← The Stefon Diggs Trial: Commonwealth Confidential
The Stefon Diggs Trial: Commonwealth Confidential
Brian Walshe trial recap: Analyzing testimony from man who had affair with Ana Walshe
00:21:37
A key witness took the stand Thursday to testify about his affair with Ana Walshe, whose husband, Brian Walshe, is charged with her murder.
Loading summary
Transcript121 lines
- [00:01]
A
Hi there, it's Andy Richter and I'm here to tell you about my podcast the three Questions with Andy Richter. Each week I invite friends, comedians, actors and musicians to discuss these three where do you come from, where are you.
- [00:14]
B
Going and what have you learned? New episodes are out every Tuesday with.
- [00:17]
A
Guests like Julie Bowe and Ted Danson, Tig Notaro, Will Arnett, Phoebe Bridgers and more. You can also tune in for my weekly Andy Richter call in show episodes and where me and a special guest invite callers to weigh in on topics like dating, disasters, bad teachers, and lots more. Listen to the three Questions with Andy Richter wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:41]
The holidays mean more travel, more shopping, more time online and more personal info in more places that could expose you more to identity theft. But LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second. If your identity is stolen, our US based restoration specialists will fix it, guaranteed or your money back. Don't face drained accounts, fraudulent loans or financial losses alone. Get more holiday fun and less Holiday worry with LifeLock. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com SpecialOffer Terms Apply I like things my way. My coffee, my schedule and my treatment.
- [01:16]
B
So I talked to my doctor about self injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo pre.
- [01:19]
A
Filled syringe which contains fgartegamide alpha and hyaluronidase qvfc.
- [01:24]
B
It's injected under your skin subcutaneously.
- [01:27]
A
It means I can inject in my.
- [01:29]
B
Space on my time. It's my treatment, my way.
- [01:32]
A
Visit vivgardmyway.com that's V Y V G-A-R-Tmyway.com and talk to your doctor about Vivgart Hytrulo. Brought to you by Argenics Tonight, a key witness takes the stand, the man who had an affair with Anna Walsh. We quickly became close friends, then confidants, and before long we started an intimate relationship. What he revealed about the Walsh's relationship and parenting situation Ana felt deeply disappointed that she wasn't in a position to be the mother the children deserved. But was Brian aware of the infidelity? Why? That question is critical to both the prosecution and defense. We discuss that and more in moments on Commonwealth Confidential, the Brian Walsh murder trial.
- [02:26]
B
They began an extramarital affair just months before Anna Walsh vanished. Today, the man trying to steal Ana's heart was called to the stand to testify against her husband. Good evening everyone. I'm Glenn Jones. J.C. monahan is off tonight. Ana's lover was one of seven witnesses called by The Commonwealth. Among the group, a salesman, two bar instructors, and a Mass state trooper. A face you may recognize from the Karen Reed investigation. Our Brianna Borghe is live outside the courthouse. She has today's developments. Brianna.
- [02:58]
Glenn.
- [02:58]
C
Prosecutors have laid out Anna Walsh's relationship with William Fasto as a possible motive in this case. William Fasto was actually introduced to the Walshes by Jim Mutloo, who was the friend who was at the couple's home on New year's Eve in 2022. Fasto sold the couple their townhome in D.C. and shortly after fell in love with Ana.
- [03:20]
A
We quickly became close friends, then confidants, and before long, we started an intimate relationship.
- [03:27]
C
William Fasto, who was having an affair with Anna Walsh before her disappearance, taking the stand today, saying he would see Ana two to three times a week when she was in D.C. we would.
- [03:37]
A
Go out to dinner, go to bars. She would accompany me to functions.
- [03:41]
C
He said Ana would tell him about her marriage.
- [03:44]
A
The biggest stressor was his inability to resolve his criminal case and the fact that because of that, she couldn't be with her children and bring them back to Washington, D.C. and the fact that it was. It felt like it was holding up her life.
