The final witness to testify on the fourth day of Brian Walshe’s murder trial on Thursday was a Massachusetts State Police trooper who examined several devices turned over by Walshe for texts, phone calls and location data.
Trooper Connor Keefe was on the stand for roughly two-and-a-half hours on Thursday, painstakingly moving through mobile phone data under questioning from prosecutor Greg Connor.
Keefe first became involved in the investigation into the disappearance of Walshe’s wife, Ana, on Jan. 5, 2023, a day after Brian Walshe reported her missing. He was asked to analyze cellphone records from Verizon associated with Ana Walshe.
Based on records turned over by the network, Keefe determined that Walshe’s phone was near her home at 516 Chief Justice Cushing Highway in Cohasset at around 3:14 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2023. The phone interacted with a cell tower two more times — at 4:13 a.m. on Jan. 2 and at 4:14 a.m. on Jan. 4. Both times, the network couldn’t connect.
Keefe was also responsible for examining data pulled from an iPhone 13 mini and two iPads Brian Walshe turned over to police on Jan. 6. He analyzed the data from the iPhone 13 mini and another iPhone. The location data from both phones, which are registered to Walshe’s mother, was entered into evidence.
Location data
Connor first questioned Keefe about where the iPhone 13 mini traveled on Jan. 5, 2023. That day, according to Keefe, it went from the Walshe home in Cohasset to Walshe’s mother’s home at a Swampscott apartment complex, where it is stationary in a southeast corner of the property where a large trash compactor is located. He said he reported that activity to his supervisors, noting it didn’t line up with a previous trip the phone took to Swampscott.
On Wednesday, the jury saw numerous items pulled from that trash compactor in Swampscott, including bloody towels, a hacksaw and clothes that matched Brian Walshe’s description of what he last saw his wife wearing.
With Keefe still on the stand, Connor published a PowerPoint presentation to the in-court screens for the jury, mapping out various stops the phones made in early January of 2023.
Keefe explained that he used cell-site location, license plate readers and surveillance footage to corroborate the location data.
Safari search history
After reviewing the location data, Keefe walked jurors through the iPhone 13 mini’s search history. Already, search history has played a significant role in the case, with Tuesday’s testimony primarily focused on the grisly searches Walshe conducted on his MacBook.
The searches began on Dec. 25, 2022, with Walshe inputting “flight check JetBlue” into his browser at 11:52 a.m. Then at 12:09 p.m., Walshe searched “William Fastow DC real estate.”
Fastow, who testified on Thursday, was having an affair with Ana Walshe.
Throughout the day, Walshe searches his wife’s name and that of Tishman Speyer, the company she worked for. Jurors learned earlier this week that Ana Walshe was delayed returning to Massachusetts from Washington, D.C., on Christmas Day 2022.
The device also searched the name of one of the properties Ana Walshe managed in Washington, D.C., and for Washington, D.C. police.
On Jan. 3, 2023, at 7:23 p.m., the device searched, “how to file a missing persons report.” Brian Walshe wouldn’t report his wife missing until the next day.
Texts and phone calls
Text messages read by Keefe on Thursday showed Walshe communicating with numerous people in an apparent effort to locate his wife. He texts with a coworker at Tishman Speyer and others, often asking if they’ve heard from her.
On Jan. 4, 2023, at 10:59 a.m., one friend texts Walshe, “I think that you need to report this ASAP.”
Keefe also read several messages from Gem Mutlu, the man Walshe and his wife hosted on New Year’s Eve. On Jan. 2, Mutlu messaged, “last night was so good! thank you” and “the chef world class and company equally so.”
Walshe replied the next day, saying in part, “another amazing New Year (sic) Eve together as a triumvirate.” He doesn’t mention his wife.
Keefe also pointed jurors to several calls between Walshe and his wife, including an hour-long conversation on Christmas Day. Walshe’s phone then made an outgoing call to his wife at 8:28 a.m. on Jan. 3, 2023.
That call lasted only 15 seconds. Keefe indicated Walshe was connected to her voicemail. There were no incoming calls from Ana Walshe to her husband after a zero-second call on New Year’s Eve.
Keefe’s testimony concluded there for the day, as Judge Diane Freniere sent jurors home. Testimony resumes on Friday, which is expected to be a half-day.