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Prosecution rests in Brian Walshe murder trial after friends of Ana give emotional testimony
Gem Mutlu, a friend of the couple and the last person, other than Brian, to see Ana alive, and Alissa Kirby, Ana's friend in Washington, D.C., took the witness stand Wednesday.
Prosecution rests in the Brian Walshe murder trial
Details of Brian Walshe’s movements in the days after Ana’s death continue
Prosecutors showed surveillance footage of Brian Walshe buying cleaning supplies, including two 12-pound bags of baking soda (later found on the red-stained carpets collected in the trash) and orange buckets, at Home Depot in Rockland on Jan. 2, 2023, at 4:15 p.m.
Other footage showed what appeared to be his car parking behind the Chatham West Brockton Apartments the following day, on Jan. 3 at 5:11 p.m. A man grabs something from the trunk, throws it in a trash bin, and then leaves.
Lastly, a video showed Walshe entering a TJ Maxx in Norwell on Jan. 4 at 9:44 a.m. and buying a belt, a pair of pants, and socks.
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Ana Walshe’s D.C. ‘best friend‘ gives emotional testimony
In emotional testimony on Wednesday, Ana Walshe’s “new best friend” from Washington, D.C., told jurors that the typically “happy,” “joyful,” and “strong” mother was nearing a “breaking point” in the days before and after Christmas 2022.
Alissa Kirby met Ana through her brother shortly after Ana moved to the D.C. area toward the beginning of 2022, and the two quickly became inseparable.
“We clicked like sisters,” Kirby said.
They lived just five minutes apart and saw each other about once a week.
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Kirby told jurors that Ana confided in her about a “crush” on William Fastow, the man who sold her the townhome — and said that Ana had even told Brian about it.
But Kirby said Ana never told her that the relationship became intimate.
On Christmas Day 2022, Kirby got an unexpected call from Brian. She picked up, surprised he was reaching out. Brian said he hadn’t heard from Ana and was trying to find her. Believing Ana was already in Cohasset, Kirby offered to stop by the house, but before she could leave, Brian texted to say he’d finally reached her.
Hours later, as Ana drove north to Massachusetts, she called Kirby. She sounded “angry” and “upset,” Kirby said, frustrated that Brian had contacted her only a few hours after she talked to him.
The friends planned to meet again on Dec. 29 in Washington, D.C.
Kirby said the night began at a bar across the street from their homes and ended at a karaoke and dance spot — but the conversations between them were heavy. Ana’s demeanor, she said, was unlike anything she had seen before. “She really hit a breaking point,” Kirby told the jury.
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Through bouts of tears, Kirby recounted how Ana was overwhelmed by her relationship with Brian, the distance from her children, and the delays in Brian’s federal art fraud sentencing. “She really wanted to be with her kids,” Kirby said. “Their marriage had been strained for a long time.”
Kirby said she had never seen her friend so distressed. Ana told her she wanted Brian to take responsibility for the fraud case, even if that meant jail time. She also said Brian called her several times a day and that the constant back-and-forth between Washington, D.C., and Cohasset was becoming physically and emotionally exhausting.
“There was a lot on her mind, body, soul, and spirit,” Kirby said. “Emotionally, she had to be the strong one. It was very draining for her.”
During the evening, Ana told Kirby that Brian’s mother had gone to a psychic, who claimed Ana was having an affair.
Kirby said Ana thought it was “ridiculous” that her mother-in-law did that and added that Brian’s mom didn’t like her, calling it “scary.” Ana said she felt Brian’s mother never liked her and never “wanted her in the picture.”
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Prosecutors showed a photo of Ana and Kirby together on Dec. 29, 2022, which brought Kirby to tears.
Kirby said the last time she communicated with Ana was just after midnight on New Year’s Day.
On Jan. 2, 2023, Kirby received a text from Brian asking if she had heard from Ana. She replied that she was sick and hadn’t, suggesting Ana was probably busy working.
On Jan. 4, Kirby texted Brian to ask if he had heard from Ana. When he responded, “No, they’re looking for her at work now,” she became scared that something was wrong.
She later had a few phone calls with Brian, including one with his mother, whom she described as “pretty combative.”
During cross-examination, Kelli Porges, on behalf of Walshe, asked if Ana had ever told her she loved Brian. Kirby said Ana told her that Brian often asked her how much she loved him.
However, recently, Ana said, “Not so much,” because of everything that had happened. Ana told her she “was falling out of love.”
At the end of the testimony, the prosecution rested its case.
Defense files a Lattimore standard motion
Larry Tipton, on behalf of Walshe, filed a Lattimore standard motion, saying that the commonwealth failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove first-degree murder against his client.
Judge Diane Freniere denied the motion.
Prosecutors call Brian Walshe’s probation officer to the stand
Prosecutors called Brian Walshe’s probation officer in the federal art fraud case, Marlenny Ramdehal, to the stand.
