Verdict Watch and Big Questions

*though you can find unblurred photos of the kids with Ana online, I don't want to expose them, but you can easily see her love and joy for her children on her face

 In an unexpected move on Thursday we learned that Brian Walshe would not be taking the stand to plead his case in the trial that will determine his guilty in the death of his wife Ana Walshe. As it stands now Walshe has already plead guilty to the dismemberment and improper handling of her body. Now he is asking 12 people to believe that he did that out of panic when finding his wife dead in their bed.

It’s a story that could maybe make a little bit of sense if you don’t know everything else about the case. If you don’t know that in the moments after he supposedly found his wife dead in their bed he searched for how to dismember a body, he also searched for information regarding when she will start to smell badly, and a number of other ghoulish gruesome topics. What he did not search though speaks volumes.

Instead of, well calling 911 for help for his wife he also didn’t search “can my wife be saved if she’s cold” or whatever state she was supposed to be in when he “nudged her” and she “fell out of the bed”. If that sounds a bit familiar, then yes it’s giving flashbacks to Chad Daybell. Not only did he not search for maybe her ability to be saved, if he genuinely was afraid of being accused wrongly it makes you wonder why he didn’t search if cause of death can be found in the autopsy.

I mean, yeah I get it let’s say she suffered a fall down the stairs like in another popular case and she looked like she had taken a beating. It would make sense to be worried that it could look bad for him, but we are talking about a woman he claims died in her sleep. It doesn’t take a doctor or forensic nerd to know that most natural causes of death are determined in an autopsy.

Yet, he didn’t. No, instead he took one of his sons with him to a hardware story to purchase parts of his cleanup kit. Now not only does this child have nowhere to go to visit his mother’s resting place as she was likely incinerated after her remains mixed in with the refuse at garbage sites he chose were picked up by the garbage pick-up crews before authorities could track down what he did with, but this child will one day in the future learn that his father took him along to purchase the very items used to rob him of that right.

I guess, it’s easy to see where I fall on all of this. I hope this man will go down for first degree murder, though second is being offered as well. This is where it will get tricky for the jury. Will they believe that he had planned even a little bit to kill his wife, or if he snapped. Since we are still waiting on a verdict I would guess that this one issue is what is holding up the jury’s decision. Either way let’s hope and pray that no matter the outcome the children in this case find peace and never have to face the man who took so much from them.

A display of true love during the tragic trial against Brian Walshe

 

The trial against Brian Walshe regarding the tragedy surrounding Ana Walshe has been full of grisly searches, DNA results, gruesome findings and very little emotion from the man on trial. Today we saw true emotin, but not from Brian. This morning Gem Mutlu took the stand a man who held Ana and her family close to his heart considering her as a family member as well. 

When Mr. Mutlu took the stand it started as background about his relationship wiht Ana and Brian as well as their children. He spoke of the pride he had in Ana and her recent investment choices, and how the kids were like family to him. As questioning moved on to New Years Eve his emotion was evident. He recalled with what appeared to be nostalgia how Ana invited him to join the family for the night knowing otherwise he would not be doing anything. 

Further questioning touches on her overall mood and health up to the point where her oldest son is mentioned. He was present for the festivities and the man who speaks so fondly of his de-facto famiy was moved to tears. I can imagine just how much this must be affecting him knowing that the kids are not with family right now. He fondy recalls a champagne box that the three signed again becoming emotional. 

The questioning then touches on him confirming that Ana never mentioned a work emergency and Brian later reaching out to him as he could not locate Ana. Mr. Mutlu had encouraged Brian to reach out to the police and get help finding her something he did not do. In regards to Brian's tone after an original objection fromt he defense, Judge Diane Freniere asked him to clarify the tone less objectively. Not that we would be very surprised here, but Mutlu characterised it as "not panicked". 

Okay, I have to add my two cents here. This man is a perfectly credible source with connections to both Brian and Ana who has worked with both in personal and professional capacities. The defense points out that Ana had directed Brian to work with Gem as a "buddy" as part of a buddy system as part of a class they were taking. This in my opinion drives home that Gem is an objective and fair witness. Though Ana directed Brian to work with Gem, she had not actually met him in person until after when they grew close over their knowledge of investments and realty. So, you can see that there is a background of friendship, but when asked about seeing him as a collegue ohhh you could see the judgment that we all have. He paused and said "Brian was not a collegue". 

The defense did take a wise approach in not having Tipton question Mutlu as it would easily come across as too aggressive with such a sympathetic witness. 

The defense kinda pisses me off about now, they seem to be insinuating something other than a mentor mentee or paternal relationship. They are questioning Gem if they texted both day and night as well as weekends and if Brian had any issues with their friendship. I don't think we will like where this is going. 

Gem testifies that Ana basically became his right hand during her employment for him. "She did everything" is his explanation of her professional capacity. He touts her pride in all she did in her job from serving drinks to major accomplishments. Okay, I'm working on adding more from the defense, but I really don't know what they're doing at this point. We do learn during the questioning that Gem Mutlu had been there for the Walshe's during Brian's federal indictment and court proceedings. He attended court with Ana to support Brian. Ugh gross they're focusing on the fact that at one point Gem reached over and held onto Ana's hand for support. I swear on all things if they try to drag this man through the mud I'm driving to MA. The defense mentions that Ana confessed to Gem that she had a crush on him. They are presenting old testimony to refresh his memory as he does not recall making this statement. Yep they're going there with this. 

He does not recall her claims to the crush even after reading what he was presented. Oh yeah they're going hard for it. Each and every objection is sustained, and after Judge calls them to the bench. It does absolutely no good, though because Gem stands firm in his insistence that Ana was like the sister he never had. I can see how she would have a fondness for him, but it really does look like this was a famiial feeling. During the questioning with the defense he insists that Ana was a remarkable person. The defense really didn't know what to say and just thanked him that was awesome lol. Go Gem! 

We do learn that Gem is the person who connected the Walshe's with Will Fasto. Gem had known Will for twenty years round about up to the point when he introduced them. Gem doesn't know much about how well Will, and Brian got along. Ohhh she's trying to make it sounds like a hook up, but again Gem is insitent "I introduced THE FAMILY to Will" he states and oh boy he is on it.