
Jurors saw Brian Walshe as on camera at multiple stores, allegedly buying items to help cover up the murder of his wife, Ana Walshe. Our panel discusses what it means for the case.
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Michael Cohen
Tonight, a new look at Brian Walsh. What surveillance video shows him buying in the hours after his wife disappeared. Plus, a witness describes a phone call with Walsh days later. I said, Mr. Walsh, I am. As soon as we hang up, I'm going to call Cohasset Police Department and report your wife missing. I advise you to do the same. And the defense aims to bolster its theory that Anna Walsh died unexpectedly.
Neil Fagel
People died sudden.
Quite often, but were.
Michael Cohen
They successful in poking any holes in the prosecution's theory? Our legal expert weighs in. Commonwealth Confidential the Brian Walsh murder trial starts now.
J.C. Monahan
News surveillance video highlighted the start of week two of testimony in the Brian Walsh case. Good Evening, everyone. I'm J.C. monahan.
Glenn Jones
And I'm Glenn Jones. We got an up close look at Walsh's activities in the hours after his wife Anna disappeared. Brianna Borghe has been following it all from Norfolk Superior Court in Denham. She joins us now with a live update.
Brianna Borghe
Brianna, Glenn, JC Today the jury saw Brian Walsh on security cameras allegedly trying to cover up his crime. But first, both the defense and prosecution questioned the medical examiner about potential causes of death. Today's Testimony picking back up with medical examiner Richard Atkinson and disturbing photos of the rugs he examined.
Neil Fagel
It has a large area of red.
Glenn Jones
Brown stain on it.
Neil Fagel
And in the middle of this stain was an approximately 1/4 inch long, what looked to be a blood clot.
Brianna Borghe
The defense focusing on factors related to sudden and unexplained death.
Glenn Jones
You would agree that sudden unexpected death can occur then as a result of cardiac causes?
Neil Fagel
Yes.
Glenn Jones
Pulmonary causes?
Michael Cohen
Yes.
Glenn Jones
Of vascular causes?
Michael Cohen
Yes.
Glenn Jones
Sudden unexpected death has been observed to occur both in young people and old people. Sure.
Brianna Borghe
But here's the prosecution on redirect.
Glenn Jones
What did the office of the Chief medical Examiner have access to to determine a cause of death?
Neil Fagel
We did not determine a cause or manner of death.
Glenn Jones
And why didn't you determine the cause or manner of death?
Neil Fagel
Because we had no body to autopsy.
Brianna Borghe
Prosecutors also called employees from Anna Walsh's employer, Tishman Speyer, to the stand. They testified about speaker speaking with Brian Walsh about Ana's disappearance.
Glenn Jones
What was his demeanor like during this first conversation?
J.C. Monahan
He was polite and calm and nice.
Brianna Borghe
Prosecutors then playing a series of surveillance videos from several stores they say Brian Walsh visited after allegedly killing his wife, including cvs, Walgreens and Lowe's, where he bought hundreds of dollars of cleaning supplies. They also showed this video from Vinnin Liquors and Swampscott on New Year's Day of a man throwing a trash bag into a dumpster.
Glenn Jones
When was your dumpster emptied after New Year'?
Michael Cohen
If you know, not really sure. Probably the following Monday or Tuesday.
Glenn Jones
Did you recognize anyone in those videos?
Michael Cohen
Yes. Brian.
Brianna Borghe
Testimony continued in the afternoon with Matthew Sheehan from the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab, who visited the Walsh home on January 8th and 9th and tested several surfaces and items for the presence of blood.
Glenn Jones
When looking through the kitchen, we did find a couple bottles of hydrogen peroxide.
Neil Fagel
As well as a knife in a kitchen cabinet above the refrigerator.
Glenn Jones
The screening tests for BL was positive on this blade.
Brianna Borghe
Now, we also learned several other pieces of evidence tested positive for blood, including a hammer, a hatchet and several stains on the basement floor of the Walsh home. For now, we're live in dead. I'm Brianna Borghe, NBC 10 Boston.
