ACCUSED KILLER HUSBAND BRIAN WALSHE "SHANKED" BEHIND BARS

Summary

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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: "Accused Killer Husband Brian Walshe 'Shanked' Behind Bars"

Date: November 8, 2025
Podcast: Crime Stories with Nancy Grace – iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

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Overview

In this gripping episode, Nancy Grace and her expert panel dissect the disturbing case of Anna Walsh, a Massachusetts mom who vanished on New Year's Day, allegedly at the hands of her husband, Brian Walshe—a convicted art thief now accused of murdering and dismembering his wife. Just before his murder trial, Brian Walshe himself was stabbed in jail, an attack that opens the door to tough questions about justice, forensic evidence, and domestic violence. The panel analyzes the timeline of Anna's disappearance, Brian’s suspicious behavior, the digital forensic trail, and the chilling Google searches that play a central role in the prosecution's case.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Disappearance of Anna Walsh

[01:35]–[03:55]

• Anna Walsh, a devoted mother of three, went missing on New Year's Day.
• Her husband, Brian Walshe, claimed she left early to catch a flight from Boston to D.C., but no airline, rideshare, or credit card activity backed this up.
• Anna's employer reported her missing—her family did not, raising suspicions.

“Just a loving wife and mother... Three beautiful boys who she loves so much. Three little boys wondering where is mommy?” – Nancy Grace [03:55]

2. Suspicious Behavior and Early Investigation

[05:22]–[11:01]

• Anna had recently started a property management job in D.C., splitting her time between cities.
• On the morning of her disappearance, Anna reportedly hosted a New Year’s party that finished late.
• Discussion about the oddness of her leaving suddenly for an alleged work emergency.
• Investigators quickly debunked that she had flown, using modern TSA and flight records.

“This stinks to the high heavens. It really does.” – Tom Ruskin, PI [10:12]

3. Delays in Reporting and Initial Red Flags

[09:13]–[10:12]

• Anna’s employer, not Brian, contacted the police for a welfare check.
• Her last known phone ping was at 3:14 am near her home, after which there was no activity.

4. Brian Walshe’s Demeanor and Actions

[15:18]–[19:08]

• Voicemails reveal Brian reaching out to Anna’s friends after being prompted by her employer’s call.
• He claimed to have left his phone at home (unusual given the circumstances) and referenced getting lost en route to his mother's house due to lack of GPS, mentioning a "pirate ship" as a landmark.
• Surveillance showed Brian making multiple suspicious trash dumps at different locations hours after Anna went missing.

“How many people really leave home these days without their phone? It’s improbable.” – Karen Stark, Psychologist [19:54]

5. The Dumpster Trail and Possible Evidence Disposal

[20:31]–[26:53]

• Surveillance captured Brian dumping heavy garbage bags at several apartment complex dumpsters.
• Shortly after, those dumpsters were incinerated, likely destroying Anna’s remains.
• Other items (hatchet, hacksaw, bloody rug, Anna’s boots and personal effects) were later found in a landfill on the North Shore, near his mother’s home.

“Those trash bags that he was struggling with... contained the dismembered remains of his wife, Anna Walsh.” – Bob Ward, Reporter [25:16]

6. Forensic Advances and Digital Evidence

[16:40]–[17:58], [33:17]–[34:55]

• Digital records easily traced Anna’s lack of airline and rideshare use.
• Discussion about the ability to extract data from phones, apps, and even a car’s navigation or infotainment system.
• Attention to the “EXIF” data in photos and how syncing personal devices with cars can unwittingly provide forensic evidence.

7. Brian’s Damning Internet Searches

[37:02]–[43:18]

• Brian used his son’s iPad to Google:
  • “How long before a body starts to smell?”
  • “How to stop a body from decomposing?”
  • “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to.”
  • "How long for someone to be missing to inherit?"
  • "Can you throw away body parts?"
  • "Dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body."
  • "How to clean blood from wooden floor," among many more.

“His Google searches were damning. I mean, what an idiot. I just can’t stress this enough.” – Nancy Grace [37:02]
“That first search: how long before a body starts to smell? — is at 4:55 am. Anna Walsh was alive at one o’clock in the morning, and at 4:55 am she’s gone and that search is done.” – Bob Ward [43:59]

8. Expert Forensic Commentary

[39:44]–[43:14]

• Dr. Kendall Crowns, Medical Examiner, answers Brian’s search queries on decomposition, DNA, formaldehyde, and body disposal.
  • E.g., “You can find DNA on surfaces for years.” – Dr. Crowns [42:48]

9. The Motive and Final Events

[46:15]–[49:52]

• Panel explores motive; Brian was the sole beneficiary on a $2.7 million insurance policy.
• Domestic violence history surfaces, including a past threat and an old photo of Anna with a bruise.
• A poignant note from Anna on a New Year's champagne box surfaces:

  "To Brian, we made it through 2022. It was a tough year, but 2023 is going to be a great year. Love you, Anna." [46:31]

• Indictments: murder, misleading investigators, improper disposal of a body.

“The depravity of this case... is really just off the charts.” – Bob Ward [45:21]

10. Jail Assault and Public Perception

[01:35], [37:02]

• Brian Walshe was stabbed in jail before trial; panel speculates motive—possibly related to other inmates’ reaction to the details of his alleged crime.

