DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) – The prosecution announced Wednesday they have finished presenting their case that Brian Walshe murdered his wife Ana Walshe in January 2023.
Over the last week and a half, prosecutors showed the jury several clips of security video of Walshe buying tools including a hacksaw and cleaning supplies from several hardware and home improvement stories across the South Shore. They also presented pictures of items found by investigators in a trash collection facility that they argue were Walshe used to kill Ana and dismember her body. They called 48 witnesses to the stand, including a good friend of Brian and Ana.
Gem Mutlu, the man who spent New Year’s Eve with the Walshe’s, who is believed to be the last person to have seen Ana alive besides Brian, testified Wednesday 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.
— Close friend of the Walshe’s takes the stand —
“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…