DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) – A good friend of Briand and Ana Walshe testified on Wednesday as the commonwealth rested its case.
Walshe is charged with murdering his wife Ana, who was last seen in early 2023.
Gem Mutlu, the man who spent New Year’s Eve with the Walshes, who is believed to be the last person to have seen Ana alive besides Brian, testified after a short voir dire.
Mutlu said he originally became friends with Brian Walshe, then he hired Ana at his real estate brokerage company and got close to her and their kids. He told the jury he loved the whole family.
“I saw them as my own,” Mutlu said.
Mutlu said he spoke with Ana on the phone for roughly 45 minutes a few days prior to her death on December 29, and that she seemed concerned about her marital issues. He said he couldn’t recall her exact words, but remembers thinking he would need to have a long follow up conversation with her about her life.
On direct examination, Mutlu testified he and Ana had spoken in person on the phone a few days prior to New Year’s Eve, saying she told him she was having a hard time with her commute from Cohasset to D.C., and that she missed her children. She also struggled with Brian’s ability to leave Massachusetts due to an ongoing federal issue.
Mutlu said he joined the couple for a celebration in their kitchen on New Year’s Eve, and jurors were shown pictures of a champagne box the three of them signed.
One message from Ana read, “let’s make 2023 the best one yet.”
Mutlu testified that he left around 1:30 a.m., the last time he saw Ana. He said he received a call several days later from Brian, who said Ana had left for a work emergency in D.C. on New Year’s Day and asked if he’d heard from her.
“I was incredulous,” Mutlu said. “I said what work emergency could there be on New Year’s Eve? What could it be? I said listen, did you guys have an argument or something? Did you have a fight?”
“What was his response?” Mutlu was asked….