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Man who says he had affair with Ana Walshe takes the stand in her husband Brian’s murder trial
“We quickly became close friends, then confidants, and not before long started an intimate relationship,” William Fastow testified.
Cellphone records detail Brian Walshe’s locations and internet searches
Massachusetts State Trooper Connor Keefe, a digital cellphone forensic analyst, returned to the stand following the lunch break.
Keefe told prosecutors that he extracted data from an iPhone 13 mini and an iPhone SE. Both phones were registered to Diana Walshe, Brian’s mother, with a Swampscott address. The account holder pays for the phone.
However, investigators believe that Brian used both phones.
Between the two phones, there were 50,000-60,000 native locations tracked. During testimony, Keefe outlined specific locations to the jury.
iPhone SE, with phone number ending in #8028:
Jan. 1, 2023, at 5:07 p.m.: The Landing at Vinnin Square apartment complex, at 330 Paradise Road, Swampscott, MA (known to be Diana Walshe’s residence)
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Jan. 1, 2023, at 5:41 p.m.: Lowe’s Home Improvement in Danvers, MA
Jan. 1, 2023, at 6:24 p.m.: Parking lot of CVS in Danvers, MA
Jan 1, 2023, at 6:53 p.m.: Stop & Shop in Swampscott, MA
Jan. 1, 2023, at 8:31 p.m.: 516 Chief Justice Cushing Highway in Cohasset, MA (the Walshe residence)
Jan. 2, 2023, at 9:30 a.m.: HomeGoods TJ Maxx parking lot in Norwell, MA
Prosecutors then moved to native locations found on the iPhone 13 mini with a phone number ending in #8646. It was the phone number Brian primarily used.
Jan. 2, 2023, at 4:15 p.m.: Entrance of the parking lot of Home Depot in Rockland, MA
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Jan. 2, 2023, at 5:14 p.m.: The Derby Street Shops near Shake Shack in Hingham, MA
Jan. 2, 2023, at 6 p.m.: Stop & Shop Plaza in Cohasset, MA
Jan. 2, 2023, at 6:13 p.m.: Walgreens and Shaw’s plaza in Cohasset, MA
Jan. 3, 2023, at 4:30 p.m.: The Claremont Apartments in Abington, MA
Jan. 3, 2023, at 4:48 p.m.: The Point apartment complex in Abington, MA
Jan. 3, 2023, at 5:14 p.m.: Chatham West apartment complex in Brockton, MA
Jan. 4, 2023, at 9:44 a.m.: HomeGoods and TJ Maxx plaza in Norwell, MA
Jan. 4, 2023, at 12:47 p.m.: Walgreens and Shaw’s plaza in Cohasset, MA
Jan. 4, 2023, at 4:25 p.m.: Lowe’s Home Improvement in Weymouth, MA
Jan. 5, 2023 at 9:30 a.m.: The southeast corner of the Landing at Vinnin Square apartment complex near a large trash compactor in Swampscott, MA
Keefe said police were able to verify Brian’s locations using license plate readers. He was also able to distinguish the area near the trash compactor by comparing the location to a previous visit to the Swampscott complex, which showed him in a different location of the building.
Next, prosecutors brought up a report showcasing the Safari internet search history of the iPhone 13 mini, which investigators are tying to Brian.
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Keefe read out the search terms the user on the phone looked up:
Dec 25, 2022, at 11:52 a.m.: Check a flight JetBlue
Dec. 25, 2022, at 12:09 p.m.: William Fastow, DC real estate
Dec. 25, 2022, at 12:09 p.m.: William Fastow, DC real estate
Dec. 25, 2022, at 12:22 p.m.: Ana Walshe, Tishman Speyer
Dec. 25, 2022, at 12:28 p.m.: Christmas Day plane crash
Dec. 25, 2022, at 12:31 p.m.: Jeff Chod, Tishman Speyer
Dec. 25, 2022, at 12:45 p.m.: Ana Walshe found dead
Dec. 25, 2022, at 12:46 p.m.: Jeff Chod
Dec. 25, 2022, at 8:28 p.m.: Auto bond
Dec. 27, 2022, 6:57 a.m.: All my exes live in Texas (a song)
Dec. 29, 9:13 p.m.: Mazza building, Washington
Dec. 29, 2022, 9:15 p.m.: Mazza building, Washington, D.C.
Dec. 29, 2022, 9:15 p.m.: Crossing building, Washington, D.C.
Jan. 2, 2023, at 6:42 p.m.: I’m good
Jan. 3, 2023, at 11:25 a.m.: Washington D.C. police
Jan 3, 2023 at 7:23 p.m.: How to file a missing person’s report
Jan 3, 2023 7:27 p.m.: Washington, D.C. police department
Jan. 4, 2023, 10:11 a.m.: The crossing wash
Jan. 4, 2023, 10:14 a.m.: Mazza building, Washington, D.C.
Jan. 4, 2023 10:15 a.m.: Jeff Chod Tishman
Jan 4 2023 10:56 a.m.: Will Fastow (Different spelling)
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Jan 3, 2023 1:26 p.m.: Search from Apple Maps
Jan 4, 2023, 2:49 p.m.: I’m good
Keefe also outlined some webpages the phone user visited, including MGM Springfield Resorts.
