Those Internet searches made by Brian Walshe include terms such as “10 ways to dispose of a dead body” and “dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body,” prosecutors said in Quincy District Court.
Walshe was also denied bail during Wednesday’s hearing, after his lawyer asked for him to be released pending trial.
The 47-year-old was arrested Tuesday and formally charged Wednesday with the murder of his wife, Ana.
Ana Walshe, 39, worked in real estate before her disappearance from Cohasset, Mass., where she lived with her husband.
Brian Walshe is also charged with disinterring a body without authority and misleading police during the investigation. Detectives first questioned him Jan. 4 about her disappearance, when he told them she’d taken a flight to Washington.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Inside the courtroom Wednesday morning, prosecutors unveiled what they said are several Internet searches recovered from various family-owned electronic devices, including Brian Walshe’s phone.
Search terms included “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to” and “dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body,” which were among 11 other related searches conducted on New Year’s Day, prosecutors said.
Walshe then searched “Hacksaw best tool to dismember,” and “can you be charged with murder without a body,” the following day, prosecutors said. That was followed by a search for “what is the rate of decomposition of a body found in a plastic bag compared to on a surface in the woods,” Jan. 3.
On Dec. 27, Walshe searched “what’s the best state to divorce for a man,” Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Lynn Beland told the court.
“Rather than divorce, it is believed that Brian Walshe dismembered Ana Walshe and discarded her body,” Beland said.
Investigators recovered a hacksaw, cutting shears, a hatchet, and a COVID-19 vaccination card for Ana Walshe from a dumpster, which also had DNA from both husband and wife, authorities said.
Detectives said they found the items inside a dumpster at the apartment complex where Brian Walshe’s mother lives in Swampscott, Mass.
Earlier this month, police said they recovered a bloody knife from the family home.
Walshe shook his head as prosecutors went over the list. He only spoke once, replying, “Yes I do,” when asked by the judge if he understood the charges against him.
The next court hearing in the case is scheduled to take place remotely Feb. 9.