Accused spouse killer Brian Walshe has been deemed competent to face trial for the homicide and dismemberment of his spouse, Ana Walshe, and won’t get his trial moved out of Norfolk County as he requested.
A Bridgewater State Hospital psychiatrist discovered Walshe to be “competent and ready to stand trial,” Decide Diane Freniere stated. She stated she accepted that discovering. Walshe will subsequent seem in court docket Monday at 9 a.m. and his trial is scheduled to start with jury choice on Tuesday.
Freniere additionally discovered that Walshe has not made a compelling argument that his case has been tainted by a “presumption of prejudice” among the many populace and potential jury pool in Norfolk County.
Freniere stated that media protection of the case peaked in January 2023, when Walshe is accused of slaying and dismembering his spouse Ana Walshe of their Cohasset residence, and has declined ever since.
She stated that more moderen protection has centered on court docket filings and case standing and never on extra sensational facets of the case — like when prosecutors learn off a grisly collection of Google searches Walshe is alleged to have made within the hours and days after his spouse disappeared.
Additional, Walshe’s argument hinges largely on adverse social media posts that pre-judge him as responsible for his spouse’s homicide however Freniere stated that there isn’t any proof {that a} important variety of potential jurors had seen such postings.
Protection lawyer Larry Tipton vocally objected to Freniere’s resolution and the events went right into a sidebar earlier than the competency listening to begins in earnest later right now.
Walshe, 49, of Cohasset, was scheduled to go to trial on the homicide cost final month however that was rescheduled as a consequence of competency considerations. He’s contemporary off a 20-day stint at Bridgewater State Hospital through which psychiatric employees monitored him for competency to face trial for the homicide of Ana Walshe within the early hours of Jan. 1, 2023. Walshe has pleaded not responsible.
Walshe has additionally been convicted and sentenced in federal court docket to an worldwide artwork fraud scheme.
It is a growing story.