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Ramdehal told the jury that she met with Walshe once every 60 days, either at her office or at his home. She explained that Walshe was in home confinement, limiting his movement in the community. Walshe needed her approval to leave the residence.
The only reasons Walshe could leave would be for “necessities” such as employment, education, religion, health care, grocery shopping, banking, grooming, or similar needs.
Each Thursday, Walshe would email Ramdehal a requested schedule for the following week. He did not have permission to leave the state.
Here is the schedule Ramdehal outlined for Walshe. Recurring means it is automatically submitted for Monday through Friday.
Schedule:
Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023:
3:00-9:00 p.m.: Return his mother to her home after surgery.
Monday, Jan. 2, 2023:
8:00-10:30 a.m.: Recurring schedule to drop his children off at school
3:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.: Recurring schedule to pick his children up from school
3:53 p.m.: Unauthorized leave (in a phone call, Brian told her he was picking up his children)
(Prosecutors noted that it was a holiday)
Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023:
8:00-10:30 a.m.: Recurring schedule to drop his children off at school
3:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.: Recurring schedule to pick his children up from school
7:50-8:20 p.m.: To take the trash out (because it was not attached to the property)
Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023:
8:00-10:30 a.m.: Recurring schedule to drop his children off at school
11-1:30 p.m.: Recurring groceries
3:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.: Recurring schedule to pick his children up from school
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Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023:
8:00-10:30 a.m.: Recurring schedule to drop his children off at school
10:15 to 1:30 p.m.: Pass to help his mother with some errands
3:45 to 6:15 p.m.: Recurring schedule to pick his children up from school
Contacted her to inform her of law enforcement contact, which was required by the conditions of his release, and to notify her that his wife, Ana, was missing.
Also asked permission for the following:
Wednesday: Jan. 11:
1:30-3:15 p.m. Haircut appointment
Thursday, Jan. 12:
10:30-3:15 p.m. To meet with his probate attorney
Prosecutors asked if Walshe submitted a request to go to a restaurant on Jan. 1, 2023, but he did not. It was also not an allowable place to go. He was not allowed to go to any places that were not previously approved stops.
Close family friend Gem Mutlu undergoes voir dire questioning
Prosecutors opened Wednesday’s proceedings without the jury by bringing family friend Gem Mutlu to the stand, where he recounted a Dec. 29, 2022, phone call with Ana Walshe — just days before she disappeared.
During voir dire, Mutlu detailed his conversation with Ana during the 45-minute phone call. He recalled Ana telling him that the back-and-forth travel between D.C. and Cohasset, not being able to see her children, and Brian’s inability to leave Massachusetts were taking a toll.
Mutlu said it was all “a huge burden on her psyche.”
He also recalled a picture he took with Ana on New Year’s Eve, where he recalls her saying she was sending it to Will Fastow (the man who alleges he had an affair with her).
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The defense objected to the characterizations and hearsay statements Mutlu made about the conversation.
Judge calls in the jury, testimony of Mutlu begins
During emotional testimony, Mutlu described how his close professional and personal relationship with the Walshe family began in 2020.
Mutlu, a Boston-based Realtor for more than 25 years, first met Brian during a leadership program run by Boston Breakthrough Academy. During the program, Brian approached Mutlu about partnering — a request Ana had made due to a mutual friend.
Mutlu later met Ana at one of the program’s graduation ceremonies, and they quickly connected. Their relationship grew to the point where Mutlu hired her as his team’s director of operations in the summer of 2020.
Ana worked for him until the spring of 2022, when she left to take a new job in Washington, D.C.
When they worked together, they communicated almost every day, often multiple times.
Mutlu described the Walshe family by saying, “I saw them as my own.”
Mutlu’s real estate firm sold a few properties on behalf of the Walshe family, including a family residence in Marblehead and an investment property in Revere. The sale of the Revere property happened around Dec. 29, 2022.
After the sale closed, Mutlu recalled calling Ana to congratulate her and learned that Ana planned to reinvest the proceeds in a 1031 exchange. A 1031 exchange lets real estate investors defer capital gains taxes when they sell an investment property and reinvest the proceeds in a new property of equal or greater value. Mutlu described a 180-day deadline.
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It was during this conversation that Mutlu told prosecutors he had made plans for New Year’s Eve.
He remembered Ana specifically telling him, “Please, please come and spend New Year’s with us.”
Mutlu did not detail any marital problems due to objections from the defense.
The next time Mutlu saw Ana was Dec. 31 at their rental house in Cohasset, arriving at around 8:30 p.m. He recalled Ana running out of the house to greet him.
Becoming emotional, he said, “I was still pulling up the driveway when she came running out of the house with no coat on. It was freezing.”
