Jurors heard testimony from Ana Walshe’s lover about their relationship and the tension in Ana’s marriage Thursday in Norfolk Superior Court — the fourth day of her Brian Walshe’s first degree murder trial.
Walshe is accused of killing his wife Ana in January 2023. He pleaded guilty last month to lying to police and illegally disposing of Ana’s body, but claims he had nothing to do with her death.
William Fastow told the jury their affair began after Ana moved into a D.C. townhouse he sold her in the spring of 2022.
The pair went to dinner and movies, sailed in Annapolis, Maryland, and worked out together.
Fastow took Ana to his work functions and socialized with his friends, but they didn’t socialize with hers.
During the course of their relationship, Fastow said that Ana confided in him about Brian’s legal trouble. Walshe had pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges, and his home confinement was predicated on being the primary caretaker for the couple’s three boys. That meant the children had to live in Cohasset, which made Ana said, Fastow said.
Overtime she became “despondent” over the situation, he testified. “It deeply upset her.”
Ana had told Fastow she was hoping that Brian would avoid prison time for the federal fraud charges and that the family would then relocate to the D.C. townhouse. But in July of 2022, when Brian’s sentencing was pushed back, that goal seemed farther from reach. It was then, Fastow said, that his relationship with Ana became more serious and he cut off seeing anyone else.
The biggest stressor in Ana’s life was the not being able to resolve Brian’s federal case, Fastown said. “She felt it was holding up her life.”
By the fall, the couple was spending holidays together. They went to Dublin, Ireland, for Thanksgiving. A rendezvous in D.C., on Dec. 24 and subsequent snowfall made Ana miss Christmas Day with Brian and the kids in Cohasset.
Fastow said that Ana had told him that this upset Walshe and that the two argued about it.
Over the winter holiday, while Fastow was with his kids in Idaho and Ana was in Cohasset, they texted each other. Ana’s last communication came in just after midnight Jan. 1, wishing him a happy New Year.
The first few days of the year, Fastow continued to text and call Ana, even calling her landline thinking she may have blocked his number, but she didn’t respond.
On Jan. 4, 2023, the day Ana was reported missing, Brian called Fastow. Fastow declined at first, for fear Brian was calling to confront him about the affair.
“Sorry to bother you, sure everything is fine,” Brian said in a voicemail after his second call, explaining that Ana was missing.
Fastow immediately called back, then checked the garage at Ana’s townhouse for her car, using a code Brian gave him. But she wasn’t there then, or when he checked back later in the day.
Fastow and Ana Walshe were supposed to get dinner together that night. She had booked her flight to D.C., and Fastow had made a restaurant reservation. They were supposed to talk about their future together, he said, but they never got the chance.
On cross-examination, Brian Walshe’s defense attorney Kelli Porges pushed back on how detailed the couple’s future plans were, getting Fastow to testify that they weren’t “concrete.”
He said that Ana wanted to figure out what would happen with Brian and the case, and that Fastow had his own concerns about how his oldest child would react to news that he was in a new relationship.
“During your conversations or time with Ana Walshe, she never told you Brian Walshe was suspicious of you?” Porges asked.
Fastow mentioned that Brian once called him while he and Ana were out to dinner, which was unusual. The two men had only spoken on the phone a few times and never met in person. Fastow didn’t answer, and Brian told Ana later that one of the kids had taken his phone and made the call accidentally.
“That’s the closest thing that happened where we were concerned that Brian had found out,” Fastow testified.
“I’m not asking if you felt concerned, I mean you were having an illicit affair, you’re always kinda concerned someone’s going to find out, right?” Porges asked.
“I mean, I suppose,” he replied. Fastow told Porges that Ana had never told him that she was worried Brian knew about their relationship.
In addition to testimony from Fastow, jurors also heard evidence that Brian’s cellphone was tracked to a trash compactor where police later found brown-red stained clothing and rug samples, sawing tools, and tyvek suit.
The phone evidence also showed a safari search for “William Fastow” from Brian’s phone on Jan. 4, the day Ana was reported missing and the two men ended up talking on the phone.
Testimony on the cell phone data will continue in court on Friday.
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