Glenn Jones
Brianna, thank you. We're joined now by NBC 10 Chief Legal Analyst Michael Cohen and criminal defense attorney Neil Fagel. Gentlemen, let's start with the medical examiner's testimony. Dr. Atkinson got a robust cross examination from Brian Walsh's defense. It's pretty rare in this case, to be quite honest. The defense worked to bolster its theory that Honor Walsh died suddenly and unexpectedly. Larry Tipton went over examples of conditions that can cause sudden, unexpected death. As you know, there is no body in this case and therefore no autopsy, no official cause or manner of death. So, Michael and Neil, did the defense get anywhere today in introducing reasonable doubt to the jury on that first degree murder charge?
Michael Cohen
I don't think so. You know, the defense attorney questioned the medical examiner about this sudden, unexplained death. However, he never equated it to Anna Walsh at all. He just kept asking questions of the medical examiner, which he agreed to, but there was no body in this case. The medical examiner didn't examine anybody. And there's no way to attribute that type of death to this individual. So I don't think he really poked any holes at all.
Glenn Jones
How do you see it?
Neil Fagel
I think he might have made a little progress. And I think if I were the prosecutor, what I would like to have back is that answer that said it happens quite often and that you can have these sudden deaths. That hurts a little bit. Does it create reasonable doubt? I don't think that in and of itself will be enough to. To push us past the goal line, but it's not great testimony when you start to think about what that really means. I think there has to be more medical ev supports in the situations when that happens. It's a cardiac event or likely a cardiac event, and she has no history of cardiac issues whatsoever. And I think the experts will get us into that to a much greater extent.
J.C. Monahan
Well, we know that Brian Walsh is fighting that first degree murder charge. He's already, though, pleaded guilty to two lesser charges. Take a listen.
Brianna Borghe
Did you do or join others in doing those acts?
Glenn Jones
Yes.
Brianna Borghe
Do you understand that by pleading guilty that you're admitting to the facts described as revised by your counsel are true?
Glenn Jones
Yes.
Brianna Borghe
Are they?
Neil Fagel
Yes.
J.C. Monahan
Okay. So on the first day of jury selection, that was November 18, Walsh pleaded guilty to misleading police and disposing of Anna Walsh's remains. So that was right at the start. The prosecution had their presentation, their case already locked and loaded to go. In this case, how do you pivot when now, instead of three charges, you're only going to prosecute for one, the most severe. But you now don't have to spend all that time laying out the foundation that he did indeed, for example, lie to police and dismember or on his body.
Neil Fagel
But you want to spend that time because you want to show how sinister his actions were. And they all support the charge that's still on the table, which is the first degree murder, the premeditated murder. And then the disposing of the body in such a gruesome fashion indicates that he likely to me, had some culpability for her murder. Otherwise you wouldn't have taken such significant steps to really virtually eliminate her existence completely with the hatchet, with a hammer, with a tin, snips. I mean, it's a pretty gruesome way to ultimately cover up your crime. And I think it supports the notion that he did, in fact, commit first degree murder.
Michael Cohen
Yeah, I don't think that the prosecution had to pivot or change their case at all because this just strengthens their case. If he goes and buys a hatchet, buys a saw, and takes all the steps that we saw him take today at the Lowes in Danvers, that just strengthens and bolts and bolsters the prosecution's case.
J.C. Monahan
But they don't have to spend time convincing the jury that that is Brian Walsh, that he did that, because he's already said, sure.
Neil Fagel
Well, they made that part of the job, right? Murder case. Usually we have a dead body, we have a coroner's report. It's easy to prove that the death actually occurred. And now he has made that incredibly easy by saying he's improperly disposed of the body, as well as lie to the police on multiple occasions about her disappearance. So in some ways, what they've done is made the commonwealth's job much easier. The question is what the judge will instruct the jury with respect to those convictions on counts two and three.
Glenn Jones
Let's pick up on something that Neil mentioned a moment ago. The big exhibit today was this collection of surveillance video. We got a lot of it. Here are all the stores Brian Walsh visited after Ana was last seen buying a bunch of supplies the prosecution is suggesting he used to dismember his wife's body. Walsh even got a glimpse of himself in a reflection on one of these cameras in that top video there, where he fixes his hair. There it is. The defense disputes none of this, not what he bought, nor why he bought it. So what's the point of the prosecutor showing this surveillance video? Does it go any step toward that first degree murder charge?
