Brian Walshe has been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Walshe was convicted of the murder and dismemberment of his wife, Ana Walshe, following her disappearance after a New Year’s Eve gathering.

On December 15, after deliberations concluded, a jury at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, found Walshe guilty of first-degree murder.

“This isn’t about winning or losing, but about finding the truth, and this verdict represents that truth,” Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey stated to the press outside the courtroom on Monday. “Our focus is on achieving justice, not tallying victories, so let’s keep that perspective in mind.”

The decision came after Walshe had previously admitted guilt to lesser charges of misleading law enforcement and unlawfully disposing of Ana’s remains, according to NBC News.

Walshe’s defense team argued that Ana suffered a “sudden, unexplained death” in their bed following a New Year’s Eve party, leading him to panic and falsely claim to investigators that she was missing. 

Without a body, prosecutors relied on a bevy of digital evidence, including surveillance video showing a man resembling Walshe throwing what appeared to be heavy trash bags into a dumpster near their home. 

Investigators later searched a trash processing facility, where they discovered bags containing a hatchet, hacksaw, cleaning agents and a COVID-19 vaccination card with Ana’s name on it. 

“The defendant did not want anyone to find Ana’s body and to know how she died,” prosecutor Anne Yas said in her closing statement. “So the defendant bought cutting tools at Lowe’s and Home Depot and he cut up Ana’s body, the woman that he claimed to love, and he threw her into dumpsters.”

At trial, which lasted roughly two weeks, prosecutors also produced a digital footprint containing multiple gruesome web inquiries. 

Per a state trooper’s testimony, Walshe’s internet searches after Jan. 1, 2023, included: “Best ways to dispose of body,” “How long before body starts to smell” and “How to saw a body,” among others. 

Brian and Ana shared three children, who were placed in state custody after Brian’s arrest. 

“He never thought anybody would believe that Ana Walshe was alive one minute and dead the next,” defense attorney Larry Tipton said in his opening statement. “All he could think about was their three boys: What will happen to their three boys now that Ana is no longer here? What will happen if they think he did something bad to Ana? Where will those three boys go?”

Walshe has a sentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 17.