Mutlu said he opened the car door, they hugged, and then she showed him inside. Brian was inside, and the three children were sleeping. He took a seat on a stool at the kitchen island next to Ana while Brian cooked.
Early in the evening, the Walshes’ eldest son joined them.
“He ran to me,” Mutlu said. He recalled their eldest son saying, “Gem, I haven’t seen you in a while. I miss you.”
The two hugged.
On the stand, Mutlu began to cry.
As the evening progressed, Mutlu told prosecutors that the eldest son stayed for about 30 minutes, giving him a necklace, and that Ana was texting friends, at one point taking a picture of Mutlu and herself to send to their mutual friend William Fastow.
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During the night, the three of them signed a champagne box.
Mutlu read out the messages:
“Wow! 2022 … What a year! And yet, we are still here and together! Let’s make 2023 the best one yet. We are the authors of our lives… Courage, love, perseverance, compassion & joy. Love, Ana.”
“To the best triumvirate ever! Brian.”
“No place I’d rather be than here. NYE 2022. Gem.”
During the conversations, Brian told Mutlu that he earned about $50,000 to $60,000 in 2022, while Ana earned roughly $300,000, including bonuses, from her job.
There were no visible problems between the husband and wife, Mutlu testified.
At one point, Brian said he had misplaced his phone, and Mutlu recalled that he said, “It felt refreshing to be away from the phone for a little while.”
Then, not wanting to overstay his welcome, Mutlu left at around 1:30 a.m.
At no point did Mutlu hear anything about Ana having a work emergency.
The following day, in a group text message to Ana and Brian, Mutlu texted that he loved his new necklace. In a response, Brian said he found his phone and responded.
The next time that Mutlu spoke with Brian was during a phone call on Jan. 4.
Brian asked Mutlu if he had heard from Ana. Mutlu responded, “What do you mean?” Brian told him she was missing. Mutlu asked, “How could she be missing?”
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Brian explained that she left a few hours after Mutlu left their home because of a work emergency.
“I was incredulous — what work emergency could there be on New Year’s Eve?” Mutlu asked. “Did you guys have an argument or something? Did you have a fight?”
Brian replied, “No. Did it look like we had an argument? You were there.”
Mutlu told Brian to notify the police and reach out to friends to find her.
He told prosecutors that Brian’s tone during the call was “even keeled” and “not panicked.”
Defense brings up more details during cross-examination
Mutlu told jurors that during the leadership program, Brian helped raise about $160,000 for Spoonfuls, a nonprofit that redistributes healthy food that would otherwise go to waste, feeding roughly 100,000 children.
After Ana began working for him, Mutlu said they spoke often. He described how Ana would visit his South End home, bringing pastries to discuss strategy and talk.
At the time, Mutlu was not married, and Brian did not object to their close relationship.
Mutlu called Ana his “right hand,” describing her as an “exceptional employee and friend.”
In the fall of 2021, Mutlu said he and Ana disagreed, and he told her to take some paid time off.
He admitted he felt sad when Ana accepted the job in Washington, D.C., and he even met the couple at their home to talk about it. Brian told him, “You’ve got to support her.”
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During the federal art fraud case, Kelli Porges, on behalf of Walshe, noted that Mutlu attended the hearings to support the couple. He recalled that Brian’s mother, Diana, also participated with family friends.
Mutlu said that during a judge’s declaration, Ana clenched his hand. “It was a very tense moment,” he said.
Porges suggested that Diana saw the interaction and was upset, but Mutlu was not allowed to respond. She also asked about Ana’s comment about having a “crush” on Mutlu, which he could not recall.
Porges further questioned whether Mutlu knew about Ana’s romantic relationship with Fastow, which he did not.
During cross-examination, Mutlu clarified that when he described people as “complex,” he was referring to the Dec. 29 phone call in which Ana mentioned there were “cracks in the relationship.”
Livestream via NBC10 Boston.
Before jurors enter the courtroom in the Brian Walshe murder trial on Wednesday, Gem Mutlu, a close family friend of the Walshes and the last person besides Brian to see Ana alive during New Year’s 2023, is expected to undergo voir dire questioning.
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 one near his mother’s home. Investigators never found her body.
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.
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During opening statements, Walshe 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 after the trial.
Tipton, in his opening statement, outlined jovial celebrations during New Year’s Eve into the early hours of New Year’s Day at the Walshe residence, where Mutlu, a Boston-based real estate broker, joined the couple for dinner and drinks.
Tipton said the friends signed the outside of a champagne box, with Ana writing, “Let’s make 2023 the best one yet.”
Meanwhile, Norfolk District Attorney Chief Trial Counsel Gregory Connor told jurors that when Mutlu left the Walshes’ home in the early hours of New Year’s Day, Ana was alive.
“No one has seen her since,” Connor said. “Her husband said she left on Jan. 1. She has not accessed her finances, her email, her phone has made no calls, and no one has found her body.”
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