“Do you blame the inmates for being angry with Brian Walsh?” – Nancy Grace [49:52]

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Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Just a loving wife and mother... Three little boys wondering where is mommy?” — Nancy Grace [03:55]
• “This stinks to the high heavens. It really does.” — Tom Ruskin, PI [10:12]
• “How many people really leave home these days without their phone? It’s improbable.” — Karen Stark [19:54]
• “Those trash bags that he was struggling with... contained the dismembered remains of his wife.” — Bob Ward [25:16]
• “His Google searches were damning. I mean, what an idiot.” — Nancy Grace [37:02]
• “That first search: how long before a body starts to smell? …Anna Walsh was alive at 1 o’clock in the morning, and at 4:55 am she’s gone and that search is done.” — Bob Ward [43:59]
• "To Brian, we made it through 2022. It was a tough year, but 2023 is going to be a great year. Love you, Anna." — Bob Ward (reading Anna’s note) [46:31]
• “The depravity of this case... is really just off the charts.” — Bob Ward [45:21]

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Important Timestamps

• 01:35 – Overview of Anna’s disappearance
• 05:22 – Suspicions about Anna’s sudden “emergency” trip
• 09:13 – Employer requests welfare check, not family
• 16:40 – Digital forensic trail: phone and rideshare tracking
• 20:31 – Brian visiting dumpsters, surveillance details
• 25:16 – Description of critical evidence found/disposal timeline
• 37:02 – Brian Walshe’s incriminating Google searches
• 43:59 – Timeline: Last party sighting, Google searches begin
• 46:31 – Anna’s loving New Year’s note to Brian
• 49:52 – Closing question: Inmate attack and public outrage

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Panel of Experts

• Nancy Grace – Host, former prosecutor
• Bob Ward – Reporter, Boston 25 News
• David Stoddard – Former Atlanta PD officer, now lawyer
• Karen Stark – Psychologist
• Tom Ruskin – Private Investigator
• Julie Lewis – President/CEO, Digital Mountain, Inc. (digital/data forensics)
• Dr. Kendall Crowns – Chief Medical Examiner

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Tone and Style

Nancy Grace leads the discussion with high emotion and sharp directness, refusing to sanitize the horror or tragedy of Anna’s fate. The panel matches her intensity, providing clear, expert-driven analysis while expressing disbelief and outrage at Brian Walshe’s actions. The emotional impact is heightened by the focus on the children left behind, the callousness of the alleged crime, and the grim competence of law enforcement and forensic experts reconstructing the events.

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Final Thoughts

The episode provides a thorough, emotional, and analytical breakdown of the Anna Walsh case—from the chilling disappearance, the digital and physical evidence, to the psychology behind the crime and the devastating aftermath for the family. Nancy Grace and her panel expose how thorough investigative work—from TSA records to Google search histories to forensic science—close the net around suspects, even in the absence of a body. The episode closes with the haunting reality of three boys without a mother and a community waiting for justice.

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Transcript

[Nancy Grace]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Nancy Grace]

Hey, this is Sarah. Look, I'm standing out front of a.m. p.m. Right now and well, you're sweet and all, but I found something more fulfilling, even kind of cheesy. But I like it. Sure, you met some of my dietary needs, but they've just got it all. So farewell. Oatmeal. So long, you strange soggy.

[Bob Ward]

Break up with bland breakfast and taste.

[David Stoddard]

AM PM's bacon, egg and cheese biscuit made with cage free eggs, smoked bacon.

[Bob Ward]

And melty cheese on a buttery biscuit.

[David Stoddard]

AM PM Too much Good stuff.

[Nancy Grace]

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Anna Walsh, the working mom of beautiful little boys, suddenly just disappears. Her husband says she's on the way to the airport, but she didn't have a flight. She never made it to the airport and she never ordered a car. So where's Anna? Well, according to prosecutors, she's dead and dismembered because of husband Brian Walsh, a convicted art thief, a con man. And now Brian Walsh, according to the state, has gotten a taste of his own medicine. He was stabbed behind bars, but he lived. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. That's right. Just before his murder trial and his wife's disappearance, Brian Walsh is stabbed behind bars in Massachusetts. He was assaulted a few Thursday nights ago at the Norfolk County Jail in Dedham. He was taken to a Boston hospital to be treated and was released. Okay, so you're not getting out of trial. Can we talk about why? This is what the state says Brian Walsh did to his wife Anna, the mother of their little boys. New tonight, police are asking the public to help them find a Cohassett, Massachusetts mother of three who vanished without a trace on New Year's Day. 39 year old Anna Walsh left her home early Sunday morning. She was supposed to take a flight from Logan to D.C. where she works during the week, but there's no record of her ever boarding a flight. Police say there's been reports that she took a rideshare but investigators haven't been able to confirm that.

[Bob Ward]

Three days after she was seen leaving her home with bags in hand, Walsh was reported missing. We cannot confirm that she actually got into a ride share in Cohasset.

[David Stoddard]

We can further we have confirmed with.

[Bob Ward]

The airlines and that's been a challenge that she did not board a plane this week. Police say her phone has been off and there has been no activity on her credit or debit cards.

