The felony murder trial of Brian Walshe, accused of killing his wife Anna Walshe, began on Monday.
The prosecution’s first witness was Police Sergeant Harrison Schmidt, who participated in the investigation into Anna Walsha’s disappearance. Schmidt said that on the evening of January 4, 2023, he went to the Walsh family home in Cohasset, where he spoke with Brian Walshe around 6 p.m. An audio recording of that conversation was played in court, reports CNN.
The jury had the opportunity to see a portion of a total of 52 photographs that were accepted as evidence, showing the scene, the exterior of the house, the kitchen and the living room, including a picture of the family dog.
In the background of the audio, the sons’ noisy children’s play could be heard as Brian Walshe tried to explain to investigators the last days he claimed to have spent with his wife.
According to his statement, on December 30, Ana returned from Washington and said that she was not feeling well. A few days later, on New Year’s Day, she allegedly told him that an urgent business obligation had arisen and that she had to travel back to Washington early on the morning of January 1. Brian claimed that she woke him up that morning to say goodbye and that their youngest son also went out to say goodbye to his mother before, he claimed, she got into the car that took her to the airport.
When asked about their marriage, Walshe said the only problem was that they didn’t spend enough time together as a couple.
In a taped interview, Brian Walshe mentioned that Ana had a close friend in Washington, William Fastow. He said he called him while trying to reach Ana, and Fastow, he claimed, went to check on her apartment in Washington. Earlier, prosecutor Greg Connor alleged that Ana had a romantic relationship with Fastow there.
Investigators were amazed by Brian’s calmness during the conversation, despite his wife missing, he writes CNN.
Sergeant Schmidt said that he inspected the house for about half an hour, and his attention was particularly drawn to the hole in the ceiling of the bedroom. Photographs of the interior of the home were shown to the court. Schmidt also stated that the trunk of the family car was lined with plastic wrap.
After speaking with Brian, Schmidt contacted several more of Ana’s friends and family members. He also contacted the police in Washington, requesting a search of her apartment, and called her sister in Canada.
Later that evening, Schmidt and firefighters returned to the Walsh home to inspect the bottom of the uncovered backyard pool, but found nothing.
The next day, January 5, Schmidt spoke with a friend who celebrated New Year’s with them, and called more of Ana’s friends and relatives. He said Brian was initially reluctant to hand over his cell phone, saying it had a lot of personal information on it and that he needed to consult with his attorney, Tracy Miner.
The police, however, told him that they were investigating a missing person and not a criminal offense, he reports Dnevnik.hr
(TIP/Source: Dnevnik.hr/Photo: X / Screenshot)
