The trial against Brian Walshe for allegedly murdering his realtor wife has been postponed to evaluate whether he’s mentally fit following an attack in jail.
Walshe had been scheduled to go on trial on Oct. 20 for allegedly slaying 39-year-old wife Ana Walshe on New Year’s Day 2023, and then dismembering her body — which still hasn’t been found.
But on Monday, Norfolk County Judge Diane Freniere granted the defense request for Walshe to undergo a mental competency evaluation and ordered he be sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for 20 days for testing, court records show.
Walshe’s lawyer Larry Tipton claimed his client had declined mentally and physically from the trauma of being stabbed in jail last month, preventing him from being fit to sit for trial, according to ABC 5.
“The defendant has made progress, but both mental and physical effects of the violent assault have continued to prevent him from being able to adequately participate in preparing his defense,” Tipton wrote in court papers seeking a postponement.
“He has made great effort to do so but at this time it is evident that the trauma resulting from the unexplained and sudden attack continues to significantly impact on his ability to work with his attorneys in a manner required as his complex trial approaches,” Tipton argued.
Prosecutors fought the delay, claiming there was no evidence to suggest he wasn’t mentally competent and noting Walshe was able to return to jail the same day he was shanked.
A hearing on Walshe’s fitness for trial has been set for Oct. 27. A new trial date has yet to be scheduled.
Walshe, of Cohasset, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, misleading an investigation and hiding the body of his wife, who was the mother of his three children.
He was captured on surveillance video buying a slew of items from Home Depot, including mops, brushes, splash guard goggles and a utility, which prosecutors claim he used to dispose of Ana’s body.
Investigators allegedly found a hacksaw with a bone fragment in a dumpster near Walshe’s mom’s home. And he is accused of using his son’s iPad to search how to dispose of a body on Google.
He also allegedly hired a private investigator to look into his suspicions that Ana had been cheating on him before she went missing. The duo had been having marital problems when Walshe landed on house arrest for allegedly selling fake Andy Warhol artworks.
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