As Brian Walshe awaits a trial in his wife Ana’s murder, Massachusetts prosecutors allege it wasn’t a crime of passion but a calculated plan to protect his freedom and fortune.

Ana Walshe, who split her time between Washington, D.C., and her family home in Cohasset, Massachusetts, was last seen on New Year’s Day 2023, when she reportedly got into a rideshare to catch a flight to D.C. to deal with a work emergency. Police in Massachusetts confirmed Walshe never got on the plane. 

Her husband of seven years is charged with first-degree murder, improper transport of a human body and misleading police in his wife Ana’s disappearance and faces separate federal charges for art fraud. He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors, however, have laid out a broader and more calculated motive. As first reported by Los Angeles Magazine, state attorneys allege Brian Walshe believed that if Ana were “deceased or disappeared,” he could avoid federal prison time from a previous art fraud conviction in Los Angeles.

Jury selection in his trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 20, with proceedings expected to last approximately three to four weeks.

Fox News Digital’s Chris Eberhart contributed to this report.