A New York defense attorney says accused murderer Brian Walshe is “dumb as dirt,” claiming that his internet search history could easily be what puts him behind bars.
Walshe was arraigned at Quincy District Court in Massachusetts on Wednesday, charged with murdering his wife Ana — who was reported missing on January 4 when she did not show up to work. Walshe was also charged with disinterment of a dead body without proper authority, as well as an earlier charge of misleading the police in their investigation.
During the arraignment, prosecutors read a list of shocking internet searches Walshe allegedly made using his son’s iPad — and according to defense attorney Mark Bederow, those searches could cause him problems on at least two fronts.
“If these allegations are true, it’s stunning how dumb as dirt this guy appears to be. It’s unbelievable,” Bederow told the New York Post, saying that the searches could be used as evidence that he had committed a crime even though authorities still had not found his wife’s body.
But in addition to being used as evidence that a crime was committed, Bederow said, the searches could be used to prove that Walshe was thinking clearly — thus making it far more difficult for him to use diminished mental capacity as a defense.
“His internet searches — as sick as they may be — are rational in a cogent thought type of way. There appears to be a lot of planning and it appears to be well thought out,” Bederow explained.
Among Walshe’s potentially damning alleged Google searches were the following:
- how to stop a body from decomposing
- how long before a body starts to smell
- how long does DNA last?
- dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body
- hacksaw best tool to dismember
- can you be charged with murder without a body?
- can you identify a body with broken teeth?
Former New York prosecutor — and current criminal defense attorney — Duncan Levin told the Post that while the case could certainly move forward without a body, the evidence against the alleged killer would likely be stronger if and when Ana Walshe’s body was found.
“It’s too early to tell what holes there may be in any of the evidence. Obviously from what we know, there is an extremely strong circumstantial case against Brian Walshe,” Levin said, adding, “Without the body, it’s not a slam-dunk case for the prosecution. If they find her body, the case will obviously become much more difficult for the defense to have a fighting chance.”