[Nancy Grace]

Just a loving wife and mother to she always says three beautiful boys. Three beautiful boys who she loves so much. Three little boys wondering where is mommy? You are hearing our friends at WPRIN W usa. So where's Anna now? I had to take that exact flight very often. And between New York and Boston and D.C. it's almost a triangle of hourly flights. With me, an all star panel to make sense of what we know right now. But first I want to go to Bob ward, reporter for Boston 25 News. You can find him at twitter @b.ward3 Bob, thank you for being with us. Could you just verbalize that a little bit better than I did? I mean, I know out of in New York I would very often have to race from Court TV to get to the Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia, a different terminal than the main LaGuardia terminal because they had hourly flights not only to Atlanta but to D.C. where I would go to shoot Larry King. And believe it or not, they were so regular, almost like a bus, for Pete's sake. I could be there within two hours of leaving the studios in Manhattan. It was amazing. But there's so many flights out of Logan to New York and D.C. that's a lot of investigation to find out if she really did get on a plane. Right.

[Bob Ward]

But you know, Nancy, right from the very beginning this sounded odd because you're talking this was New Year's Day. This was first thing in the morning on New Year's Day. She had a party at her house that went until about 1 o' clock in the morning, New Year's Eve into New Year's Day. A mother of three that who claimed there was an emergency at her realty firm in Washington D.C. okay, wait, let.

[Nancy Grace]

Me, let me, let's. Right there. Bob Ward is joining me from Boston, 25 News. I'm drinking out of the fire hydrant from you, Bob Ward. You're giving me so much information so quickly. So with the three children, she was actually working in dc, Living in the Boston area. And what was her job in dc? Was it a new job?

[Bob Ward]

It was a fairly new job. You know, we're still trying to unpack some of this stuff, but she had, she had a job with an apartment.

[Nancy Grace]

Down in D.C. okay, what was her job in D.C?

[Bob Ward]

I'M not clear on what her job was. She was not a realtor, but she was some kind of property manager.

[Nancy Grace]

That's it. That's what it was. Property manager. And hold on just a moment. We all know about getting a new job. You feel like you got to do whatever they want to make that great impression. So they don't say, wow, we've got her on six months probation. We're going to can her. She's not doing a very good job. I mean, David Stoddard is with me right now, guys. Now I think of David Stutter as a motorman, as an apd, Atlanta Police Department officer. But now he is a very well known lawyer. David Stutter, do you remember your first day on the job as a cop?

[Bob Ward]

Absolutely, I do. And it was a long, long time ago, 1988. And I do remember my first day and I was super excited, super enthusiastic and just wanting to get out and.

[Nancy Grace]

Save the world and didn't want to screw anything up and land at some desk assignment.

[Bob Ward]

That's right. We were on a very strict six month probationary period when we first started there. And any infraction would cause you some difficulty right quick. So to your point. Absolutely. I was willing to do whatever I needed to do to get through that probationary period.

[Nancy Grace]

And then you put yourself through law school. Can you remember your first day working as a lawyer? You're like, man, I hope I don't screw this up. This is nothing like being a cop.

[Bob Ward]

That's absolutely right. The same sort of feelings.

[Nancy Grace]

I mean, Karen Stark, you remember, you would be with me on the set at Court tv. Karen Stark is with me, renowned psychologist joining us out of the Manhattan jurisdiction. She's at KarenStart.com, karen with a C. Karen, you'd be with me on the set at Court tv and my stomach would be churning to figure out if I can make that flight to get to Larry King studios in Washington to get on the air, you know, and I would make it. I don't think I ever did not make it. But when you've got a new gig, you'll do anything. And if they told me, hey, you got to fly to D.C. to be on tonight, I go, sure. I can't wait. Just like this woman, they go, hey, you got to fly down to D.C. we got an emergency. I. I don't care if it's New Year's Day and she would hop that plane. Would you agree with that?

[Karen Stark]

I would agree with it, Nancy. And I remember those days like it was yesterday. And you were always doing above and beyond what you needed to do. I used to watch you on Larry King because I couldn't believe that you would make it. And you always made it. But what pressure.

[Nancy Grace]

Yeah, there were a lot of white knuckles in a cab trying to get to LaGuardia Marina. So we're hearing from Bob Ward that some something wasn't right. But yet it was a new job, so people chalked it off. Well, you know, she's proving herself. But then things even went more sideways. Take a listen to our friends at Boston 25. A Cohasset police log is shedding new light on how the investigation first got started. It says a call requesting a well.

[Bob Ward]

Being check was made on January 4 by a man who identified himself as.

[Nancy Grace]

The head of security at Honor Walsh's.

[Bob Ward]

Employer in D.C. tishman Speyer. The log says Tishman Speyer contacted husband B.R. walsh before he reported his wife missing. It explains that he told police ana left for D.C. and he hadn't heard from her since. According to the log, Ana's phone Last pinged on January 2nd at 3:14am in Cohasset and hit the tower on Reservoir.

[Nancy Grace]

Road in Cohasset, less than a mile.

[Bob Ward]

From the family's home.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay with me. Very well known PI Private investigator Tom Ruskin is with us. Ruskin is president of CMP Protective and Investigative Group, Inc. Former NYPD investigator. And you can find him at cmp-group.com Tom Ruskin. I don't like it when it's your job calling to report you missing, not your family.

