Massachusetts
New details emerge in case of Massachusetts man charged with dismembering his wife
(CNN) — A Massachusetts father accused of killing and dismembering his spouse was ordered held with out bail Thursday, practically 5 months after the disappearance of Ana Walshe.
Brian Walshe, 48, shook his head as his homicide cost was learn aloud in Norfolk Superior Courtroom. He pleaded not responsible to the fees of homicide, deceptive police, and improper conveyance of a human physique.
Shortly after Walshe pleaded not responsible, Norfolk Assistant District Legal professional Greg Connor outlined a spate of recent particulars from the investigation.
Amongst them: “In December 2022, it had develop into evident that Mr. Walshe was suspecting his spouse of getting an affair,” Connor mentioned in court docket.
“He was routinely visiting the Instagram web page of certainly one of her male pals. And on December twenty sixth, his mom — along with his enter and course — obtained and employed a personal investigator to surveil Ana Walshe in Washington DC.”
Prosecutors haven’t mentioned whether or not Ana Walshe’s physique or stays have been discovered.
The suspect’s protection lawyer, Tracy Miner, has recommended the prosecutors’ case was not robust and accused them of leaking proof to the media earlier than making it obtainable to her.
“In my expertise, the place, as right here, the prosecution leaks so referred to as proof to the press earlier than they supply it to me, their case is not that robust,” Miner mentioned in a January assertion. “After they have a powerful case, they offer me every thing as quickly as potential.”
The protection lawyer added: “I cannot be giving any media interviews or feedback. I intend to win this case in court docket, not within the media, which has already tried and convicted Mr. Walshe.”
However the prosecution says a number of items of proof help the fees in opposition to Brian Walshe — together with Google searches about dismemberment and disposing of lifeless our bodies in addition to bloody gadgets that had the DNA of each Brian and Ana Walshe.
In Massachusetts, a first-degree homicide conviction carries a compulsory sentence of life in jail with out the potential for parole, the district lawyer mentioned.
‘Ten methods to eliminate a lifeless physique if you actually need to’
Ana Walshe was reported lacking by her employer on January 4.
A Norfolk County prosecutor detailed a few of Brian Walshe’s alleged on-line searches within the days earlier than and after his spouse’s disappearance.
“Moderately than divorce, it’s believed that Brian Walshe dismembered Ana Walshe and discarded her physique,” prosecutor Lynn Beland mentioned on the suspect’s January arraignment.
On December 27 — a couple of days earlier than the mom disappeared — the husband allegedly searched on Google: “What’s the most effective state to divorce for a person?”
After Ana Walshe disappeared, Brian Walshe allegedly Google searched phrases comparable to “Ten methods to eliminate a lifeless physique if you actually need to,” “dismemberment and the most effective methods to eliminate a physique,” “are you able to be charged with homicide with out a physique,” and “are you able to determine a physique with damaged enamel,” the prosecutor mentioned.
A hacksaw, a hatchet and Ana Walshe’s purse
Surveillance video captured Brian Walshe tossing heavy luggage into dumpsters in Abington and in Swampscott, Beland mentioned. Mobile phone knowledge confirmed the husband visited a dumpster close to his mom’s residence in Swampscott, the prosecutor mentioned.
The baggage in Abington had been destroyed by the point police positioned them, Beland mentioned.
However she mentioned the trash luggage in Swampscott have been present in a group web site in Peabody and contained blood stains, cleansing tools, a hacksaw, a hatchet, a Prada purse carried by Ana Walshe and her Covid-19 vaccination card.
The state crime lab examined a number of the bloody gadgets within the luggage and located DNA from Ana and Brian Walshe, Beland mentioned.
‘A superb businesswoman’ and ‘supermom’
Ana Walshe, 39, labored for an actual property agency primarily based in Washington, DC.
She was “an absolute radiant spirit, the type of individual that while you stroll right into a room, you simply really feel her vitality,” her good friend Pamela Bardhi advised CNN.
“She’s a superb businesswoman and what I wish to name a supermom.”
The mom of three younger kids would journey from Cohasset to DC throughout the week for her actual property job at Tishman Speyer after which return residence on weekends, Bardhi mentioned.
“She has been an influence lady and only a businesswoman, so long as I’ve identified her,” Bardhi mentioned. “She by no means actually talked about her husband a lot. It was all about her children and enterprise and elevation and the way she may assist different individuals.”
The couple’s three kids have been positioned within the custody of the Massachusetts Division of Kids and Households, a spokesperson mentioned. Two of Ana Walshe’s pals, together with Bardhi, mentioned a number of native households had provided to absorb the youngsters to allow them to stay collectively.
