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.
Americans are choosing their new president today.
Either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be the new occupant of the White House in January.
For many people, their vote will make little difference.
The main crunch points are in seven states and one inner state district.
In the following game, you can predict who will win in each swing state.
We will tell you at the end who the new president will be – if you have made correct predictions.
Good luck!
Voters across 50 states are preparing to cast their ballots after a bitterly contested US election campaign, which will see Donald Trump or Kamala Harris become president.
In the last few hours, both candidates have been giving their final pitches. “The momentum is on our side,” Ms Harris told a crowd in Philadelphia that chanted back, “We will win”.
“Tonight, then, we finish as we started: with optimism, with energy, with joy,” she said, while enjoying the support of celebrity endorsements on the day from Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Jon Bon Jovi.
In contrast, Mr Trump ended his campaign in Michigan, repeating key messages about the economy and immigration.
A handful of states will play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the election. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin hold the keys to the White House.
To become president, the winning candidate needs 270 electoral votes or more, with each state carrying a different number of votes.
But the focus has been on Pennsylvania which carries 19 electoral votes, the most of all the swing states.
It has been a remarkable journey for both candidates – with Mr Trump surviving two assassination attempts and Ms Harris not even originally in the running.
Katy Perry performed in Pittsburgh in support of Kamala Harris. Pic: AP
For more than a year, the 2024 presidential race seemed destined for a rematch between Joe Biden and Mr Trump – but a disastrous TV debate by Mr Biden eventually forced him to withdraw from the ticket.
The Democratic party’s decision to replace Mr Biden with his vice president transformed the race and shifted polls in Ms Harris’s favour. But only just.
Many polls are too tight to call and, with a large margin of error, most experts are refusing to predict the outcome.
Read more:
Overseas ballots face legal challenge
You decide the new president
Should we fear Trumponomics?
Later, attention will turn to those battleground states including Georgia, which is among the first polls to close at 7pm local time (midnight UK time).
State election officials told Sky News they could have a result as early as 10pm (3am UK time).
Even so, it could be several days before the US has a definitive result.
Voters are not just selecting a president. In addition, 10 states will hold abortion-related ballots, half of which would overturn existing restrictions.
Predict who you think will win in each swing state and we’ll tell you who the president will be if you’re right.
Tonight, Sky News will have access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote-counting results from every state, county and demographic across America through its US-partner network NBC.
You can find out more about Sky News’ coverage here.
US
Voter in UK ‘terrified’ by US election legal battle, as up to 4,000 ballots challenged in Pennsylvania
Up to 4,000 people voting overseas in the US election are having their ballots challenged in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
They include Selma Aldi, 47, from Camden in north London who received a letter on Sunday explaining that her ballot in the US presidential election is at risk of being rejected.
“It was a shock,” she said. “It was terrifying to be targeted, to potentially lose a right that I hold as very important. It’s even a feeling that someone is questioning my identity.”
The trainee GP, who grew up in Hershey, Pennsylvania left America in 2000 but has voted via absentee ballot in every US presidential election since.
A letter from election officials in Dauphin County outlines the legal challenge. It reads: “The applicant is not registered to vote and therefore is not eligible to vote in Pennsylvania.
“Under Pennsylvania law, it is a felony to permit any person to vote who is not registered.”
A hearing on the legal challenge is scheduled for Friday, in which Ms Aldi can respond.
Around 2.8 million US citizens living abroad are entitled to vote in the election, no matter where they are on polling day.
But each state has different procedures and rules on how election paperwork can be sent and received.
Selma Aldi on her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, seated next to a figure of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the US.
But Ari Savitzky, senior staff Attorney at the ACLU said “any attempt to challenge [voters] eligibility is a clear violation of their rights”.
He told Sky News: “Between 3,000 and 4,000 challenges have been filed in Pennsylvania to the absentee ballots of US citizens living abroad.
“For decades, federal law has guaranteed the right of US citizens living abroad to vote in federal elections at their last US residence.
“In addition to being legally baseless, these challenges are an abuse to voters and to election administrators.”
Read more from Sky News:
US election: Colleges, swing states and how it all works
Should we fear Trumponomics?
What happens if there’s a tie in the US election?
Deborah Hinchey from another voting rights group, All Voting is Local, said: “Election deniers across Pennsylvania have submitted thousands of mass challenges to overseas voters.
“They want to block as many ballots as possible and silence our voices… but these baseless challenges have failed before and the proper checks and balances are in place to make sure they’ll fail again,” she added.
Tonight, Sky News will have access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote-counting results from every state, county and demographic across America through its US-partner network NBC.
You can find out more about Sky News’ coverage here.
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