A man who stands accused of murdering his wife made a number of suspicious internet searches including ones about how to dispose of a body, prosecutors have claimed.
Brian Walshe is accused of murdering Ana Walshe before dismembering her, disposing of the evidence, then making a number of incriminating searches online that include things like ‘how long before a body starts to smell’ and ’10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to’.
Those searches - read in court by the prosecution - were allegedly made between 4:55am and 1.21pm on January 1.
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Brian claims that he last saw his wife in the early hours of New Year’s Day before she left the home that they shared in Cohasset, Massachusetts, to head off to tend to an emergency at her place of work in Washington D.C.
The prosecution claims that Brian was seen on surveillance footage throwing some evidence into a number of dumpsters, some of which was later taken away by garbage collectors before it was shredded and incarcerated.
The investigators looking into Anas death claim that they found some items of evidence near to Brian’s mother’s house, finding rubbish bags that contained slippers, a suit that had both Brian and Ana’s blood on it, as well as a purse and some boots that tallied up with the description of what Brian told investigators Ana was wearing when he claims he last saw her.
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Furthermore, investigators claim they have part of a necklace that is similar to one Ana has been pictured in before, as well as cleaning products such as rags, gloves, towels, and cleaning agents, as well as pieces of carpet, tape, a hatchet and a hacksaw, as well as a Covid-19 vaccine certification in Ana’s name.
The authorities eventually called in Ana’s disappearance on January 4 after she didn’t turn up for work, and it was only when police turned up at the house that she was reported missing.
Brian and Ana have three songs, aged two, four, and six-years-old.
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In a series of tweets detailing the events of the arraignment, Law & Order journalist Sierra Gillespie wrote: “Prosecutors say they found suspicious internet searches in Walshe’s history including:
- Can you throw away body parts?
- 10 ways to dispose of a body
- How to stop a body from smelling
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- Can you throw away body parts?
- How to clean blood from a wood floor
- How long does DNA last?”
She also noted that prosecutors said that police noticed that Mr Walshe had the back seats of his car down and covered with a plastic liner when they arrived, before they found traces of blood inside.
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The alleged searches continued on January 2, with further internet queries such as ‘hacksaw best tool to dismember’ and ‘can you identify a body with broken teeth?’
Prosecutors also read out a search that asked ‘can you be charged with murder without a body?’
Walshe is also alleged to have spent $450 on cleaning supplies at a Home Depot in Massachusetts on January 2.
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On January 3, prosecutors said that another internet search read: “What is the rate of decomposition of a body found in a plastic bag compared to on a surface in the woods?”
Another allegedly said: “Can baking soda make a body smell good?”
Mr Walshe is to be held without bail pending indictment, the judge ruled.
Tom Wood