Ana Walshe DNA Evidence Update – NBC Boston

Key questions in the murder case against Ana Walshe could be answered in the coming weeks, with the state’s DNA laboratory expected to complete testing of a dozen items in the case by the end of the month.

Brian Walshe, Ana’s husband accused of dismembering and disposing of her body in early 2023, had his appearance for a brief hearing waived on Monday afternoon. The hearing took place in Suffolk Superior Court after Karen Read’s defense team rested their case. Judge Beverly Cannone is presiding over both cases.

During Monday’s hearing, Commonwealth prosecutors provided an update on the discovery process, which is still underway.

Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor told the court he has received all of the crime lab materials and plans to file a notice of discovery, with the exception of the state DNA lab tests. He said the DNA lab expects to complete testing of their items by the end of this month and will then resubmit a notice of discovery.

In Episode 3 of ‘The Searches for Ana Walshe’ we hear from people who knew Brian Walshe, including Ana and a friend of the couple, who remembered Brian crying after getting a scratch on the beach. Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts.

Bode, a private crime lab in Virginia, has comprehensive items, Connor said, adding that “decisions may have to be made” about an expert who might be sent there or possibly a waiver.

A spokesperson for the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office says the term “exhaustive” essentially means that so little of the sample exists that there is only one opportunity to test it. In these cases, the tests must be carried out jointly by the state and defense.

Attorney Larry Tipton said that given the volume of discovery to be sifted, setting a trial date at this time would not be a good idea.

The court ultimately set October 2 as the next hearing date for evidentiary requests. Walshe is expected to attend the hearing.

The Walshe case is one of the most high-profile murder cases in the region in recent years. Ana Walshe was first reported missing just days into 2023, and as the search for her became more desperate, her husband Brian was charged. He was first charged with misleading the police and eventually with murder. He has denied being guilty of all charges.

Before he was charged with murder, before his arrest, before the manhunt for his wife in the swamps of Cohasset, Massachusetts, around Boston and in Washington, D.C., there was another series of searches, prosecutors say, on Google – on the records of their son. iPad – starting in the early morning when Brian Walshe would later say that Ana Walshe was missing…

The body of the 39-year-old mother of three was never recovered. Prosecutors alleged that Brian killed her early on New Year’s Day at their Cohasset home, dismembered her body and threw it in the trash.

Walshe allegedly conducted a series of Google searches on their son’s iPad, focusing on how to dispose of a body.

Prosecutors will likely have to rely on digital evidence — including DNA lab tests and Internet searches — to try to secure a conviction from a jury since Ana’s body has never been found, criminal justice experts told NBC10 Boston.

During the search for Ana, police eventually found items of clothing and jewelry in a dumpster near Brian’s mother’s home that Brian Walshe said he was wearing when she left their home early on New Year’s Day, along with a hacksaw containing a bone fragment. prosecutors have said.

The handling officer in the Walshe murder investigation is Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor – the trooper who also led the John O’Keefe murder investigation and is now under fire for his unprofessional conduct exposed in the trial of Karen Read .

Earlier this month, Tipton told NBC10 Boston that he has not yet concluded there is investigator bias involving his client, but what he has heard in the Karen Read case has raised his suspicions. This issue was not discussed during Monday’s hearing.

You can get a full recap of the Walshe case on the NBC10 Boston podcast, “The Searches for Ana Walshe.” You can stream it wherever you get podcasts.