- [03:59]
C
Prosecutors getting Fasto to testify about Ana's.
- [04:02]
A
State of mind as time came on, it became a significant issue for her. It deeply upset her, and in time, she was even despondent about it.
- [04:13]
C
Fasto also saying he and Ana would talk about the future.
- [04:16]
A
We'd had a number of conversations about what a life together. Together might look like.
- [04:24]
What merging two families would look like. The defense hitting back.
- [04:28]
C
She never told you? Hey, Will, I'm gonna. I'm gonna go home.
- [04:31]
B
I'm gonna talk to Brian.
- [04:32]
C
I'm gonna.
- [04:33]
A
I'm gonna blow up my marriage and come be with you.
- [04:35]
C
She never told you that?
- [04:36]
A
That is correct.
- [04:37]
C
The defense also focusing on Fasto's testimony that Brian didn't know about the affair.
- [04:41]
A
Did Anna ever text you or call.
- [04:44]
C
You and say, I think Brian is.
- [04:46]
D
Suspicious that I'm having an affair?
- [04:48]
A
Ana never texted or called me and said that she felt that Brian knew that we were having an affair.
- [04:53]
C
Fasto detailed the last time he heard from Ana.
- [04:56]
A
I received a text message from Ana. It was a Happy New Year's message. Right around the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, east coast time.
- [05:08]
C
Four days later, Brian Walsh left him this voicemail.
- [05:11]
A
Ana hasn't been in touch for a few days.
- [05:15]
I spoke to work today.
- [05:16]
B
She hasn't been in. They went to the house and she wasn't there.
- [05:20]
A
Like she's been there recently. Bother. You sure have been fine.
- [05:26]
C
Now, based on what we have heard from the prosecution in this case, Brian Walsh would have left that voicemail after dismembering his wife. For now, we're live in dead. I'm Brianna Borg, NBC 10 Boston.
- [05:36]
B
Okay, Brianna, thanks for getting us started off. Look at this. A full house tonight. Here's the panel. Margaret Margo Lindauer, a attorney and law professor. Our chief legal analyst, Michael Corporation Coin. And Su oono, our commentator. So a lawyer, a dean and a commentator. We're going to get after it tonight. All right. We should start with Will Fasto, who was a significant witness for the prosecution. He admits to having an affair with Anna Walsh. The defense doesn't dispute that, but it feels like we still need to get to the bottom of this question. Did Brian Walsh know about the affair before Honor Walsh's? So, Michael, starting for you, can you just, I don't know, characterize for us why that question is so key?
- [06:20]
A
Well, it provides yet another motive for why he would have killed her, either out of anger or just to try and make sure she didn't move on so quickly. Because you have to remember, she was both his meal ticket. She was the mother of those three children. And so he needed her to stay in Massachusetts at least some portion of the time until he could resolve the restitution issue on the other case that's pending that still, he still owes that restitution on. So I think he would have been greatly concerned if she was leaving Massachusetts with those kids. In terms of his probation, he can't leave Massachusetts.
- [06:55]
B
Margo, based on the testimony we've heard so far, has the question been answered in your mind, did he know about the affair before her death?
- [07:04]
C
We. We don't know. But there are things that could lead us to believe that he did know. Right. How did he know to call him, for example? Right. How did he know his number? How did he know that Ana would have been in touch with him? Those are things that could lead a reasonable person to believe that he did know.
- [07:25]
And, you know, Ana and her husband were not living together much of the time, and so Ana was spending. Spending significant time outside of the marital home, outside of the family structure in D.C. with work colleagues, with friends. And he must have known that she was with him in some capacity. Whether it was romantic. We haven't gotten that specific answer yet.
- [07:51]
A
All right.
- [07:51]
B
And we learned through testimony that Fastile sold that D.C. townhouse to honor Walsh. That's how he entered the picture of their lives. We did get a lot of other insight into their relationship from this witness. They started getting serious in the summer of 2022. He testified that Ana wanted Brian to hear about the affair from her and not disclosed in some other way. Sue, you were in the courtroom today. How did Will Fastow present? Because this was, at least for us, a much anticipated witness.
