A stabbing in jail is delaying a murder trial for Brian Walshe. Here's why

Charlie McKenna

Fri, October 10, 2025 at 9:33 AM UTC

6 min read

Since his arrest in January 2023, Brian Walshe was a model inmate at the Norfolk County jail, his lawyers said this week.

The now 50-year-old Walshe, who is being held without bail on murder charges filed in connection with the death of his wife, Ana, has held a job at the jail and maintained a "friendly rapport" with jail staff and fellow inmates, his lawyers wrote in a recent filing .

But that all changed on Sept. 11, when Walshe was stabbed in what his lawyers described as a "completely unprovoked" attack.

Since then, Walshe has dealt with anxiety and a "diminished ability to concentrate and focus."

"The trauma resulting from the unexplained and sudden attack continues to significantly impact ... his ability to work with his attorneys," they wrote.

Those concerns were enough for Walshe to be sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for a 20-day evaluation to determine if he is mentally competent to stand trial as soon as this month. Judge Diane Freniere ordered the evaluation on Oct. 6, meaning Walshe's scheduled trial date of Oct. 20 was pushed at least a week.

Here's everything we know about what led up to Freniere's decision, based on audio of a hearing she held Monday afternoon.

What happened on the night of the stabbing?

Little information has been released about what actually took place in the Dedham jail when Walse was stabbed.

The assault happened around 9:55 p.m., the Norfolk County Sheriff's office said in a statement.

Walshe sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He was returned to the jail overnight, according to the statement.

The other person involved was subdued by officers at the jail, who recovered a "makeshift blunt instrument," according to the sheriff's office.

Walshe had never previously interacted with the person who stabbed him, his lawyers said.

A spokesperson for the office said the incident remains under investigation and did not provide additional details.

What happened at the hearing?

After agreeing to impound an affidavit from a doctor treating Walshe, Freniere asked him a series of questions to gauge his understanding of the proceedings.

While the judge had to repeat some of her questions, Walshe eventually indicated he knew why they were in court and what his lawyers were seeking.

Freniere then heard testimony from a psychiatrist who met with Walshe for close to an hour before the hearing. Walshe has a history of depression and has been in outpatient therapy for years, he noted, but no history of serious mental illness.

The psychiatrist said he spoke to the director of mental health at the Norfolk County jail, where Walshe was housed, who told him Walshe was experiencing "normative stress" from being incarcerated for the first time, particularly considering the severity of the charges he faces.

In interviewing Walshe, the psychiatrist said he observed him to be engaged but also foggy and unfocused.

"He described having very low energy, that he feels much less focused than he does normally, even compared to how he's been in the past, that he feels jumpier, he described having interrupted sleep, having nightmares of being stabbed again in the future, and that these problems have given him cause for concern was ability to participate in the proceedings," the psychiatrist said.

Walshe indicated he wanted to move forward with the trial and was "upset that he's no longer in the same condition he was before," the psychiatrist said.

But he also determined Walshe's understanding of the allegations against him was intact and that he knew the roles of courtroom personnel and what would be expected of him.

"I did have some concerns, however, about his ability to engage in a back-and-forth conversation with me," the psychiatrist said.

Still, it wasn't clear if the increased focus issues Walshe faced were simply related to stress from his trial approaching or some other factor, he said. He ultimately recommended that Walshe undergo further evaluation.

What the lawyers said

After testimony from the psychiatrist, Norfolk County prosecutors urged Freniere not to delay the trial.

"Certainly, there may be some option to obtain some sort of further evaluation of what sounds like traumatic symptoms, but they do not rise to the level of a lack of competency," said Assistant Norfolk District Attorney Tracey Cusick. "So the Commonwealth would ask that the court not send the defendant to Bridgewater at this point in time and continue this matter on the trial schedule."

Attorney Larry Tipton, who is representing Walshe, stressed the importance of an evaluation.

"It's imperative that ... Mr. Walshe be able to be further evaluated in a treatment setting so that we can get to the bottom of what is causing his inability to participate," he said.

Freniere's decision

Despite the objection from prosecutors, Freniere deferred to the evaluation of the psychiatrist.

"I try to stay in my lane. My lane is not as a mental health professional. I have to rely on mental health professionals," she said. Walshe "seems to understand, based on my own observations, what's going on in this court, it's whether or not he can assist in his defense. The court needs to have a greater satisfaction and information with regard to that."

Freniere set a hearing on Oct. 27 at 9 a.m. to discuss next steps following the completion of Walshe's evaluation at Bridgewater.

Those next steps could include starting the trial that week, she said.

Ramifications of delay

For prosecutors, pushing the start of Walshe's trial even a week will cause "huge problems."

"I keep saying we're a house of cards that could collapse at any moment," said Assistant Norfolk District Attorney Anne Yas. "There are huge adjustments that we're going to need to make."

But Freniere countered that none of that was more important than assessing Walshe's mental health.

While Yas said she agreed, she said prosecutors will almost certainly not be ready to start the trial on the 27th if Walshe is deemed competent.

"We have 60 witnesses," she said. "We're trying very, very hard to keep things functioning. But I just want to give a forewarning that we have some witness problems."

Freniere acknowledged the difficulty of mounting a case with so many witnesses, but urged prosecutors to be "agile" once a decision was made about Walshe's competence. She stressed the importance of ensuring Walshe's trial proceeded quickly following the results of that evaluation.

Walshe is accused of killing his wife, Ana, inside the home the couple shared with their three children in Cohasset on New Year's Day in 2023. Prosecutors say after killing his wife, Walshe took her body to the home's basement, where he dismembered her. He is accused of hiding her remains in dumpsters in various locations across the state.

Ana Walshe's body has never been found.

In court papers, prosecutors have said Brian Walshe made a series of Google searches leading up to and after his wife's death, including "best state to divorce for a man," "dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body," and "can you be charge with murder without a body."

Brian Walshe's lawyers fought to suppress evidence of the searches, claiming it was obtained illegally, but Freniere , and later a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court , denied those efforts.

Freniere has yet to rule on a series of motions in the case , including one requesting a change of venue filed by Walshe's defense.

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