A Massachusetts man accused of killing and dismembering his wife was stabbed inside a county jail housing unit Thursday evening, officials said, weeks before his scheduled murder trial.
The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office said the assault occurred just before 10 p.m. at a correctional facility in Dedham. The agency did not identify the victim in its initial release, but Walshe’s attorney, Larry Tipton, confirmed to MassLive that his client, Brian Walshe, was stabbed. Walshe was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston for treatment and was returned to the jail overnight, the sheriff’s office said. “The other individual involved was subdued by officers, and a makeshift blunt instrument was recovered,” the sheriff’s office said, adding that the incident is under investigation.
Walshe, 49, is charged in the January 2023 disappearance and alleged dismemberment of his wife, Ana Walshe, a real estate professional and mother of three who worked in the Washington, D.C., area. Ana Walshe disappeared on New Year’s Day 2023 and was reported missing days later; her body has not been recovered. Brian Walshe is scheduled to go to trial in October.
Prosecutors have said investigators recovered a hacksaw with a “small bone fragment” in a dumpster across the street from Walshe’s mother’s home and reviewed store surveillance video showing a man investigators say was Walshe buying cleaning supplies, goggles and a utility knife. Authorities have said the purchases included three mops and brushes, two splash-resistant goggles and a utility knife. Prosecutors also said that, in the days after Ana Walshe’s disappearance, searches related to disposing of a body were conducted on an iPad belonging to the couple’s son.
Before the disappearance, prosecutors and court filings show, the couple’s marriage was strained amid unrelated legal troubles facing Brian Walshe. He had been under house arrest as part of pre-sentencing probation in a case alleging he sold fake Andy Warhol paintings. Court records and filings in the missing person and homicide investigations indicate Brian Walshe had hired a private investigator because he suspected his wife of infidelity.
Attorneys for both sides have been preparing for the October trial, and Thursday’s assault comes as detention authorities and prosecutors continue to investigate the circumstances of Ana Walshe’s disappearance and subsequent allegations. The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office said it is coordinating with investigators on the assault at the jail.
Tipton, Walshe’s defense attorney, confirmed his client was treated at the hospital and returned to the jail. The office did not immediately release additional details about the condition of the other person involved in the incident or whether charges would be filed in connection with the jail assault.
Investigators have said they do not believe Ana Walshe’s disappearance was part of a random crime. Prosecutors have pointed to forensic evidence found during searches and to the materials captured on surveillance as part of their case. Defense attorneys have argued for their clients’ rights and contested some aspects of the prosecution’s account in pretrial filings.
The case drew national attention because of the nature of the allegations, the lack of a recovered body and the prominence of some of the details in court documents and news reports. Prosecutors have described the investigation as ongoing and have said they will present evidence at trial. Pretrial hearings have addressed evidentiary and discovery questions, and both sides have continued to file motions in advance of the scheduled October trial date.
Correctional officials said they will continue to review the assault and the jail’s procedures. The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office statement did not say whether the jail assault would affect Walshe’s custody status or trial timeline.
Authorities have asked anyone with additional information about Ana Walshe’s disappearance to come forward. The criminal case remains active and the investigation into Thursday’s jail assault is ongoing, with prosecutors and sheriff’s office officials indicating they will provide updates as inquiries proceed.