[David Stoddard]

Correct. I mean, this stinks to the high heavens. It really does. Not to mention that it is a lot easier now than when I joined the force before my colleague in 1982 to check flight records, to check TSA records, to check different airlines. There's only a certain number of airlines that would fly between her home and Washington D.C. and it's very easy for the TSA and Homeland Security to go into those records now and search for her name, her date of birth and see if she A had a plane reservation, B did she clear security with all the cameras that are in airports and C did she actually get on the flight?

[Nancy Grace]

Can I tell you something, Tom Ruskin? That's an excellent point I hadn't even thought of because I remember going, and you'll laugh at this stutter, going to the Greyhound bus station in inner city Atlanta trying to find out if a particular woman who always into this day is still a Jane Doe, by the way, who was murdered, if she had gotten off of a Greyhound bus before she was murdered, by whom I believe to be a serial killer. Don't worry, I got him on 1:1. But it was so hard to do.

[David Stoddard]

Tom Nancy, you'll also remember when you ran from Court TV to the Marine Air terminal at LaGuardia Airport. You used to be able to run through no magnetometers. You'd run on a Delta flight or people's express flight or Eastern back then and you just jump on the flight with a random ticket that you could fly any hour. Nowadays you can't do that.

[Nancy Grace]

Oh no, TSA man, they got to justify their existence and so they will do a full on body cavity search if they feel like it doesn't matter who you are. You know who gets searched the most? My mother going in with a wheelchair when we push her around the airport even though she can walk. But yeah, they love to hone in on my mom Elizabeth. That said, you're right Tom Ruskin. There's only a couple of air carriers that go between Boston and D.C.

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[Nancy Grace]

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Don't you just hate it when people stab you? I mean, that could be deadly, right? Brian Walsh. Walsh, facing trial for the murder of his wife and the dismemberment of her body, leaving behind her little boys to be raised without a mother. Unlike his wife, Anna, he was treated at the hospital and then released back to the custody of the local jail. Anna Walsh was not so lucky. The employer is reporting Ana missing, not her family. But listen to this. Wbz.

[Bob Ward]

WBZ has obtained and verified audio of a voice left by Mr. Walsh for.

[Nancy Grace]

One of Ana's friends. It's the same day Ana was reported missing to police.

[Bob Ward]

Good afternoon, it's Brian Walsh. Hope all is going well. I was just reaching out to basically everybody I could. Ana hasn't been in touch for a few days. Do you know anyone that might have had contact with her? Just, you know, calling everyone. So sorry to bother you. Sure, everything's fine.

[Nancy Grace]

So we do see the husband reaching out to her friends, leaving voicemails for all of them, trying to find out if they had heard from Ana. And joining now, Julie Lewis, President and CEO of Digital Mountain, Inc. @digitalmountain.com Julie, thank you for being with us. Tom Ruskin, the PI points out how much easier it is to check flight records through TSA and even getting subpoenas very quickly or asking the carrier, you know, like Delta, to check their records to find out if somebody made a flight. So according to police, she didn't make that flight. But what Julie Lewis, about Rideshare, Lyft, Uber and all the others Digitally, Wouldn't that leave a trail if she had taken a rideshare to the airport?

[Julie Lewis]

You can certainly contact the custodian of records at the Ubers, the Lyfts and types of companies that she would have taken a ride share and find out that information with legal due process and see what, you know, what the actual fact pattern is there.

[Nancy Grace]

Well, what about her phone? I mean, most people get their rideshare through their phone app.

[Julie Lewis]

If you have access to her. Yes, if you have access to her phone and you knew the whereabouts of that phone, you would have access to the app. But most that data would be stored in the cloud and pointing up to the Uber application. Not it might not be stored on the local phone. So that's something to consider.

[Nancy Grace]

Got a question for you, Julie Lewis. If we don't have her phone, but we do have her code, say it's like everybody else in America, their birthday or their children's birthday, and we have the code for her phone, can we get into the icloud that way?

[Julie Lewis]

Typically you would need the username, you would need a password for the account, and you would also, if they have multi factor authentication, turned on the code.

[Nancy Grace]

From the text message a little harder than I thought. But you know what? We're talking about her phone and where is she? Where is the husband during all of this? Take a listen to our cut 35 Lynn Beeland talking.

[Lynn Beeland]

Defendant indicated on January 1st at 3pm he did some errands and he went to his mother's house in Swampscott, but got lost because he didn't have his phone. He said he knew he was lost when he saw the pirate ship on Route 1. Defendant state stayed 15 minutes, then went to Whole Foods and CVS. Surveillance was checked and he did not enter either of those stores.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, Bob Ward, Boston 25 on this. The disappearance of Autumn Walsh since the beginning. Saw a pirate ship on Route 1. What? Okay, now wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait. So he says, the husband says he's going to visit his mother and he gets lost on the way to his mom's home. And when he sees a pirate ship, he knows he's lost, but then goes into Whole Foods and CVS even though he's lost what?

[Bob Ward]

The pirate ship is a landmark up on the Route 1 area. There's a, you know, that area of Swampscape where his mother lives. There are some old landmarks, miniature golf places, restaurants, that sort of thing. And I think that's what it was that he's talking about, was a landmark that he saw that Told him where he was and he said he got lost because he didn't have the GPS on his phone with him. Because he left it at home.

[Nancy Grace]

Karen, I find that very unusual. I've told my twins it's like the wizards and their wands in Harry Potter. You don't go anywhere without it. Why? Doesn't make sense to me. He didn't have a cell phone. Especially if he hasn't heard from his wife. Wouldn't you keep your cell phone with you at that time in case she called?

[Karen Stark]

Well, let's think about this, Nancy. How many people really leave home these days without their phone? It's improbable. I have trouble believing that he accidentally left at home. And he knows that he's being watched, it seems to me. So he intentionally left that phone home. I have no doubt about it. He's the nefarious character. He knows exactly what he's doing.

[Nancy Grace]

In the search for Anna Walsh, local authorities find something very unusual. Take a listen to our cut 40.

[Lynn Beeland]

Data from his phone also tracked his whereabouts on January 3rd. Locations were traveled at 4:27 on January 3rd to an apartment complex in Abington. Surveillance shows the defendant's Volvo as well as a male fitting the defendant's appearance exit a car near the dumpster. He walks to the dumpster carrying a garbage bag. He leaning and it appears to be heavy as he has to heft it into the dumpster. He walks to the dumpster with a garbage bag and leaves it. On 4:48, he hit another complex in Edmonton. And at 5:10pm Cell phone shows records at another apartment in Brockton. Video shows a party consistent with his appearance and his Volvo. Again, he discarded items in the dumpster.

[Nancy Grace]

Bob Ward joining us from Boston. 25 on his disappearance from the very beginning. I don't have a problem with my husband throwing trash out there in the dumpster outside our house. But when he starts going from one dumpster to the next dumpster to the next dumpster to the next dumpster, all in within a one hour period, that concerns me. And you know who it reminds me of, and you're going to know this name very well. Jennifer Doulos, the missing Connecticut mom of five. Remember her husband Fotus Doulos and his mistress? They're going all around town dropping off items and they're caught on surveillance video. Why is it Bob Ward? Maybe you can shed some light on this. Why is it that when a woman goes missing, her husband suddenly turns into a neatnik and he has to throw out the trash?

[Bob Ward]

Good Question, Nancy. I think we know the answer to that. And that's the allegation here that the sadly, that January 3rd incident that you just played, the cut from the dumpsters in the South Shore in Abington and Brockton. What we're going to find out in court, that is when the remains of Anna Walsh are being discarded in those dumpsters. Those dumpsters eventually are brought to an incinerator in the South Shore of Massachusetts. And within an hour of those dumpsters being brought to that incinerator, they're destroyed. Anna Walsh's remains have never been located. And the thought is that they never will be because that's where those bags were brought. The other trash bags that were recovered in this case were brought to the North Shore near that pirate ship that we just talked about. And they were not brought to an incinerator but to a landfill. They were found and it's inside. I don't know if I'm getting ahead of us, but inside those trash bags is where the evidence, the incriminating evidence has been located in this case.

[Nancy Grace]

Bob Ward, could you tell me everything you just said one more time and very slowly? I think the gist is that very quickly, after husband Brian Walter Walch visited these various dumpsters, the dumpsters were cleaned out where the trash was picked up and taken, some to an incinerator and some to the pirate ship. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Karen Stark, have you ever noticed how defendants weave in a tiny bit of truth into their big fat lie? The pirate ship.

[Karen Stark]

I mean, that's what makes pathological liars so interesting, Nancy, is because it's usually based on a hint of truth, right? Like no smoke without fire. There's a little bit of smoke, but the rest of it they conjure up. And they're very adept at being able to tell a lie that has a little bit of truth in it, but a lot of falsehood.

[Nancy Grace]

I like the verb you used, conjure like a magician or a wizard. Because one moment Anna Walsh is there with witnesses at a New Year's Eve party, and the next moment she's gone. Brian Walsh was stabbed behind bars, but he lived. His wife, his beautiful young wife, the only one working and supporting the family, was not so lucky. A week after her disappearance, prosecutors say investigators find blood bloody in a bloody and damaged knife in the basement, strongly believing he disposed of her body near his own mother's home. Did I mention he had a 2.7 million dollar life insurance policy with him as a sole beneficiary? What else do we know? Bob Ward joining me, investigative reporter, Boston 25. Tell me again what you just said.

[Bob Ward]

So on January 3rd, Brian Walsh, according to the prosecutors, is recorded on surveillance trying to dump trash bags into dumpsters in the South Shore of Boston in the towns of Abington and Brockton. The prosecution believes that those trash bags that he was struggling with to get into the dumpsters contained the dismembered remains of his wife on a Walsh. Shortly after he did that, those dumpsters were brought to an incinerator in the South Shore. Within an hour of those trash bags arriving at that incinerator, they were incinerated and converted into electricity. And Anna Walsh's remains have never been found. It's an absolutely horrific and gruesome part of this case. The other half of it is that Brian Walsh did not, allegedly did not discard of all the evidence in the case on the South Shore. The allegation is that he took the. His tools, the instruments that he used to dismember his wife's body, along with some of her clothes and belongings, and put them in other trash bags and discarded those things in dumpsters on the North Shore of Boston near his mother's house, near that pirate ship. Those trash bags have been recovered, and those items are going to be an important part of this case in this trial when it takes place.

[Nancy Grace]

And what do you believe, Bob Ward, were in those trash bags in January?