- [08:22]
D
He presented like an adult. I mean, I don't really know how else to say it. It's sort of like, yes, we were having this affair. Yes, I didn't want my son. I didn't want to introduce my son to a new woman because it would have devastated him. Took, you know, ownership of that. I think in one way, it was a very male engagement in being asked whether or not one of his friends knew that he and Ana were having an affair. When did he tell someone?
- [08:48]
A
Well, I don't know.
- [08:48]
D
When I told him. Told them. I might have told him before she died or after she died. Clearly, everyone KNEW In Washington, D.C. they were having an affair. There is no that they were a couple in some way. There's no question about that. And he just was very professional, very adult. It got a little heated, and that's. That's too big a word to use, but a little tense with the prosecution sort of pushing to make sure that he would go on record saying that Ana never said anything about Brian knowing or telling Brian or that was imminent, because obviously that would be. Could go to motive. So. But he was just very adult, very professional, and I think he went over well with the jury.
- [09:29]
B
Okay. Michael, I wanted to get your analysis on the judge's decision this morning to not sentence Brian Walsh on the two charges that he's pled guilty to. Why is that significant? And as you think about that, let's just refresh the audience's mind on this. Here are the charges you may remember. Just moments before jury selection began, Walsh changed his plea to guilty for misleading police and willfully conveying a human body. In other words, he admitted to dismembering his wife and lying to police about it, but says he didn't kill her. And now we know he won't be sentenced on those guilty pleas before this trial is over.
- [10:02]
A
Well, I think one of the reasons is the question about is it a capital offense if he's not convicted of the murder charge? Because, remember, on the count where he agreed that he, in fact has pled and been convicted now that he dismembered the body or at least didn't intern it correctly, okay. That carries with it up to a 20 year sentence, if in fact it's a capital crime. Otherwise, you're looking at 10 to 20 years. So the point is that if in fact he's convicted, there's no doubt then it's a capital offense and she can sentence him to the full 20 year period. That. That. That is the maximum penalty on that count.
- [10:41]
B
It is so fascinating how when it comes to sentencing, these charges are very much linked in a way that they can be decoupled for a defendant to take a plea. One thing that stood out during today's proceedings is the defense taking aim at Ana's health. Here's one example.
- [10:58]
D
You're not a doctor.
- [10:59]
C
No.
- [10:59]
D
You're not a nurse.
- [11:00]
C
I am not. Did you perform any type of medical tests on Anna Walsh on December 31st? No, I did not.
- [11:08]
A
Are you aware she had any pulmonary.
- [11:10]
C
Issues that were undiagnosed?
- [11:12]
D
Not that I saw.
- [11:14]
C
Are you a pulmonologist?
- [11:16]
D
I am not.
- [11:18]
B
All right, so the defense in this case is not quick to cross, except when it comes to people testifying about Anna Walsh's health, whether it's that fitness instructor, the life insurance agent, or even Will Fastow. And that's because, of course, the defense is arguing that her death was sudden and unexplained. So the chorus is getting kind of loud for people who think that Anna Walsh is fit as a fiddle. You know, how is this going to balance out Margot, for the jury?
- [11:44]
C
I mean, it's this question of whether they believe that it is possible that this young, fit woman just happened to pass away overnight. And we know, right, that it's possible. It's not a common thing to happen. But again, the defense is really trying to kind of make some reasonable doubt for the jurors that within the prosecution's case, that it wasn't Brian Walsh that was directly linked to her death.
- [12:14]
B
And it's a tall order, at least it feels like it, to convince the jury of that. When everybody who gets up there says, I mean, she a powerhouse at the.
- [12:22]
A
Fitness center and she looks incredibly healthy. Look at her. You know, I mean, that's the point here. And that's also a textbook example of how a witness should answer a question and not argue with the lawyers. She just, are you a nurse? No. Next question. I mean, the point is, is that she was very solid with respect to the testimony and answering the question asked directly.
- [12:44]
D
But on the other hand, that is exactly how it happens when somebody suddenly, unexpectedly dies. No one has any idea that the person is. We all know someone who knows someone.
- [12:53]
C
Who had a brain aneurysm.
- [12:54]
D
Yep. And suddenly they. They were dead. And yesterday you were at the gym with them. So I think it's cutting both ways here.
- [12:59]
B
Okay. We've seen a flurry of witnesses. So far. Today alone, we heard from seven people. When we look back at the Karen Reed trials, of course, we can't help but notice a difference here. Some witnesses were on the stand for days with cross and redirect going back and forth like a ping pong match. Sue, how are the jurors reacting to this? And I could see it both ways. You know, for some people, the pace will actually keep them engaged so they don't kind of lose focus. But maybe some things are going too quickly.
- [13:25]
D
No, I think it's. I think the pace is excellent. I don't think anybody has been up there too long. I don't think that the defense has been needlessly engaging in arguing with anyone. As you pointed out, they don't always cross. They let folks go. And the witnesses are getting up there and fitting a narrative and fitting facts. Like, I had no idea why the woman who ran into Ana at the Mani Pedi salon was up there. And I realized afterwards, oh, she's establishing she was alive at that moment, so there was no need, you know. So instead of being told, as we do in this business, show, don't tell, the prosecution is showing.
- [14:03]
B
Yeah. And that witness was up there for maybe six, seven minutes. That's it. All right, Sue, Michael, Margo, stick around. Thank you for your insight, but don't go anywhere. We have much more to talk about after the break, including a focus on a religious object spotted in court. Earlier this week, Walsh was spotted holding rosary beads during proceedings. But is that allowed? Up next, we're back with our panel and the answer. You're watching Commonwealth Confidential. The Brian Walsh murder trial.
- [14:34]
Pandora makes it easy for you to find your favorite music. Discover new artists and genres by selecting any song or album, and we'll make you a personalized station for free download.
- [14:42]
A
On the Apple app store or Google Play and enjoy the soundtrack to your life. CIDP can make your daily routine feel not so routine. The good news, with a self injection.
- [14:54]
B
For chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, you have.
- [14:58]
A
The option to treat at home. Discover more@cidpselfinjection.com and talk to your doctor. That's cidpselfinjection.com brought to you by Argenics.
- [15:13]
C
What if you could bleach and color your hair without damage? With K18 molecular repair hair mask, you can have strong, soft, bouncy hair and keep using the color bleach and heat. This isn't just a damage cover up.
- [15:27]
A
It'S a deep damage fix.
- [15:29]
C
That's because patented K18 peptide repairs damage on the molecular level, which is really, really deep. So no matter what you do to your hair, K18 will be there to fix the damage. Shop at Sephora or get 10% off your first purchase with code podcast@k18hair.com.
- [15:50]
B
We'Re back now with Margo, Michael and Sue, our panel covering the Brian Walsh trial. Let's circle back to Will Fasto. He was called to the stand, the man who had an affair with Honor Walsh. This appears to be the first time both men have been face to face. They have talked on the phone before. There was a conversation about buying a home in D.C. brian Walsh called Fasto in 2023 when he was looking for his wife. Fasto had plenty to say about his affair, Ana's mental state, and detailed some text messages as well. Sue, you were in the courtroom. I told you that I was kind of anticipating this to be a tense moment between the two men. But you didn't really feel that tension in the room?
- [16:30]
D
No. First of all, it's a big courtroom, so they are very far apart from each other. There's lots of furniture in between them and the witnesses are generally addressing toward the jurors rather than towards where the defendant is sitting, which is a far way away. So Walsh has displayed nothing that would indicate anything other than just a stoic.