Michael Cohen
Yes. This. What when I was watching this today, what I took out of the surveillance video was that this gentleman was very methodical. He was methodical. When he walked into that Lowe's department, that Lowe's store in Danvers, he went right down the aisle, thought what he was going to pick out, stopped, picked out everything, and did it slowly and deliberately. It just shows the type of individual that. That he is. And That, I guess would equate to methodically disposing of the body and doing everything he could to cover his tracks. I thought it was very damning.
Neil Fagel
The video, to me shows a very cold and calculating individual. He's got his mask on, he's got gloves on. He's trying to make sure he doesn't leave any trace. He pays cash for the stuff. And as Neil pointed out, it's a very methodical approach to getting his murder kit ready so that he can dispose of this body without a trace. And to me, I think it's going to be very impactful to the jury to actually see what he was doing to cover up the crime itself of murder.
J.C. Monahan
I want to go back to the fact that he has pleaded guilty to two of those charges because we keep asking ourselves, why can't the jury know about those guilty pleas? The judge has already delayed sentencing on the two charges until after this trial wraps up. Here's what she had to say about this debate last week.
Brianna Borghe
So one of the things I'm concerned about is in line drawing that I'm inviting the jury. If I allow them to hear evidence that he pled guilty, then I'm inviting them to do exactly what I'm going to tell them not to do, which is you are not to consider jurors. You stay in your lane, I stay in mine.
J.C. Monahan
Michael Neal, do you agree with the way that she's handling that?
Neil Fagel
It's a big question as to what she's going to ultimately tell him, and a lot of the case will turn on that. We have evidentiary rules that generally pleas are not supposed to be admissible because we encourage people to try and agree and admit what they've done. But the problem from his standpoint is these are convictions now on two significant charges, one of which is the dismemberment of the body. To me, not only does she have to instruct them that there are convictions on those two counts, whether he testifies or not, because they're relevant to the murder charge. But I think that helps to explain for the Commonwealth why there is no body, no coroner's report, no autopsy, and the jury is going to be looking for that. So I think in fairness to the government, she's going to have to be pushed to go further than she would like then and potentially, as Neil would point out, create that issue for appeal.
Michael Cohen
But what I think that she's trying to do, she's trying to be very careful. She's trying to weigh and balance all of the issues.
On the one Hand, you know, you can tell the jury this, but that's going to then sway the jury as to what the ultimate outcome is going to be. So I think she has to be very careful and do it the correct way. And I don't think anybody's going to be happy in how they do it.
Glenn Jones
Right. As we go back to this first degree murder charge, I wanted to ask one other question, Neil, to follow up on something we were discussing earlier. So we have these tools that the Commonwealth is suggesting may have been used in the murder or at least the dismembering of Anna Walsh. And the forensic scientist does tell us there are blood on the tools, but hasn't told us whose blood it is. If you have no body in the case, is that still a connection you should be able to make?
Michael Cohen
Well, the interesting thing that the criminalist testified to today was that, yes, he examined all the evidence and there was blood stains. But then he also testified that he saved it and he sent it out for DNA testing. So you will be able to then close the circle and say, okay, the blood evidence on the shears on the hacksaw when compared to the DNA of Anna matched up. So they were just setting the stage today. And then close the loop once it gets to the DNA expert.
Glenn Jones
And that will be an important step to take, I assume.
Michael Cohen
Absolutely.
Neil Fagel
And any of her personal items should contain some of her DNA that would have existed prior to her death, so they don't need the body to be able to obtain her DNA.
Glenn Jones
Hairbrush, exactly like that.
Michael Cohen
Toothbrush. Anything like that.
J.C. Monahan
Michael, Neil, as always, thank you so much, Michael. Stick around, Neil. We're giving you a little bit of a break. Don't go too far. We have more in depth. Look at the Brian Walsh surveillance video. As we just saw, the video recorded at Lowe's shows Walsh smirking at the camera, playing with his hair right there. But will this change anything? For the jurors who have been watching a rather stoic, unemotional Walsh in the courtroom, our team will break that down.
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Welcome back to Commonwealth Confidential. Michael Coyne is back with us and we're joined now by courtroom insider Sue o'. Connell. We're going to take a closer look at some of the surveillance video shown today in court. Video from a Lowe's in Danvers that was recorded the day Anna was last seen gives us a rare glimpse at Brian Walsh. You see him there looking at his reflection in the camera and fixing, fixing his hair while alongside a young child. He has three sons. The video is a look at Walsh's behavior in the hours and days after his wife disappeared. Today we also heard from the head of security at Honor Walsh's company, Tishman Spire. Hugh Dunleavy testified about his call with Brian on January 4th, three days after Ana disappeared. Take a listen.
