BOSTON (Court TV) — A Massachusetts man accused of killing his missing wife has been sentenced to 37 months in prison in a separate case.
Brian Walshe, 49, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $475,000 after previously pleading guilty in a federal art fraud case.
FILE – Brian Walshe enters the courtroom for his arraignment, April 27, 2023, in Dedham, Mass. Walshe, a Massachusetts man charged with killing his wife, was sentenced Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, to more than three years in jail over an unrelated art fraud case involving the sale of two fake Andy Warhol paintings. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool, File)
In 2016, Walshe sold two fake Andy Warhol paintings in an eBay listing claiming they were authentic. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud, interstate transportation for a scheme to defraud and unlawful monetary transaction, states a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts.
Walshe, who is also the prime suspect in his wife’s presumed murder, was awaiting sentencing when Ana Walshe was last seen on Jan. 1, 2023. Prosecutors claim he killed Ana after discovering she was having an affair.
Ana was last seen that New Year’s Eve during a dinner with her husband and a mutual friend. Investigators say Walshe killed Ana that night and spent the following days concealing the crime, including making a fake ransom note. Court documents obtained by Court TV reveal surveillance images tracking Walshe’s movements at local improvement stores. The documents also detail internet search history from his cellphone that include “how long before a body starts to smell” and “dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body.”
Walshe has pleaded not guilty to one charge of first-degree murder, one count of misleading a police officer and one count of conveyance of a human body. His murder case is due back in court March 4.