[Bob Ward]

What we were told was that they found a hatchet, a hacksaw. They found a bloody rug. They found honors product purse. They found the boots that she was seen wearing at that New Year's Eve party. And Nancy, they found her COVID 19 card. It's absolutely stunning what they found.

[Nancy Grace]

Joining me, former apd, Atlanta Police Department officer and now lawyer. What rank did you get to Stuttered.

[Bob Ward]

I left as an investigator. Nancy was a homicide detective when I left.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay. David, have you ever had a case without a body, a homicide without a body?

[Bob Ward]

Yes, I have.

[Nancy Grace]

Can I just say that's a tough pill to swallow? It is.

[Bob Ward]

But fortunately, even in those cases. And this guy. Look, you know, as a homicide detective, I would have been looking at this guy immediately, simply based on the fact that his wife gets on an airplane. She's apparently overdue. He hasn't heard from her in three days. Only after he is contacted by her employer does he make an outcry about his wife. That'll. I mean, my wife gets on an airplane. She travels frequently. If I haven't heard from her a few minutes after she's supposed to touch down. I get frantic. I mean, I'm calling every. You know, trying to call her and call her. This guy has done nothing. But he's like a magnet for suspicion. I mean, he's going out, he's talking about this pirate ship, you know, not to mention all of this physical evidence that's located, which to my point is, you know, even the most careful criminals, when they commit these kinds of crimes, it's almost impossible to do it without leaving some sort of forensic physical evidence behind. And this guy has left a mountain of it.

[Nancy Grace]

I mean, could you. Here's another thing. Julie Lewis, I want to circle back to you in just a moment about possible nav systems on his car, but Tom Ruskin joining me. Then I want Karen Stark to weigh in on this as well. Tom Ruskin, guys, private investigator extraordinaire, President of CMP Protective and Investigative Group. Tom, listen, I don't like jewelry. I really don't like fancy clothes. I don't like fancy cars. But if you were to take. Let's just say this little ring right here, this is made of my mother in law's jewelry, okay? It's very thin. It's not bejeweled. But if you were to take that, I would come after you.

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[Nancy Grace]

There are just some things that would matter to me. And I've got a funny feeling this woman would not want her fancy boots and her pride of hers thrown out.

[Bob Ward]

No.

[David Stoddard]

And it would be weird if she had left and left for a business trip if she didn't take those with her, that they wouldn't be behind in the house and be discoverable. This guy is definitely the prime suspect and probably will be convicted at trial. The fact of the matter is, to the other gentleman's point, you don't need a body anymore to prove a case.

[Nancy Grace]

It sure helps though, man. Come on, Russ. I mean, yeah, you don't need a body. I'm not gonna give him a gold star for getting rid of the body. And again, he hasn't been proven guilty. We're just hypothesizing on the evidence that we have. But it sure as heck helps if you do have a dead body to prove a murder case.

[David Stoddard]

But it also goes against him because we know that he was in these yards. He was dumping stuff. What is he doing dumping her garbage? What's the matter? His pickups not working at his house?

[Nancy Grace]

Karen Starr, he so right. And Karen again. I threw this to stutter earlier, I think. But why do guys turn into neatniks as soon as their wives disappear. And again, like Studdard said, and like Ruskin is saying about the trash, it defies the course of normal human conduct. He doesn't check on his wife to see if she landed. Her employer has to call looking for her, and then he wants to take out the trash. Fine. Do it at the corner at the end of the driveway or the trash chute in your apartment in Manhattan. But why do you go to five or six different dumpsters? And could somebody just surprise me once and not throw bloody rags and towels in a dumpster? Do something different.

[Karen Stark]

What always happens, Nancy? He believes he's not going to get caught. And this looks suspicious. So suspicious. I mean, he gets lost going to his mother.

[Nancy Grace]

He didn't get lost. He's trying to explain his circuitous route from one dump to the next and.

[Karen Stark]

Also saying that he went to places where they could check, and he did not go.

[David Stoddard]

So. Nancy, can I jump in for one sec?

[Nancy Grace]

Yes.

[David Stoddard]

I just want to also bring up the fact this is a woman. Let's assume that the husband has nothing to do with her murder. This is a woman who's going to take a flight supposedly from Boston to Washington on a business trip. Why is her phone off? No one that travels. Myself, my loved ones, my family. When we go to the airport, you shut off your phone once you're on the flight and you turn it on to Mr. Stoddard's point once you land. Why is she becoming all of a sudden surreptitious or becoming covert in her actions, which sort of defies the logic of the husband?

[Nancy Grace]

Tom Ruskin, private investigator. You're absolutely right. I mean, I don't guess any of you people on this panel have read don't be a Victim written by, oh, what's that girl's name? Oh, Nancy Grace. You're supposed to, like, take a picture of when you're in the parking deck, which I do, and send to my family. And then when I get on the plane, I take a picture. I'm on the plane, and send to them. You don't even have to write a text or write words, but just let people know where you're going. Jackie, I think I've even sent them to you before. Yes, I have. Okay, guys, that's not the end of it. But I want to ask you, Julie, Louis something. President and CEO of Digital Mountain, Inc. Julie, what about. I like to just say OnStar as a blanket nav description. Wouldn't his car show everywhere he had been if it were, you know, anything older than 2010.

