Mass. Man Accused of Killing and Dismembering Realtor Wife Fit to Stand Trial: Judge By KC Baker

The Massachusetts man accused of killing and dismembering his wife sometime after New Year’s Day in 2023 has been deemed competent to stand trial, according to a state judge.

Brian Walshe, 50, is charged in connection with the murder of his wife, Ana, 39, and will now stand trial on Dec. 1, Judge Diane Freniere ruled on Friday, Nov. 14, per The Boston Globe, Boston.com and NBC Boston.

Ana, a successful real estate executive, vanished on Jan. 1, 2023, from her home in the affluent Boston suburb of Cohasset. She was first reported missing on Jan. 4 by her boss after she failed to show up to work in Washington, D.C.

Brian, her husband, pleaded not guilty to the murder charges subsequently filed against him.

This came after he was charged with misleading police during the investigation into Ana’s whereabouts — to which he also pleaded not guilty, PEOPLE previously reported.

His murder trial was supposed to begin in October of this year, but just before jury selection, Freniere ordered him to Bridgewater State Hospital to have his mental health evaluated, FOX News reported.

During the hour-long hearing on Friday, Freniere said she had received a comprehensive report from the hospital — which found that Brian is competent and ready to stand trial, per the outlet. He had also requested a change of venue for his trial, which the judge denied.

Questions about the man’s competency to stand trial arose on Sept. 11, after he was stabbed at the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Correctional Center in Dedham, MassLive reported.

His attorneys argued that the stabbing affected his mental health and ability to participate in his own legal proceedings, according to NBC Boston.

Brian “was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after the assault in one of the center’s housing units,” the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release following the attack. “He was returned to our facility overnight.”

The other person involved was “subdued by officers, and a makeshift blunt instrument was recovered,” according to the release.

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Previously, in Feb. 2024, Brian was sentenced to 37 months in prison and three years of supervised release in connection to “a years-long, multi-faceted art fraud scheme involving two purported Andy Warhol paintings,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said. 

He was also ordered to pay restitution of $475,000. 

In April 2021, he pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud, interstate transportation for a scheme to defraud and unlawful monetary transaction. 

His attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.