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.
Donald Trump could meet Vladimir Putin in person as early as next week to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine, a White House official has said.
They said the meeting would be conditional on the Russian president meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sky News’s US partner network NBC News reported.
It came days before the White House’s deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or face severe economic penalties, which could also target countries buying its oil.
Asked during a news conference at the White House if the talks would take place, Mr Trump said: “There’s a very good prospect that they will.”
He said it had not been determined where the talks would take place, but added: “We had some very good talks with President Putin today.”
However, he said: “I’ve been disappointed before with this one.”
Asked if Mr Putin made any kind of concession to lead to the development, Mr Trump did not give much away, but added: “We’ve been working on this a long time. There are thousands of young people dying, mostly soldiers, but also, you know, missiles being hit into Kyiv and other places.”
More tariffs ‘could happen’
Mr Trump also said he could announce further tariffs on China similar to the 25% he announced on India over its purchases of Russian oil.
“Could happen,” he said, after saying he expected to announce more secondary sanctions intended to pressure Russia into ending its war with Ukraine.
Earlier, he imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, on top of a previous 25% tariff, over its continued purchases of Russian oil.
India’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the additional tariffs were “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.
Vladimir Putin welcomes Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Moscow. Pic: Sputnik/Reuters
It came after Mr Putin held talks with Mr Trump‘s special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow, with the meeting lasting around three hours.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said Mr Witkoff “had a highly productive meeting” with Mr Putin in which “great progress was made”.
He said he had updated America’s European allies, and they will work towards an end to the Russia-Ukraine war “in the days and weeks to come”.
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Correspondents in Washington and Moscow break down a busy day of diplomacy
‘The war must end’
Mr Zelenskyy later said he and Mr Trump spoke on the phone after the meeting. He said “European leaders also participated in the conversation” and “we discussed what was said in Moscow”.
He added: “Our common position with our partners is absolutely clear: The war must end. We all need lasting and reliable peace. Russia must end the war that it started.”
Mr Zelenskyy later said: “It seems that Russia is now more inclined to agree to a ceasefire.”
He added that the pressure on Moscow “is working”, without elaborating, and stressed it was important to make sure Russia does not “deceive us or the United States” when it comes to “the details” of a potential agreement.
America’s vaccine-sceptic health secretary has announced $500m (£375.8m) worth of cuts to their development in the country.
The US health department is cancelling contracts and pulling funding for jabs to fight viruses like COVID-19 and the flu, it was announced on Tuesday.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, known as RFK Jr, said 22 projects developing mRNA vaccines will be halted. It is the latest in a series of decisions to reduce US vaccine programmes.
Read more: Who is Donald Trump’s health chief?
The health secretary has fired the panel that makes vaccine recommendations, reduced recommendations for COVID-19 shots, and refused to endorse vaccines despite a worsening measles outbreak.
RFK Jr claims the US will now prioritise “safer, broader vaccine strategies, like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms that don’t collapse when viruses mutate”.
Responding to the announcement of cuts, Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations, said: “I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business.”
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Is US politics fuelling a deadly measles outbreak?
Dr Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said RFK Jr’s move was short-sighted and that mRNA vaccines “certainly saved millions of lives”, including during the pandemic.
MRNA vaccines work by delivering a snippet of genetic code into the body that triggers an immune response, rather than introducing a real version of the virus.
According to the UK Health Security Agency, the “leading advantage of mRNA vaccines is that they can be designed and produced more quickly than traditional vaccines”.
Moderna, which was studying a combo mRNA shot that can tackle COVID and flu for the US health department, previously said it believed mRNA could speed up production of flu jabs compared with traditional vaccines.
Read more from Sky News:
Harry criticises report into charity
Reeves told to find ‘substantial’ tax rises
A COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic. File pic: PA
Scientists are also exploring how mRNA could be used in cancer immunotherapies and in other illnesses.
At the White House earlier this year, billionaire tech entrepreneur Larry Ellison praised mRNA for its potential to treat cancer.
RFK Jr touts ‘effective’ alternative
The health department said the abandoned mRNA projects signal a “shift in vaccine development priorities.”
“Let me be absolutely clear, HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,” Mr Kennedy said in a statement.
Later, he said work is underway on an alternative – a “universal vaccine” that mimics “natural immunity”.
“It could be effective – we believe it’s going to be effective – against not only coronaviruses, but also flu,” he said.
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