Wednesday marked day three of the murder trial against Brian Walshe, 50, who is accused of killing his wife Ana, who was last seen in early 2023.
Jurors were presented with photos of tools investigators found at a recycling and trash center in Peabody, including a hammer, hacksaw, and a hatchet. They were shown a picture of a stained bathrobe and a photo of soiled slippers, both with reddish, brown-colored stains, as well as a Tyvek suit.
“A Tyvek suit is typically a piece of personal protective equipment that one would wear to protect themselves from anything they might be working with,” said David Gould, who works in the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab.
Gould testified about the items he analyzed after investigators uncovered them from mounds of trash.
Walshe’s defense attorney pushed back, questioning Gould about what his findings really prove.
“There’s no way for you to be able to tell a jury, with regard to this specific case, how exactly some of this red, brown stain of biological evidence actually came to be on any piece of evidence?” asked Larry Tipton.
Gould replied, “Correct. I cannot say the manor of deposition, I can only confirm its presence.”
Gould was the twelfth witness to take the stand Wednesday.
He followed officials from Lyft and Uber, who both said their records show Ana Walshe never took a rideshare to the airport on January 1, 2023 as Brian Walshe claimed.
A Jetblue representative, who is also the son of late Boston Mayor Tom Menino, explained Ana had a flight booked from Boston to Washington D.C. on January 3, but did not show up.
The defense used Wednesday to chip away at the troubling online searched prosecutors presented Tuesday, saying they were taken out of context.
Prosecutors argue Walshe was motivated in part by money, and killed his wife to cash in on her life insurance policies. The prosecution called Insurance Broker Mark Selvaggi to the stand, who sold Ana two policies in 2021 which were worth more than $1 million.
“Who is the beneficiary of that policy?” a prosecutor asked Selvaggi. He replied, “Brian Walshe.”
Defense attorneys then pushed back on Selvaggi about the health assessment Ana had to go through in order to get those policies, since they claim Ana passed away from a sudden, unexplained death.
Attorney Kelly Porges asked Selvaggi if there was any type of analysis done on Ana’s lungs, heart capacity, or neurological system. Selvaggi responded that he did not know.
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