Lastly, Keefe shared some text messages between Brian’s phone number and others, mostly asking about Ana’s whereabouts and wishing him and his family a Happy New Year.
Keefe will return to the stand Friday for cross-examination.
Prosecution calls up a slew of witnesses
The prosecution called Christopher Murphy, a salesperson at a painting company, to testify. He shared text messages showing photos of a hole in the ceiling of Brian Walshe’s bedroom and discussed repair work for him in early January 2023.
Prosecutors next called Susan Garland, owner of the Bar Method studio in Hingham Center. Garland said Ana Walshe took classes there four times a week before she moved to Washington, D.C. In December 2022, Ana attended classes three to four times that month.
Then prosecutors called Ashley Cimmino, a barre instructor at the studio. Cimmino knew Ana from her days at the Back Bay location. “She was always so warm,” Cimmino said.
On Dec. 31, 2022, Ana arrived about 10 minutes late to her 8:15 a.m. class in Hingham. Cimmino described the encounter as bittersweet because they hadn’t seen each other in more than a year. During the class, she said Ana was a “powerhouse” who could do pushups from the balls of her feet. Ana did not mention any injuries.
That same day, Janet Cotter ran into Ana at a nail salon in Hingham. She told jurors Ana was wearing yoga pants and a top and said she was looking forward to a special dinner with her husband in Marblehead the next day. Cotter had never met Ana before.
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Prosecutors then called Julie Basler, the former executive director of KinderCare in Norwell. She told jurors that all three Walshe children attended the center, with the oldest child moving on to public school by December 2022. She said Brian handled most drop-offs and pick-ups and usually made friendly small talk with the staff.
But on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4, she noticed a change. Basler said he seemed “in a rush” and that his demeanor changed.
Security footage is shown of an Abington apartment complex dumpster
Prosecutors called Sandra Hempel-Waldroup, the general manager of The Claremont apartment complex in Abington at 500 N. Quincy St. She explained that the complex has one driveway entrance for cars.
They then showed surveillance video from the front of the complex on Jan. 3, 2023, time-stamped 4:33 p.m. Hempel-Waldroup noted that the time could be off by about 20 minutes.
The video showed a Volvo, which appeared to be the one Brian Walshe drives, entering the driveway and heading toward the back of the building.
A second video showed the same car pulling up to a fenced-in dumpster and parking behind it. A man, visible only as a black silhouette, gets out with a trash bag, throws it into the bin, then returns to the car and drives away.
The video was taken on a Tuesday, and the trash was picked up the next day.
Cellphone records are brought to the forefront
Prosecutors called Massachusetts State Trooper Connor Keefe, a digital cellphone forensic analyst, to the stand.
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Keefe explains that a cellphone tower last got a notification from Ana Walshe’s phone on Jan. 7, 2023, in the area of 516 Chief Justice Cushing Highway, the Walshe residence in Cohasset.
The court adjourned for lunch.
William Fastow’s testimony continues
William Fastow, who said he had an intimate relationship with Ana Walshe, returned to the stand and confirmed that he shared text messages between the pair with law enforcement.
One picture they shared over text shows a toothbrush Ana gave him, with Cohasset Dental etched on it. Another showed Ana wearing a Gucci pendant necklace and a Cartier watch, which she frequently wore.
The last photo showed Ana, mutual friend Gem Mutlu, and one of her children on New Year’s Eve.
Fastow told prosecutors that he planned to have dinner with Ana on their return to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 4 to discuss their future together, including merging the two families, over the next 1, 3, 5, and 10 years.
The last text message exchange Fastow had with Ana was on New Year’s Eve, around the stroke of midnight, Eastern time, which included a Happy New Year’s message.
The following day, Fastow texted Ana a picture of him teaching one of his sons how to ski with a waving emoji. She did not respond.
Fastow tried calling her on his cell, then tried using a landline, thinking she might have blocked him. All of the calls went straight to voicemail.
On the morning of Jan. 4, Fastow said he received an unexpected call from Brian Walshe. Fastow pushed it to voicemail, thinking he was calling to confront him about the affair.
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Brian called again a few hours later and left a voice message, which prosecutors played out in court.
Brian told Fastow that Ana was missing and asked, “Was wondering if you spoke to her recently?,” saying he was “calling everyone” but “I’m sure everything is fine.”
Fastow said he immediately callsed Brian back and offered to stop by the townhouse to see if she was there. Brian provided him with the garage passcode. Fastow saw no car and no signs of Ana and reported that back to Brian. He returned later that day, but nothing changed.
During cross-examination, Kelli Porges, on behalf of Brian, confronted Fastow about their relationship.
“We were both at very vulnerable times in our lives,” Fastow said, as to why their relationship moved quickly.
Fastow was dealing with a separation that later became a divorce, and Ana was dealing with “substantial legal trouble.”
Porges noted that on social media, Fastow never openly commented on Ana’s posts with “flirtatious” messages and did not post pictures of the two together.