Michael Cohen
Initially very cordial. Hello, how can I help you? Very calm. Very quickly when I started asking about Ana, his demeanor changed. He got very emotional, unintelligible to the point where I had to ask him to calm down so I could just understand what he was saying. And I told him, I said, Mr. Walsh, as soon as we hang up, I'm going to call Cohasset Police Department and report your wife missing. I advise you to do the same.
Glenn Jones
And what did he say?
Michael Cohen
He said, I will.
Glenn Jones
I will listen. Brian Walsh has shown little to no emotion so far during this trial, not even during the investigation. Totally stoic. Know, sue, when you listen to the audio recordings of the police interview, kind of gave you chills a little bit.
Sue O'Connell
Yeah.
Glenn Jones
But here's the flip side of that now because what Hugh Dunleavy is seeing is that he showed emotion on the telephone. And, you know, it's an honest moment to look at your reflection in a security camera and fix yourself.
Sue O'Connell
Yeah, I had two different reactions. One is as a fan of Dateline as we all are, we know that you get judged by how you call in when you are seriously either concerned that your loved one is missing or pretending to be concerned that your loved one is missing. We all have different reactions and you really can't judge that call or the 911 call. But compared to how we see him acting, you have to imagine that there was some amplification there of concern that maybe wasn't. I had a different reaction to the hair flip because I do that all the time when I'm at Target or Lowe's or Home Depot. And I think to me, that showed that he was so detached from what he was actually doing with the child there, buying these materials that he has admitted to what he's going to do with them and is so detached that he just does what he always does and looks in the camera and flips his hair. Not at all concerned, by the way that he's being recorded and he's buying these materials. So I'm no psychiatrist, I'm no psychologist, but that is a really big split from what is just happened or is about to happen and how he's behaving in the store.
J.C. Monahan
All right, you know what? After his guilty plea, we talked about this to the two lesser charges. There have been some questions about the murder charge that remains. That's what he's facing right now. We remember the Karen Reid retrial earlier this year. We saw that surprise oui charge added at the last minute and it ended up being the only charge that she was found guilty of. So that had Pat from Walpole asking, can the murder charge be changed from murder in the first degree to a lower degree? Is it possible? And at what point can they, or what is the deadline to do something like that?
Neil Fagel
The jury could determine that any of the lesser included offenses, which are second degree murder and even manslaughter, that he was guilty of those and not the first degree murder charge. So since they're considered lesser included offenses, the jury would be free to actually reduce that first degree to second degree murder or even manslaughter.
J.C. Monahan
So it's already on there. In other words, he's, he's being charged with the most, but when they get the slip, they'll have those other options.
Michael Cohen
Yes.
Sue O'Connell
Have we seen the slip yet?
Glenn Jones
Not yet.
J.C. Monahan
Remember, that was a bit of a point of problem in the Karen Reed.
Glenn Jones
Back to the Reid trial. We remember, of course, when the defense introduced that oui charge that JC was just talking about, it seemed to present an off ramp for the jury. When you spoke to jurors after that trial, how did they talk about that introduction?
Sue O'Connell
It was a way to hold her accountable for something they were sure that she had done. They had the evidence. They saw the number of drinks that she was served. She had talked about not being, being impaired, but not highway impaired or whatever she said. So it gave them an opportunity to hold her responsible for something that she admitted or could be proven that she did. And I think that, you know, they have said that they weren't all in agreement all the time. You know, what we viewed happening wasn't them just going back and voting. They had some disagreement. This gave them a way to hold someone accountable at something that, you know, never would have gone to trial if it was anything else. Right.
Glenn Jones
So the Karen Reid retrial was a major loss for the Norfolk County DA's office. As we just mentioned, Reid was convicted only of OUI. Reed was found not guilty of the three most serious charges she was facing for the 2022 death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O', Keefe, second degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury and death. So the DA's office is taking a lot of heat on that one because of their missteps and the investigative missteps by police. So, Michael, does the DA's office really need a win here?