[Julie Lewis]

So before I jump into that, I just. You were talking about pictures and there was supposedly a picture she photographed of herself with her wedding ring off and some of her final photos. And so within that picture there's things called EXIF data that you can look for that potentially could have geolocation information about where she was when the picture was taken.

[Nancy Grace]

See, that is why you're the expert. I didn't even catch that.

[Julie Lewis]

Julie Lewis so switching gears to the car. You know, the car is a moving computer these days on most cars with WI fi has gps, it has a cell network, all these things that you can use for tracking. So if Brian's car has has that in it, law enforcement could have certainly used that information. The other thing that happens in cars is a lot of people sync their phones and so text messages, contacts, you know, browser history, all these things may be on that on the car. Now you know, for example, if you rent a car, even that information can be on that. So that's something that's really important to note.

[Nancy Grace]

You mean when you charge your phone in a car, the car can track everything that you have written on your phone during that time.

[Julie Lewis]

It could be thinking like when you, when you are in an Uber, your playlist, depending on the configuration, it could actually download that. So you don't want to go in some stranger's car rental car and plug it in because the car infotainment system could be grabbing and capturing some information from your phone.

[Nancy Grace]

Good to know.

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[Nancy Grace]

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace why was Brian Walsh stabbed? We know that the inmates in that facility have access to television. There are of course, iPads. So many of them know what he is accused of doing to his beautiful wife, who by the way, was the only one working in the family. His Google searches were damning. I mean, what an idiot. I just can't stress this enough. Take a listen to our cut 36. This is land belen talking.

[Lynn Beeland]

On January 1st, defendant googled using his son's iPad. Some of his searches are as follows. Keep in mind that the defendant said he left at 6am At 4.55am on January 1, he searched how long before a body starts to smell?

[Nancy Grace]

How long before a body starts to Smell? Okay, keep going.

[Lynn Beeland]

8:00Am how to stop a body from decomposing at 5:20am he searched how to mount the body at 5:47am 10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to at 6:25am on the 1st how long for someone to be missing to inherit? At 6 06:34am on 1st can you throw away body parts?

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, I think we need Dr. Kendall Crowns, Chief Medical Examiner, Tarrant County Lecturer, University Texas Austin and Texas Christian University Medical School. Dr. Kendall Crowns, thank you for being with us. Let me just ask you a couple and I'd like to point out also this is food for thought for you. Karen Stark, Psychology on his son's iPad like they don't know how to read the search history. And there's daddy searching how long before a body starts to smell? How do you stop a body from decomposing? How to get rid of a body 10 Ways to Dispose of a dead body if you really need to. I'm glad he added that on at the end. How long before? How long for someone to be missing to inherit? That's not for you. Crowns. Can you throw away body parts? Okay, I'm starting to agree with Tom Ruskin and David Stutter that you don't really need the dead body to prove that someone is dead. Dr. Kendall. Crowns. Can you give me some quick answers to those? This is a lightning round for you. How long before a body starts to smell, Dr. Krantz?

[Bob Ward]

Four to 10 days.

[Nancy Grace]

That just rolled off the tip of your tongue. I'm not going to ask why. How do you stop a body from decomposing?

[Bob Ward]

Refrigeration. I mean you look at. It's that guy they found in the iceberg, Otzi the Iceman. He was missing for a thousand years and he's stuck in the iceberg. So really refrigeration is the best way to prevent a body from decomposing.

[Nancy Grace]

10 Ways to Dispose of a dead body if you really need to. That's not a medical question. Let me go to the next medical question. Can you throw away body parts?

[Bob Ward]

You have to, you know, if you don't want the trash man to notice them, put them in dumpsters like which was possibly done in this case. And then chop. Dismember the individual into small enough parts that they aren't recognizable as human and then mix them in with other trash. And another good way is to put them in. I think it's like these pool chemicals that can melt the body parts down into kind of a slug.

[Nancy Grace]

You know. Dr. KendallKrowns, you're actually Nancy scaring many people that are listening to you right now. Putting it in pool. Wait a minute. Karen Stark, I know you've got something. Dad. Hold on. What did you say about pool cleaner? Dr. Kendallkrans.

[Bob Ward]

There's. There's a certain chemical they use. I believe it's in pool cleaning or something else. I can't think of it off the top of my head. But it'll actually dissolve the dismembered body parts down relatively. It'll dissolve the bone as well and it'll just kind of make this kind of ooze. But then you have to dispose of that.

[Nancy Grace]

I'm glad you're on the right side of the law, Dr. KendallKrans. I really am. But guess what guys, there's more. Take a listen again to lynd Beheland.

[Lynn Beeland]

At 9:29am what does formaldehyde do at 9:34am on first? How long does DNA last? And at 9:59am can identification be made on posture remains at 11:34am dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body at 11:44. How to clean blood from wooden floor at 11:56 on the first luminol to detect blood at 01:08. What happens when you put body parts in ammonia at 121pm is it better to throw crime scene clothes away or wash them? Those are on the January 1st.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, guys, just know that while some of these questions are so rudimentary, they are cruel and horrible. And three little boys are left without their mother. While this guy is googling. What does formaldehyde do? How long does DNA last? Can an ID be made on partial remains? Dismemberment. Best ways to dispose of a body. What happens when you put body parts in ammonia? Should you throw away crime scene clothes or wash them? So to Dr. Kendall Crowns. Lightning Round Dr. Crowns how long does DNA last?

