Brian Walshe was active Monday in both the major criminal cases he's involved in — he had his first hearing in months in the murder case over the alleged killing of his wife, Ana, while his lawyer in federal court appealed a sentence recently handed down over art fraud.
At the status conference at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, lawyers for the two sides established that Walshe's new, court-appointed lawyer still needs to catch up on the evidence in the murder case.
The next date in the case was set for May 1. Walshe's appearance was waived for Monday's hearing, and while he had been due to appear virtually, he wasn't on the Zoom call.
The hearing came less than two weeks after Walshe was sentenced by a federal judge for a years-long art fraud scheme that he pleaded guilty to before the alleged murder of his wife. He was sentenced to 37 months in prison for the art scheme.
But also Monday, his lawyer in that case filed an appeal to the sentence.
Want updates on the Walshe murder case as they come in, plus in-depth background and analysis? Listen to "The Searches for Ana Walshe" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts.
Walshe faces a murder charge for the death of his wife in January of 2023. The case involved a massive search across eastern Massachusetts, and received international attention because of Ana's ties to Washington D.C. and Serbia, and due to the gruesome nature of the allegations made against Brian. He is accused of dismembering and discarding her body, and allegedly made a series of disturbing Google searches about how to do so.
In December, Walshe received a court-appointed lawyer, Larry Tipton. A judge said during a hearing that month that Walshe was being considered indigent, meaning he could no longer afford a private attorney. Tracy Miner was said to have filed a motion to withdraw from the case. She did, however, appear with him for his sentencing hearing in federal court for the art fraud case.
During a discovery hearing in November, attorneys on both sides said they were still working with crime labs on evidence processing.
