Brian Walshe appeared on Wednesday for the murder of his wife. If he continues to profess his innocence, his Google searches undermine his version.
Betrayed by Google?. