Husband of missing woman ‘searched for 10 ways to dispose of a dead body on Google’ after she was last seen
The husband of a woman who disappeared around New Year’s Day made a series of disturbing Google searches – including “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to” – in the minutes before he told police he had last seen her, prosecutors have said.
Brian Walshe, who lived with his wife in Massachusetts, also searched for “how to stop a body from decomposing” after Ana Walshe, 39, went missing.
Ms Walshe has still not been found and is presumed to be dead.
Walshe, 47, is accused of assaulting and beating his wife with intent to murder her and moving her body or remains, according to a criminal complaint.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Walshe had made an internet search on 27 December for “what’s the best state to divorce for a man”, prosecutors at Quincy District Court in Massachusetts said.
“Rather than divorce, it is believed that Brian Walshe dismembered Ana Walshe and discarded her body”, Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Lynn Beland said.
Ms Beland said investigators found the couple’s DNA, a hacksaw, shears and a hatchet in bags that had been disposed of in a rubbish container at Walshe’s mother’s apartment complex in Swampscott, about 40 miles north of Cohasset, where they lived.
In the early morning hours of 1 January, in the hour before he originally told investigators that his wife had left their home to catch a flight to Washington DC, prosecutors said he made dozens of disturbing Google searches on his son’s iPad including “how long before a body starts to smell”, “how to bound a body”, “how long for someone to be missing to inherit”, and “can you throw away body parts”.
He is accused of making further Google searches later that morning such as “how long does DNA last”, “can identification be made on partial remains” and “dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body”.
Walshe also allegedly searched for “how to clean blood from wooden floor”, “what happens when you put body parts in ammonia”, and “is it better to throw crime scene clothes away or wash them”.
The next day, on 2 January, Walshe’s internet searches included “hacksaw best tool to dismember”, “can you be charged with murder without a body”, and “can you identify a body with broken teeth”, prosecutors said.
Walshe is accused of buying three rugs at a HomeGoods store the same day.
Ana Walshe was last seen at around New Year’s Day. Pic: NBC Boston
He also bought cleaning products, mops, brushes, tape, a tarpaulin, a protective suit with boot covers, buckets, goggles, baking soda and a hatchet at a Home Depot store in Rockland, prosecutors said.
On 3 January, a surveillance video captured Walshe travelling to a site with rubbish containers in Abington, a town about 15 miles southwest of Cohasset, where he was seen carrying and discarding items that appeared to be heavy.
He then travelled to an apartment complex in Abington and another in Brockton, about four miles west of Abington, where he discarded more items.
Police later tried to track down the bags he was seen putting in rubbish bins in the first location in Abington, but they had already been destroyed after having been picked up and transported for shredding and incineration, prosecutors said in court.
Walshe also allegedly conducted more Google searches that day, including: “what happens to hair on dead body?”, “what is the rate of decomposition of a body found in a plastic bag compared to on a surface in the woods?” and “can baking soda make a body smell good?”.
On 4 January, the day Ms Walshe’s employer reported her missing and police interviewed Walshe at his home, he bought items including towels, bathmats, men’s clothing and a rubbish bin, prosecutors said.
When authorities arrived at the house, they saw Walshe’s Volvo had a plastic liner and the seats were down; a few days later, the liner was gone and there were fresh vacuum streaks on the carpet, prosecutors said. Analysis later showed blood in the car.
On 5 January, the day the search for Ms Walshe became public, Walshe’s phone records show he travelled first to a day care centre and then to his mother’s apartment complex in Swampscott.
Walshe showed little to no emotion during his court appearance
Surveillance video captured him in an area of the complex where more rubbish containers were located.
Authorities later searched the contents of the containers after they had been moved to a waste transfer station and found 10 rubbish bags that included stains consistent with blood.
A protective suit was found in the rubbish bags.
On 8 January, prosecutors searched the family’s home and found blood in the basement, a damaged knife with blood on it, another knife, a heavy-duty large tarpaulin and plastic liners.
Police arrested Walshe the same day.
Phone records indicated Ms Walshe’s mobile device was at her family home on New Year’s Eve until 3.14am on 2 January, at which point it was turned off, prosecutors said.
Walshe showed little to no emotion when he appeared in court on Wednesday.
In a lengthy statement, Walshe’s lawyer, Tracy Miner, claimed the media “has already tried and convicted” him.
The UK-US trade deal has been signed and is “done”, US President Donald Trump has said as he met Sir Keir Starmer at the G7 summit.
The US president told reporters: “We signed it, and it’s done. It’s a fair deal for both. It’ll produce a lot of jobs, a lot of income.”
As Mr Trump and his British counterpart exited a mountain lodge in the Canadian Rockies where the summit is being held, the US president held up a physical copy of the trade agreement to show reporters.
Several leaves of paper fell from the binding, and Mr Starmer quickly bent down to pick them up, saying: “A very important document.”
President Donald Trump drops papers as he meets with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Kananaskis, Canada. Pic: AP
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Sir Keir Starmer hastily collects the signed executive order documents from the ground and hands them back to the US president.
Sir Keir said the document “implements” the deal to cut tariffs on cars and aerospace, adding: “So this is a very good day for both of our countries – a real sign of strength.”
Mr Trump added that the UK was “very well protected” against any future tariffs, saying: “You know why? Because I like them”.
However, he did not say whether levies on British steel exports to the US would be set to 0%, saying “we’re gonna let you have that information in a little while”.
Sir Keir Starmer picks up paper from the UK-US trade deal after Donald Trump dropped it at the G7 summit. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump also praised Sir Keir as a “great” prime minister, adding: “We’ve been talking about this deal for six years, and he’s done what they haven’t been able to do.”
He added: “We’re very longtime partners and allies and friends and we’ve become friends in a short period of time.
“He’s slightly more liberal than me to put it mildly… but we get along.”
Sir Keir added that “we make it work”.
The US president appeared to mistakenly refer to a “trade agreement with the European Union” at one point as he stood alongside the British prime minister.
Mr Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on countries in April. At the time, he announced 10% “reciprocal” rates on all UK exports – as well as separately announced 25% levies on cars and steel.
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In a joint televised phone call in May, Sir Keir and Mr Trump announced the UK and US had agreed on a trade deal – but added the details were being finalised.
Ahead of the G7 summit, the prime minister said he would meet Mr Trump for “one-on-one” talks, and added the agreement “really matters for the vital sectors that are safeguarded under our deal, and we’ve got to implement that”.
US
Doctor to plead guilty to giving Matthew Perry ketamine before Friends star suffered fatal overdose
A Los Angeles doctor has agreed to plead guilty to giving Friends actor Matthew Perry ketamine in the lead up to his death from a fatal overdose, prosecutors have said.
Dr Salvador Plasencia, who will admit to four counts of distribution of ketamine, faces up to a maximum of 40 years in prison.
He is among five people charged in connection with the death of Friends star Perry, 54, whose body was found in his hot tub by his assistant in October 2023.
The medical examiner ruled that ketamine and other factors caused him to lose consciousness and drown.
The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal treatment for depression, but had begun seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him.
Salvador Plasencia. Pic: Malibu Canyon Urgent Care
Plasencia is accused of supplying the bulk of Perry’s ketamine in his final weeks. He and three other defendants, including another doctor, agreed to plead guilty in exchange for their cooperation.
Jasmine Sangha, who prosecutors allege was a major ketamine dealer, is alleged to have provided the dose that killed the actor and is the only defendant who has pleaded not guilty to the prosecution’s case.
About a month before the actor’s death, Perry found Plasencia, a doctor who allegedly asked another doctor, Mark Chavez, to obtain the drug for him, according to court filings in the Chavez case.
“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted Chavez, according to court filings from prosecutors.
Dr Mark Chavez has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry. File pic: AP
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The pair who practised in California met up the same day and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine, the filings said.
After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500 (£3,314), Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry’s “go-to” prosecutors said.
Chavez has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry.
Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on Friends, when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing.
He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.
US
Suspect in killing of US politician went to homes of other lawmakers in same night, officials say
A man accused of killing a US politician and her husband went to the homes of other lawmakers that night, intending to kill them, officials said.
Vance Boelter, 57, meticulously planned his attacks, carrying out surveillance missions, taking notes on the properties and people he targeted and disguising himself as a police officer, according to Minnesota’s acting US attorney Joseph Thompson.
Read more: Shooting suspect captured after two-day manhunt
Authorities believe Boelter wore a mask as he posed as a police officer and shone a torch in the face of some of his victims to disguise his identity.
The FBI released this image of Vance Boelter posing as a police officer. Pic: FBI.
“It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmare,” said Mr Thompson.
Boelter, 57, allegedly shot and wounded Senator John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, in their Minneapolis home in the early hours of Saturday morning.
John Hoffman. Pic: Facebook/Senator John Hoffman
He then travelled to the home of another state lawmaker but she and her family were on holiday, so they didn’t answer the door, said Mr Thompson.
Video showed that Boelter rang the doorbell at around 2.24am on Friday but left when the family didn’t respond.
Vance Boelter. Pic: Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office/Reuters
He then drove to the home of an unnamed state senator, but after the Hoffmans’ adult daughter called emergency services to say her parents had been shot, a police officer was dispatched to conduct a wellness check.
That officer saw Boelter’s car parked up the street but thought he was another officer, said Mr Thompson.
Boelter had reportedly altered his car to make it look more like a police car.
He then left and drove to the home of lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, according to an FBI affidavit.
Read more:
Neighbours of murdered US politician stunned
Melissa Hortman. Pic: Instagram
Local police officers, also conducting a check, arrived to see Boelter fatally shoot Mark Hortman through the open door of the home, according to the document.
Melissa Hortman was found dead inside.
Boelter was arrested on Sunday evening after a huge manhunt in a rural area in Sibley County, southwest of Minneapolis.
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He faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the deaths of the Hortmans and the wounding of Mr Hoffman and his wife.
Before his arrest, the father of five texted his family group chat saying: “Dad went to war last night … I don’t wanna say more because I don’t wanna implicate anybody,” according to the affidavit.
His wife got another text that said: “Words are not gonna explain how sorry I am for this situation… there’s gonna be some people coming to the house armed and trigger-happy and I don’t want you guys around,” the document said.
Several AK-style firearms and a list of about 70 names, which included politicians and abortion rights activists, were allegedly found inside his vehicle.
A Minnesota official said politicians who had been outspoken in favour of abortion rights were on the list.
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