[Bob Ward]

You can find DNA on surfaces for years.

[Nancy Grace]

What does formaldehyde do?

[Bob Ward]

Formaldehyde is a fixative. That's what you use to kind of pickle the organs to keep them preserved for long periods of time.

[Nancy Grace]

What happens when you put body parts in ammonia? Dr. Kendall crowns.

[Bob Ward]

That one. I don't know. That's a new one to me. As far as I know.

[Nancy Grace]

I don't think it would be. I stopped. You're out. No, don't go. I've got more.

[Bob Ward]

I will.

[Nancy Grace]

One more quickie from Lynn beeland. Listen.

[Lynn Beeland]

On January 3rd that same day at 1:02pm he did some more Google searches. What happens to hair on a dead body at 1:13pm? What is the rate of decomposition of a body found in a plastic bag compared to on a surface in the woods at 1:20pm? Can baking soda mask or make a body smell good?

[Nancy Grace]

Can baking soda make a body, a dead body, smell good? These good Google searches have led to a bombshell development in the search for Anna Walsh. Bob or joining me, Boston 25 News. An indictment. Explain.

[Bob Ward]

He was indicted on three counts. There was murder, misleading investigators and improper disposal of a body. So his case is being moved up from district court to superior court. Superior Court has the authority, if he is, when he is tried and he's found guilty on first degree murder, to hold him if he is convicted on first degree murder for life, no parole, which is the maximum sentence here in Massachusetts. There is no death penalty in Massachusetts. Nancy, can I just say one thing about the Internet searches? And it's one thing that has just absolutely haunted me When I go back over this timeline and you realize that there was a New Year's Eve party, that there were three people at this party. It was Brian, Ana, and they had one guest in the house, just left the house somewhere between 12:30 and 1:00 clock in the morning. That first search, how long before a body starts to smell is at 4.55am Anna Walsh was alive at one o' clock in the morning, and at 4.55am she's gone and that search is done. And I just think about that and I think that she's in the house. They also found. We haven't talked about this in the district court arraignment, they said that they found blood in the basement. And they found, I think it was two bloody knives, one broken bloody knife in the basement and a heavy smell of ammonia in the basement of the house. So, you know, I'm picturing in my mind that her body is there in the basement. He's killed her. And he goes and he finds his kid's iPad and he's doing these searches within a couple of hours of his wife being there, someone that he loved. And. And this is what he is doing. I had a story, I broke a story about how he threatened to kill her back in 2014. And here he is in the first day of 2023, in the House with her dead body and he. This is. She isn't even cold. And he is already coming up with this plan on what to do with her remains. I, you know, the depravity of this case. I've been doing this for 40 years. And the depra. This case to me is really just off the charts.

[Nancy Grace]

The three children, the three little boys now, no mom and potentially no dad at home either. Not that it matters. Motive never has to be proven in court. But Bob, why. Why did he do this?

[Bob Ward]

There's another. There's another detail here too. And from talking to investigators, the New York Post had this. This picture you all may have seen. And I talked to an investigator about this. There was a champagne, a box of champagne from the party that the New York Post got a picture of. That was. That was on the dining room table. I went and knocked on the door when. Before all this blew up, before everything happened. I was trying to talk to Brian. I didn't, you know, when she was missing and we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into really, really early on. And I could see inside and the Christmas tree was still set up and it was still lit. You could see inside. I Didn't see what I'm about to describe to you because the police hadn't done their search yet. So they found a bottle of champagne that was still in its box. And the New York Post got a picture of this. And on the side of the box, Anna Walsh had written a note to Brian on New Year's Eve that said to Brian, we made it through 2022. It was a tough year, but 2023 is going to be a great year. Love you, Anna. And it had hearts written on it. And the investigator that I spoke to said they believe that that was her. Those are her last words to the world. And when I look at. There's another Internet search here from December 27th. They did not describe where the Internet search was found. So they didn't say if it was on the kid's iPad or if it was on a phone or a computer, but said was best date for a divorce for a man. So that's from December 27th, when Honest Alive before the New Year's Eve party. And it makes me wonder if Anna, if this, whatever happened, whatever, whatever happened, New Year's Eve, Anna never saw this coming. Just came out of the blue, I think, because the story that I broke about the threat that he. She complained back in 2014, before they were engaged, they were just dating. She complained to D.C. police that he threatened to kill her in 2014. I think, and I know investigators think that this is a domestic violence case, and there's an escalation that started then in 2018. There's a selfie picture of her where she's pointing at a bruise on her face. And she said that she walked. She. She fell at work or something. It's on one of her Instagram accounts. And I think there was an escalation of domestic violence. I don't think the police were ever called, but something happened, was going on behind the scenes. And this is going to be one of the things that I'm going to be watching for, to try to understand what happened here and how this exploded, because you don't get to this kind of. And this hatred. You know, I can understand a moment of passion, of murder, you know, a moment of anger. But this dismemberment and this depravity that we see here in these messages that are caught on the iPad. And then what we've been talking about with the disposal of the body, it's. It's almost too much.

[Nancy Grace]

Do you blame the inmates for being angry with Brian Walsh? We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye friend.

[Bob Ward]

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