On the time of her disappearance, the mom of three had an actual property portfolio price practically $2 million, in line with CNN’s evaluation of publicly obtainable paperwork.
She owned a minimum of 4 residential properties, in line with property evaluation data and tax data in Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington, DC. Her husband was not listed as proprietor or co-owner of any of the properties.
Property data examined by CNN embrace these in each her married identify and the identify she used earlier than marrying Brian Walshe, Ana Knipp, however is probably not an exhaustive image of her actual property holdings.
Massachusetts
Thursday’s six biggest high school takeaways, including a Gatorade award and a new all-time leading scorer in Saugus – The Boston Globe
While Newton North claimed its third straight Division 1 championship in the fall, on Thursday Sasha Selivan became the first Tiger to be named Gatorade Massachusetts Volleyball Player of the Year.
“Sasha is in a league of her own as far as Massachusetts’ setters go,” said Bishop Feehan coach Heidi Bruschi. “No one else I’ve seen comes close.”
The 5-foot-9-inch sophomore led the Tigers to a 24-1 record with 673 assists, 133 digs, and 115 kills. In the Division 1 final, a 3-0 win over Brookline, she recorded 26 assists and four aces. Selivan is ranked as the nationals’ No. 128 player in the Class of 2027, according to PrepVolleyball, and was the Division 1 tournament MVP and a Division 1 All-State selection.
She maintains an A average in the classroom and volunteers locally as a youth volleyball coach and mentor.
2. DiBiasio keeps scoring for Saugus
While Saugus assistant coach Norma Waggett watched, junior Peyton DiBiasio broke her coach’s all-time program scoring record by netting 27 points to surpass the mark of 1,100 Waggett set in 2013. Saugus lost, 51-40, to Minuteman to fall to 5-2.
3. On to college
In Danvers, St. John’s Prep announced 18 college commitments across eight sports:
Football
Merrick Barlow (Newburyport) to Naval Academy
Graham Roberts (Swampscott) to Harvard
Baseball
Will Shaheen (Portsmouth, N.H.) to Harvard
Nic Lembo (Danvers) to High Point
Lacrosse
Charlie Angell (Winchester) to Pennsylvania
Ryan DeLucia (Winchester) to Georgetown
Luke Kelly (Marblehead) to Michigan
Cameron McCarthy (Marblehead) to Loyola Maryland
JP Sullivan (Swampscott) to Saint Anselm
Jack Weissenburger (Marblehead) to Harvard
Sam Wilmot (Topsfield) to Richmond
Golf
Tripp Hollister (Sudbury) to Bryant
Cross-country
Daniel Padley (South Hamilton) to Holy Cross
Swimming and diving
Kye McClory (Lynnfield) to Holy Cross
Greg Santosus (Marblehead) to Virginia Military Institute
Tennis
Luke Prokopis (Lynnfield) to Holy Cross
Jack Prokopis (Lynnfield) to Holy Cross
Track and field
Noah Kabel (Swampscott) to Sacred Heart
4. Western Mass shuffle
Lots of league movement in Western Mass, particularly in football and girls’ soccer. Check out the reporting from Jesse Koldokin at the Eagle Tribune and Gage Nutter at MassLive.
Here’s the Cliff’s notes version: Chicopee Comprehensive and Holyoke will leave the AA League and be replaced by West Springfield and East Longmeadow. The Tri-County loses Springfield International and gains Belchertown.
In the Suburban South, Wahconah is joined by Pittsfield, Putnam, and Chicopee Comprehensive. The Suburban North will feature Taconic and South Hadley, plus Hoosac Valley, Lee, Easthampton, and Holyoke.
The Intercounty South sees Chicopee, Ludlow, Springfield International, and Northampton join Commerce and Frontier. The Intercounty North remained unchanged.
In girls’ soccer, the Berkshire League’s Grieve division will be Drury, Wahconah, Pittsfield, Lenox, Monument Valley and Mount Greylock. McCann and Hoosac Valley move to the Pioneer South and Taconic, Lee, and Mt. Everett move to the Tri-County North.
5. Thursday’s leaderboard
The top scoring performance of the night came in a defeat as Jacob Klass dropped 35 points for Beverly in a 77-73 loss to Gloucester that saw Nick Deleon score 26 for the Fishermen.