- [16:54]
Look on his face and way that his body is sitting. And the witness, again, didn't just took it very professionally and looked straight at the lawyers who were questioning him. Occasionally looked at the jurors, but there was absolutely no interaction or feeling of.
- [17:09]
B
Vibes between them, different from all the body language we saw in the Karen Reid trial. The defense maintains that Brian Walsh did not kill his wife. They say Anna Walsh died suddenly and unexpectedly. That brings us to this viewer question from Clare, who's tuning in from England, by the way. She asks if he has admitted disposing of the body and says Ana died of natural causes. Why doesn't he tell them where he's disposed of the parts so they can do an autopsy and confirm his defense that she died from causes other than homicide. So keep in mind, Ana's body has never been recovered and Brian has already pleaded guilty to disposing of her body. So with those facts, Michael, how do you address what, what Claire is asking There.
- [17:48]
A
Well, from a common sense standpoint, it's a great question. The problem is law and common sense don't always go together. He's got a Fifth Amendment right not to disclose anything beyond what he has pled to at this point. And so he doesn't want to disclose the whereabouts or where the body is. He may not even remember where all the parts are at this point. And the fact is the autopsy might hurt him as opposed to help him. Because that's the thing, is if in fact he woke up and she was dead and it was a sudden death, then the autopsy might have cleared him of this. So the fact is he's disposed of the body and at this point we can't find it. State police have looked.
- [18:25]
D
If he gets on the stand, though, can he be asked that question?
- [18:28]
A
If he gets on the stand, he can be impeached with a lot of this. And the conviction itself, I believe, is admissible. But there is an open issue about what portions of his plea may be heard by the jury. In fact, they're arguing about it still. His lawyers want to simply be able to say he didn't dispose of the body properly. It wasn't sent to a mausoleum. He is. He admits to that. It's a pretty sanitized version of what really happened.
- [18:55]
B
Okay, Margo, I want you to tackle this one for us. There's been some talk this week about Brian Walsh holding rosary beads in court. That's actually the subject of another viewer question. Here's Deborah in Norton. On Monday, the defendant was cradling rosary beads in his hands inside the courtroom. Are religious objects allowed? This is something we did indeed notice, at least at the beginning of this trial. What's going through your mind when you think about that issue?
- [19:20]
C
Yeah, it's a great question. You know, I was surprised myself and shocked that they were allowed. Right. The idea is that there shouldn't be anything on the defendant's person that is going to lead the jury one way or another. Right. That they're there. They have their Fifth Amendment right, of course, but that the prosecutors and the Commonwealth have to put on a case and that there shouldn't be anything kind of distracting the jury otherwise. Now, we all know that that's not always the case. Right. And defendants do a lot of things that can be distracting.
- [19:53]
As well as witnesses. And so we saw the rosary beads on Monday, but we didn't see them today.
- [19:58]
B
Right. We haven't seen them since. Really.
- [20:01]
C
Did the Commonwealth at sidebar ask the judge to instruct the defense attorneys to Instruct their client to remove the rosary beads. We'll never know. But they weren't in court today, and I think that was the right call.
- [20:12]
B
Okay, so we have sort of, in an indirect way, learned a little bit about what kind of father Brian Walsh is, certainly by listening to the audio recordings of the police interviews. You can hear the kids in the background and him trying to care for them, how he cared for them, going to kindergarten. Do you feel like the jury is getting a sketch of kind of a normal husband and father?
- [20:35]
D
Oh, absolutely. We had the Kindercare manager on the stand today. You know, basically just testifying that the three kids went there, that he picked them up on a regular basis, he inquired about how they did. He was interested in their interactions. She had a parent teacher conference with him. So, you know, that was one of the testimonies that. That worked both ways, both established where the kids were, and he. He was indeed had custody of them. And that could have been a problem for Anna, and that could be tension. And by, you know, at least surface level viewpoints, he seemed to be a capable and responsible father.
