Owner of home where Ana Walshe was allegedly killed is suing Brian Walshe’s mother

The owner of the Cohasset home where Brian Walshe allegedly killed and dismembered his wife, Ana, is suing Walshe’s mother for $400,000, claiming the purported murder and subsequent police investigation damaged and “psychologically impacted” the property. 

Homeowner Peter Capozzoli filed his lawsuit against Diana Walshe last year in Norfolk Superior Court, as The Patriot Ledger first reported. He’s also suing the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association for $400,000, claiming it wrongfully denied him coverage. 

According to Capozzoli’s complaint, Diana Walshe — a Swampscott resident — signed a six-month lease on the Chief Justice Cushing Highway property in March 2022 and later extended the lease through February 2023. Walshe allegedly told Capozzoli she planned to live there with her son Brian, daughter-in-law Ana, and their three children while she recovered from an illness. 

Cut to January 2023, when Ana Walshe’s disappearance made national headlines after she was last seen alive early on New Year’s Day. Authorities soon accused Brian Walshe of foul play, citing a long list of suspect Google searches he allegedly made in the hours after his wife vanished. 

Brian Walshe also allegedly purchased hundreds of dollars of cleaning products and hardware supplies in the days that followed, including a hacksaw and hatchet. Investigators purportedly located some of Ana Walshe’s belongings in a Swampscott dumpster and found blood and a bloody, damaged knife in the basement of the Cohasset house. 

The alleged murder “caused blood and other human remains to contaminate the home, including the Walshes’ bedroom, [(]where the murder apparently took place) and the basement (where apparently the dismemberment and disposal took place),” Capozzoli’s lawsuit claims.

The homeowner said he had to bring in a company that specializes in murder and crime scene decontamination, “at substantial expense.” He also claims the criminal investigation further damaged the property, with investigators’ use of the blood-detecting chemical luminol allegedly staining the walls, mattresses, furniture, toilets, sinks, and showers. 

“In addition to these tangible damages to the Property, because of the widely publicized murder committed in the Property by [Diana] Walshe’s son, the Property has now been psychologically impacted, which has substantially decreased its potential rental and sale values,” Capozzoli asserted. 

Months after Ana Walshe’s disappearance, Capozzoli said he was unable to rent the property and anticipated repairs and renovations would leave the home “idle and unoccupied” for even longer, according to the lawsuit. 

In her response, Diana Walshe denied ever living at the Cohasset property and said she wasn’t listed as a guarantor. If Capozzoli sustained the damages alleged in his complaint, “such damages were caused by acts over which [Diana Walshe] had neither control nor any reason to anticipate or foresee,” her response reads. 

Walshe also filed a counterclaim, alleging the property didn’t comply with the Massachusetts Sanitary Code and was “filled with mold” when her family moved in. The Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association, meanwhile, filed a response claiming it acted in good faith and asserting its policy excludes “governmental action.”

A lawyer for MPIUA declined to comment on the case, and lawyers for the other two parties did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday morning.

Abby Patkin

Staff Writer

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between.

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