Minuteman’s Muji Vader nabbed 11 steals and added 24 points in a 63-19 win over KIPP Academy, sophomore Divine Egbuta led Lynn Classical with 26 points in a 58-46 win over Somerville, and Notre Dame (Hingham) junior Elle Orlando packed the box score with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 steals in a 72-35 win over Ursuline.
On the ice, Newburyport’s Olivia Wilson netted a hat trick in a 7-3 win over Stoneham/Wilmington and Justin Thibert delivered three goals for Shawsheen in a 9-1 win against Nashoba Tech/Greater Lowell.
Freshman netminder Suki ten Brinke saved all 18 shots she faced to record her first shutout of the season in Lincoln-Sudbury’s 3-0 win over Westford, and Central Catholic junior Sydney Foster made 21 saves in her first shutout of the season, a 7-0 defeat of Wayland.
6. Linked up
Before we bid adieu, a few things we’ve written recently, starting with Trevor Hass’s story on Bishop Feehan honoring the late local hoops legend Mike Babul by wearing black wristbands featuring his initials during a win over Bishop Fenwick.
Brendan Kurie can be reached at brendan.kurie@globe.com. Follow him on X @BrendanKurie.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts State Police release Body Camera footage of Nick Cocchi arrest
LUDLOW, Mass (WWLP) – Massachusetts State Police have released body camera footage from the arrest of Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi back in September.
The public is now getting a glimpse into the night of September 21st, when Sheriff Nick Cocchi was arrested by Massachusetts State Police outside of MGM Springfield. The night his state issued white Ford Explorer was found without a front right tire in the valet section of the garage.
The video shows the interaction with Cocchi and law enforcement as they are trying to piece together what happened.
“Yeah, ok, wanna go down that road, huh? ok,” says Sheriff Cocchi. The state trooper responds, “I want to take everything right by the numbers and by the books, sir.”
At first when asked who was driving, Cocchi said a friend, then later admitting it was him behind the wheel. The trooper also saying he can smell alcohol, asking Cocchi how much he had to drink. To which he responds he had “a couple beers” when he was at the Springfield Country Club, but nothing at MGM Springfield.
Cocchi also declined a field sobriety test, multiple times.
Since the incident, Cocchi says he has taken full responsibility for his behavior.
“I’m not looking for empathy or sympathy. I’m not looking for people to give me a pass. All I’m asking for people to do and all I’ve said that I am is human, and I have integrity, I have honesty, and I have character. And I will always try to be the best version of myself, and that night I wasn’t,” said Sheriff Cocchi in response to the video release.
In regards to that night, Cocchi praises the troopers, saying throughout this process, he should not be treated differently from anyone else.
Cocchi also said quote “Since the incident, I have done everything possible to show the public that I believe in transparency and accountability, especially in myself.”
He said at the Sheriff’s Department, they believe people are not defined by moments like these, but rather how they handle those moments.
Massachusetts
2 of the largest fairs in North America are in Massachusetts
Travel
One saw record-breaking attendance in 2024.
If you attended The Big E or the Topsfield Fair this past fall, you were in good company.
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These New England hotels, restaurants, and more are ‘must visit spots’ in 2025, according to USA Today readers
Both Massachusetts fairs ranked among the top 50 fairs in the U.S. and Canada in 2024, according to Carnival Warehouse. The list was ranked by attendance.
“2024 contained very positive indicators that North Americans have rekindled their romance for midways, outdoor shows, agricultural programming and food-on-a-stick,” wrote Carnival Warehouse on its website. “Most fairs saw increases over last year’s attendance, only 12 top-50 fairs saw decreases, most of which were nominal and all of which were due to weather.”
The Big E (the Eastern States Exposition) in Springfield ranked No. 4 with an all-time total attendance record of more than 1.6 million visitors. Seven other daily attendance records were also set this year at The Big E, including an all-time single day attendance record of 178,608 visitors on Sept. 21. The Topsfield Fair, at No. 40, saw 418,170 visitors.
Running since 1916, The Big E is New England’s biggest fair. The fair brought live musical acts, carnival rides, agricultural competitions, and food vendors this past September. All six New England states are famously represented on its grounds.
The Topsfield Fair, America’s oldest agricultural fair (running for more than 200 years), featured carnival rides, food, live music, rodeos, art shows, exhibits, and nearly 300 vendors this past October.
For those looking to help boost attendance in 2025, this year’s fair dates are Sept. 12-28 for The Big E and Oct. 3-13 for the Topsfield Fair.
North America’s No. 1 fair in 2024 is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which saw 2.5 million visitors.
Check out the top 50 fairs in the U.S. and Canada in 2024.
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