- [21:12]
B
So what about then, the character sketch of Anna Walsh, which we haven't gotten much of yet? Is that something you expect the prosecution to actually do at some point, or are they going to be narrowly focused on forensics, which they have been thus far?
- [21:27]
A
No, they'll want to humanize her more. They will want to present to the jury a sympathetic person who could be their cousin, their relative, or someone that they know so that they'd feel some empathy for her situation. So I do think we'll see more of the personalization as we go forward as well.
- [21:44]
B
You expect that as well?
- [21:45]
C
I do. I think that actually she's a. She's an incredibly interesting victim here. Right. She's a mom. She has three young kids. She took a job in D.C. commuting back and forth. That's a really hard choice, and it sounds like a choice that pulled on her heartstrings.
- [22:02]
B
Sure, absolutely.
- [22:03]
C
And so, yes, and the judge did.
- [22:05]
D
Allow one of the bar instructors to say she was warm, you know.
- [22:09]
B
Yes, that's right.
- [22:10]
D
A couple of those.
- [22:10]
B
There was an objection, which she wasn't.
- [22:12]
D
There was an objection, but a couple of times people have referred to her as warm and friendly and nice and. And even though that gets, you know, as you guys know better than I, even though that might get overruled, the jury already has a picture of who she is.
- [22:24]
B
All right. There's one other question I've been dying to ask sue about we don't have a ton of time, but I gotta get it in. And it is the fact that we're in this courtroom that originally was supposed to be used for the Karen Reid trial. And Alan Jackson made a big stink about the fact that the jurors could not see the people on the witness stand at the same time that Karen Reid needed to face her accusers.
- [22:45]
D
Right.
- [22:46]
B
Was that much to do about nothing, or did he have a.
- [22:48]
D
No, it was with it empty. I can see it right When I watched Alan Jackson point to the four juror chairs and how the witness booth was and where it faced and where the defendant was going to be, I said, wow, he has a point. But now that all the jurors are in there and the witness is there, there's no problem whatsoever.
- [23:08]
A
Constitutionally, not constitutionally, if she, sue says you can see the witness, the accused can see the. Both the jurors and the jurors can see everyone. It's constitutionally, it's absolutely fine. It's good TV drama, but that's about it.
- [23:22]
B
Well, we ate up that drama. Margo, Michael, sue, thank you very much.
- [23:27]
C
Thank you.
- [23:27]
B
There's so much more to talk about when it comes to this case. Be sure to join us tomorrow. We're taking a closer look at the psyche of someone who dismembers a loved one.
- [23:37]
A
I've had a case exactly like what is going on where the body was attempted to be put into seven garbage bags. What you want to get at is what made him think he could get away with this.
- [23:48]
B
We hear from an internationally recognized forensic and psychiatric nurse, Boston College professor Ann Burgess. She was the Subject of the 2024 Hulu docu series To Think Like a Killer. It focused on her role with the FBI, which helped develop serial killer profiling as we know it today. You don't want to miss my discussion with her. It is fascinating and it's happening tomorrow night. And stay with us for continuing coverage of the trial. We have gavel to gavel coverage on our sister station, NECN. You can also watch the trial on NBC10, Boston's YouTube channel. And if you have questions about the case you just heard, we answer many of them. Commonwealth.confidentialbcuni.com you're watching Commonwealth Confidential, the Brian Walsh murder trial. Hi, I'm Jenny Slate, and believe it or not, someone is allowing us to have a podcast.
- [24:39]
A
I'm Gabe Leadman.
- [24:40]
B
I'm Max Silvestri, and we've been friends for 20 years. And we like to reach out to kind of get advice on how to live our lives. It's called I need you guys. Should I give my baby fresh vegetables? Can I drink the water at the hospital?
- [24:53]
A
My landlord plays the trombone and I.
- [24:56]
B
Can'T ask him to stop. You should make sure that you subscribe so that you never miss an episode.
- [25:02]
D
I need you.