She pressed Fastow on whether Ana had ever told him she believed Brian was suspicious of the affair, and he said no.
Porges also noted that when they socialized together, it was always with Fastow’s friends or with work colleagues who did not know Brian. He never socialized with Ana and her friends or even their mutual friend Mutlu.
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Fastow said he was unsure whether Mutlu knew of their intimate relationship before Ana’s disappearance, but that he certainly knew afterward because he told him.
Fastow told jurors that he sold the townhouse to Ana for $1.3 million and said there was a mortgage on it.
Porges asked Fastow whether there were any plans for Ana to tell Brian about the affair during her trip home for Christmas.
In response, he said, “There was no plan that I was aware of.”
The court recessed for its morning break.
William Fastow, the man with whom Ana Walshe had an affair, takes the stand
Prosecutors called William Fastow, a Washington, D.C., real estate broker who says he had an affair with Ana Walshe, to the stand.
Fastow told jurors he met Ana through a mutual friend, Gem Mutlu, and helped her buy a townhome on 43rd Street in Northwest D.C. The sale closed in March 2022, and the deed was in Ana’s name.
After the purchase, Fastow said he stayed in close contact with her.
“We quickly became close friends, then confidants, and not before long started an intimate relationship,” he said.
At the time, Fastow was separated from his wife and shared custody of his children.
He described a relationship in which they discussed personal issues, went on dates, and spent time with each other’s friends. He said Ana worked out frequently and that they often did yoga together. He did not hide the relationship.
The two spoke daily through texts and Instagram messages. Ana told Fastow that her children were living in Massachusetts with their father, Brian Walshe, because his home confinement required him to be their primary caregiver.
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“Initially, she felt it was something necessary for her to get through,” Fastow said. “But as time went on, it deeply upset her and at times she was even despondent about it.”
Fastow said Ana felt “troubled,” “concerned,” and “deeply disappointed that she wasn’t the mother the children deserved.”
He also said Ana went to great lengths to prepare the D.C. townhome for her children, furnishing the bedrooms and buying clothes and other items for them.
Ana told Fastow she felt she had to tell Brian about the affair herself, saying it would be a “strike against her integrity if he found out a different way.”
Fastow said Ana was the family’s primary breadwinner. One night, after reviewing credit card statements, she found numerous charges Brian made for sports memorabilia for a business, which upset her, he said.
By July 2022, their relationship had become serious, according to Fastow. They planned a Thanksgiving trip to Dublin, flying there together on Nov. 23 or 24 and returning on Nov. 27. From Dublin, Ana flew to Belgrade via Paris, and Fastow returned to Washington.
They also spent Christmas Eve together, dining with his friends at a yacht club in Annapolis before returning to D.C. to spend the night at his home. On Christmas morning, he learned Ana’s flight was delayed or canceled. She later told him she had driven back to Massachusetts that same day.
Ana told Fastow she got into an argument with Brian about returning late on Christmas.
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“The biggest stressor was his inability to resolve his criminal case and the fact that she couldn’t be with her children and bring them back to Washington, D.C.,” Fastow said. “And the fact that it was holding up her life.”
Fastow and Ana planned to meet again in D.C. on Jan. 4 after he returned from a trip to Idaho with his children.
Fastow told prosecutors he voluntarily handed over his text messages with Ana. The court recessed Thursday morning as lawyers discussed the messages.
Sentencing update
Norfolk Superior Court Judge Diane Freniere said she will not sentence on the two lesser charges until after the trial, saying the outcome of whether he is found guilty or not guilty of murder will influence the sentencing.
Livestream via NBC10 Boston.
On Wednesday afternoon, Massachusetts State Police forensic scientist Davis Gould took the stand in the Brian Walshe murder trial at Norfolk Superior Court, describing the evidence investigators pulled, in part, from a dumpster outside Walshe’s mother’s apartment in Swampscott.
Photos shown to jurors revealed a trail of items stained with what appeared to be blood — a splattered carpet, men’s outdoor slippers soaked through, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, a Tyvek suit, and an array of tools, including a hammer, wire snips, a hatchet, and a hacksaw streaked with red-brown stains.
Walshe is standing trial for allegedly killing his wife, Ana, on New Year’s Day 2023. Prosecutors say he then dismembered her body and tossed her remains in dumpsters around the region, including the one near his mother’s home. Investigators never found her body.
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In the days after her disappearance, they say Walshe repeatedly misled police as searches stretched from the couple’s Cohasset neighborhood to Washington, D.C., where Ana worked.
During opening statements, Walshe’s attorney, Larry Tipton, argued that Walshe found Ana suddenly dead after a night of New Year’s celebrations — and then spiraled into a panic.
On Nov. 18, just before jury selection began, Walshe pleaded guilty to two charges — misleading police and improperly removing or concealing a body. He still faces a first-degree murder charge. Sentencing on the lesser charges will come later.
At the end of the day Wednesday, prosecutors did not say who would appear next on the witness stand. However, it is possible that William Fastow, the man with whom Ana had an affair, will come next.
During some housekeeping on Wednesday, the court discussed paring down the evidence of text messages between Fastow and Ana.
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