Brian Walshe, the Massachusetts man accused of killing his real estate executive wife, Ana, used his son’s iPad to conduct well over a dozen...
Brian Walshe, the Massachusetts man accused of killing his real estate executive wife, Ana, used his son’s iPad to conduct well over a dozen Google searches in the days after her alleged disappearance, prosecutors said Wednesday.
"At 4:55 a.m. on January 1, he searched, ‘How long before a body starts to smell?’" Commonwealth attorney Lynn Beland told the court on Wednesday during Walshe’s arraignment on upgraded charges. "At 4:58 a.m., ‘How to stop a body from decomposing.’"
The Google searches allegedly continued for days. Walshe, 47, was charged Wednesday with murdering 39-year-old Ana Walshe and then disinterring and improperly transporting her body, officials have said. Ana, who shares three sons with Brian, was last seen in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, after ringing in the New Year with Brian and the couple’s friend.
Walshe, a convicted art swindler, was charged earlier this month with misleading the police investigation for allegedly giving police incorrect information and withholding details regarding his whereabouts.
A non-guilty plea was entered on Walshe’s behalf during Wednesday’s hearing.
He was ordered held without bond and is due to return to court on Feb. 9.
On Dec. 27, Brian Walshe Googled, "What’s the best state to divorce for a man?" Beland told the court.
"Rather than divorce, it is believed that Brian Walshe dismembered Ana Walshe and discarded her body," she added.
The late-December search inquiry was allegedly the first of many.
SUNDAY, JAN. 1
Brian Walshe searched, "How long before a body starts to smell?" around 4:55 a.m. and Googled three minutes later, "How to stop a body from decomposing," Beland said.
At 5:28 a.m., he allegedly searched, "How to embalm a body," and then, at 5:47 a.m., looked up, "Ten ways to … dispose of a dead body if you really need to."
At 6:25 a.m., he searched, "How long for someone to be missing to inherit," Beland said.
"At 6:34 a.m. on the 1st, ‘Can you throw away body parts?’" she went on. "At 9:29 a.m., ‘What does formaldehyde do? At 9:34 a.m. on the first, ‘How long does DNA last?’"
At 9:34 a.m., Walshe allegedly searched, "Can identification be made on partial remains?" And two hours later, Beland said, he Googled, "Dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body."
But he allegedly wasn’t done for the day.
Walshe searched at 11:44 a.m., "How to clean blood from wooden floor," and at 11:56 a.m., "Luminol to detect blood," Beland said.
"At 1:08, ‘What happens when you put body parts in ammonia?’" the prosecutor said. "At 1:21 p.m., ‘Is it better to throw crime scene clothes away or wash them?’"
MONDAY, JAN. 2
Walshe’s Google-spree allegedly continued the next day.
At 12:45 p.m., Walshe searched, "Is a hacksaw the best tool to dismember?" Beland said.
He allegedly searched at 1:10 p.m., "Can you be charged with murder without a body?" and at 1:14 p.m., "Can you identify a body with broken teeth?"
