Brian Walshe, a 48-year-old serving time on an art-fraud conviction and awaiting trial on murder and dismemberment charges in the disappearance of his wife, was stabbed by a fellow inmate inside the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Correctional Center in Dedham, Massachusetts, around 10 p.m. on Thursday, the sheriff’s office said.
Correctional officers intervened quickly, subdued the other inmate and recovered a makeshift blunt instrument used in the attack, the office said. Walshe was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and returned to the jail overnight. The other inmate has not been publicly identified and authorities said it was unclear what precipitated the assault.
"The NCSO is actively investigating the circumstances of the incident along with members of the State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office," the sheriff’s office said in a statement. The jail said the weapon was recovered and that the matter remains under investigation.
Walshe is being held without bail at the facility ahead of a high-profile trial scheduled to begin Oct. 20 in Norfolk County Superior Court. He was indicted by a grand jury on murder and other charges in the January 2023 disappearance of his wife, Ana Walshe; prosecutors have said Ana's body has not been found.
Authorities arrested Walshe on Jan. 8, 2023, after Ana was reported missing by her employers on Jan. 4. Investigators have said they found blood in the couple’s Cohasset home and discovered trash bags containing bloody items, a hatchet and a hacksaw at a nearby trash transfer station. Prosecutors have also said Walshe searched online for information including how to "dispose of a 115-pound woman's body" and that surveillance footage showed him purchasing cleaning supplies, plastic sheeting, hazmat suits, a hatchet and a hacksaw on Jan. 1, 2023. Walshe has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In addition to the pending homicide case, Walshe is serving a 37-month federal sentence after pleading guilty in 2021 to selling two counterfeit Andy Warhol paintings for about $80,000; he was sentenced in February 2024. He remains held on the separate state murder indictment without bail.
Court records and prior police reports show a history of tension in the couple’s relationship. In August 2014, Ana Walshe reported that her then-boyfriend had threatened to kill her and a friend; prosecutors later said the case was dropped when she declined to cooperate. The couple married in 2015 and had three sons.
Norfolk County officials and the state police detective unit attached to the district attorney’s office said they continue to investigate the jail assault. No additional charges related to the prison incident were announced on Friday, and prosecutors did not immediately provide further details about the identity of the other inmate or any disciplinary actions taken by corrections staff.