students and was inspired by their courage. “The resilience that these survivors showed and shared with me, is frankly pretty overwhelming,” Smiley said.
Contributing were Associated Press journalists Jennifer McDermott and Matt O'Brien in Providence; Michael Casey in Boston; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas.
FBI officials search an area of Providence, R.I., Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
FBI officials search an area of Providence, R.I., Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
The United States flag flies at half-staff as a sign of mourning for the victim's of Saturday's shooting, on the campus of Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A makeshift memorial is seen on the campus of Brown University, close to from the scene of the shooting, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
People gather at near makeshift memorial on the campus of Brown University, not far from the scene of the shooting, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo, D-R.I., left, and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., attend a community gathering at Lippitt Memorial Park a day after a shooting occurred on Brown University campus, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)
Police tape off hotel rooms where the person of interest was arrested in a shooting, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Coventry, R.I. (AP Photo/Kimberlee Kruesi)
People hold candles during a vigil, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., for the victims of Saturday's shooting on the campus of Brown University. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
FILE - Michelle Bosshard and her son Lucas visit a memorial on Nov. 18, 2019, for two students killed during a shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, Calif., days before. (Sarah Reingewirtz/The Orange County Register via AP, File)
People hold candles during a vigil, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., for those injured or killed in the Saturday shooting on the campus of Brown University. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
A police vehicle is parked at an intersection near crime scene tape at Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following a Saturday shooting at the university. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
A bouquet of flowers rests on snow, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, on the campus of Brown University not far from where a shooting took place, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Passers-by walk past crime scene tape at an entrance to Brown University, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., following the Saturday, Dec. 13, shooting at the university. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Providence and Brown University community members gather during a vigil at Lippitt Memorial Park, a day after a shooting occurred on Brown University campus. Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I. (Lily Speredelozzi/The Sun Chronicle via AP)
People hold candles during a vigil, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Providence, R.I., for those injured or killed during the Saturday shooting on Brown University campus. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
