The trial of a Massachusetts man, previously convicted of fraud and now accused of murdering his wife, commenced on Monday. The prosecution began their opening remarks shortly before 10 a.m., setting the stage for what promises to be a gripping legal battle.

In a twist during jury selection last month, 50-year-old Brian Walshe admitted guilt to lesser charges, including misleading investigators and improperly handling a corpse. These admissions, however, have not shielded him from the severe first-degree murder charge he faces, which could result in a life sentence without parole if he is found guilty.

Walshe stands accused of killing and dismembering his 39-year-old wife, Ana Walshe, whose body remains undiscovered. Yet, his defense claims a different narrative, asserting that Brian discovered Ana deceased in their bed, and when he attempted to rouse her, she fell lifelessly to the floor. He then allegedly concealed her body and fabricated stories about her whereabouts.

Pictured is Brian Walshe during the jury selection process at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, MA, on Thursday, November 20, 2025. He is charged with the murder of his wife, Ana Walshe. (Image courtesy of Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)

Brian Walshe during jury selection in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, MA on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. Walshe is facing charges for killing his wife Ana. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)

Defense attorney Larry Tipton told jurors in his opening statement that Walshe “nudged” his wife in bed and discovered she was dead.

“Now he was panicking, and he doesn’t understand what has happened and what is happening,” Tipton said. “It didn’t make any sense to him. It didn’t make sense that somebody he had just been with, and enjoyed New Year’s Eve with into New Year’s Day, would suddenly be dead.”

Tipton said evidence would show a “sudden, unexplained death” and that such a thing “happens.” He denied the prosecution’s allegation that his client was aware of Ana’s suspected affair with a friend from Washington, D.C., where she commuted to work.

“Brian Walshe is not a killer,” he concluded.

She was last seen on New Year’s Day in 2023, and prosecutors allege her husband dismembered her in their Cohasset, Massachusetts, home before hiding her remains. She was reported missing days later by her boss.

Cohasset Police Sgt. Harrison Schmidt, who responded to take the missing person report, was the first witness.

Brian and Ana Walshe pose for a shot in Boston Public Gardens, Boston, Massachusetts on their wedding day on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

With Schmidt on the stand, prosecutors played recordings of Walshe’s initial interviews with police, in which he acknowledged marital trouble stemming from his art fraud conviction and his inability to move with the family to Washington, where he said his wife was making $315,000 a year.

Schmidt testified that he checked the trunk of Walshe’s Volvo SUV and saw it was covered with plastic sheeting. The detective said he returned to the Cohasset police station and put a tracker on Ana’s passport. He also showed photos taken during a walkthrough of the home, which showed Walshe was sleeping in a separate bedroom that had a hole in the ceiling.

This image from the Cohasset Police Department shown in court depicts the sparsely furnished bedroom used by Brian Walshe. There was a hole in the ceiling, additional images show. (Pool)

Prosecutors have alleged that police recovered evidence from a dumpster near Walshe’s mother’s house, including a rug from the family home, clothing and a COVID vaccination card belonging to the victim, a hatchet, a hacksaw and red and brown stained towels.

Prosecutors have laid out two potential motives in the case. The first is that Walshe allegedly discovered an affair between his wife and another man, whose name he is accused of searching on Google six times. The second is that he allegedly believed being the sole caretaker of their children would help him avoid prison in connection with a federal art fraud case.

William Fastow leaves an open house in the Spring Valley area of Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. Fastow was a friend of the late realtor, Ana Walshe, and the two were allegedly involved in an affair before her death. (Fox News Digital)

And he was the beneficiary of her $2.7 million life insurance policy.

Investigators say they found digital evidence showing Walshe allegedly searched Google more than a dozen times for instructions on how to dispose of human remains. Then they say they found video of him at Home Depot, buying mops, goggles and a knife.

The trial before a jury of nine women and seven men is expected to last two to four weeks. 

Schmidt is expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday, but prosecutors said they were already running ahead of schedule.