Neil Fagel
Yeah. Short answer is yes, I think they already have a win with the conviction on counts two and three. So to some extent it's found money at this point. But yes, I think they do need a conviction. And again, especially where there while it's a circumstantial case, there is significant amount of evidence. We talked about the videos that were introduced today. There's going to be more DNA evidence, the blood evidence that was introduced today. It's a significant case that he in fact had some significant level of culpability in her death, not just the dismemberment. And so I think they do need a victory. I think if they button it up, as I expect over the course of this week, they still are likely to be able to come back with a conviction on a murder charge, whether it's first degree murder or not. Time will tell.
J.C. Monahan
Well, what about the district attorney, Sue? Because Michael Morrissey hasn't said whether he is running for reelection. But this is his career. He's been doing this for a long time and it got a real black mark when it came to the Karen Reid trial. So how much does he need this for?
Sue O'Connell
Well, he needs a win. But at the same time. This is also a stark comparison to how the investigation was done into John o' Keeffe's death. We have went into the house, took pictures of the house, took evidence from the house, recorded the investigation, recorded the interviews. There's a whole bunch of procedural things that happen in this case that didn't happen at all in the investigation into John o' Keeffe's death. So that's a comparison. We have the civil suits in the Karen Reed case, which are going to continue to be in the news for several years. And we have Aidan Carney's case, which is also moving through the courts, which is also showing some actions by the DA in not a great light. So, you know, this looks like it's going to be a win for the district attorney. It already is, I think, as Michael points out. But at the same time, those other issues are just not going to go away.
Glenn Jones
So when may not be enough.
Neil Fagel
No, no. But a win is necessary.
Sue O'Connell
It's necessary, but not enough. And if it isn't, then there's, there's, it's going to be even worse for Michael Morrissey and the office.
J.C. Monahan
Office. Michael and sue, thank you.
Glenn Jones
Be sure to 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.
J.C. Monahan
If you have any questions about the case we want to hear from you, just send them to commonwealth.confidentialbcuni.com and be.
Glenn Jones
Sure to catch the NBC 10 award winning podcast, the searches for Anna Walsh. You can find it on our website or wherever you get your podcasts. You're watching Commonwealth Confidential, the Brian Walsh Murder Trial.
Neil Fagel
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Podcast: The Karen Read Murder Trial: Canton Confidential
Episode: Brian Walshe trial recap | Surveillance footage shown in court
Host: NBC10 Boston
Date: December 9, 2025
This episode provides in-depth, nightly coverage of the Brian Walshe murder trial, focusing on key developments including new surveillance footage, contentious medical testimony, and the prosecution’s strategy as the case enters its second week. The conversation also draws perspective from the recent Karen Read case, framing the importance of the Walshe prosecution for both the district attorney’s office and public trust in the system.
Medical Examiner on Lack of Body:
"We did not determine a cause or manner of death… because we had no body to autopsy."
— Richard Atkinson (03:34)
Prosecution Strategy on Surveillance Evidence:
"He was methodical… did it slowly and deliberately. It just shows the type of individual that he is."
— Michael Cohen (10:09)
Defense on Sudden Death Theory:
"You can have these sudden deaths… hurts a little bit. Does it create reasonable doubt? I don’t think that in and of itself will be enough…"
— Neil Fagel (06:19)
Forensic Linkage Without a Body:
"…they were just setting the stage today. And then close the loop once it gets to the DNA expert."
— Michael Cohen (13:28)
Courtroom Insider on Walshe’s Behavior:
"…showed that he was so detached from what he was actually doing… looks in the camera and flips his hair. Not at all concerned… that he’s being recorded."
— Sue O'Connell, (17:43)
Discussion on Lesser Charges & Jury Instructions:
"She has to be very careful and do it the correct way. And I don’t think anybody’s going to be happy in how they do it."
— Michael Cohen (12:48)
As the trial progresses, this episode highlights how surveillance footage and forensic science are being used to compensate for the absence of Anna Walsh’s body, while the legal teams carefully navigate the implications of guilty pleas on lesser charges. The panel underscores the high stakes for law enforcement and prosecutorial credibility in Massachusetts coming out of the controversial Karen Read case.
For full coverage and to submit questions, listeners are encouraged to follow the trial on NBC10 Boston platforms.