A pretrial conference was held Thursday morning in the murder case against Brian Walshe — the Cohasset, Massachusetts, man accused of killing his wife, Ana.
Walshe did not appear during Thursday's hearing — his appearance was waived by his attorney. The conference was a discovery hearing, where both the Commonwealth and the defense gave updates on the evidence-gathering process.
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A prosecutor said that attorneys for both sides of the case recently had a conference call with a private lab called Bode, which the state sent about a dozen samples to. A number of those samples were said to be "quality limited," and testing was stopped. An expert for the defense is expected to visit the lab for a viewing.
The Commonwealth added that the state crime lab has completed its criminalistics, although attorneys have not yet received a final report.
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Prosecutors will select some samples to be tested at the state lab.
Walshe's attorney said they expected to have "everything" by the end of the year — another status conference was scheduled for Jan. 23. Walshe's appearance was already waived for that date, as well.
An August court hearing in the case of Walshe, who is charged with murdering his wife Ana Walshe, was postponed for two months because prosecutors said they were still awaiting DNA analysis from an independent laboratory. They have not said what DNA was being tested.
Regardless, that evidence could be key to the prosecution's case in a murder trial that has received national and even international atention -- Ana Walshe was born in Serbia, where locals have been closely watching the case.
NBC10 Boston Legal analyst Michael Coyne said earlier this month that the DNA is especially important because investigators never found Ana Walshe’s body. Not only do prosecutors have to prove that he murdered his wife, they also have to prove that she’s dead, he said.
“A bone fragment in and of itself doesn’t prove death necessarily," Coyne said. "It proves she may have been injured, but they’re trying to prove first-degree murder."
Ana Walshe, a 39-year-old mother of three from Cohasset, was initially reported missing by her husband, who said she'd left early the morning of New Year's Day. But days later, after a search that included parts of Washington, D.C., where she worked for a major realty company, Brian Walshe was arrested on charges of misleading police. He was later charged with murder and has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
In the expansive search for her body, law enforcement eventually found in a dumpster near his mother's house pieces of clothes and jewelry that Brian Walshe said she was wearing when she left their house early New Year's Day, along with a hacksaw and a bone fragment, prosecutors have said.
They also have alleged that Brian Walshe suspected Ana of having an affair. His mother had hired a private investigator into her, they said.
The last activity in the case outside of court came back in August, when a tip from two people prompted a police search of a wooded area in Peabody. Authorities later said the search yielded nothing.
Brian Walshe has waived his right to attend Thursday's hearing and is not expected to appear in court.
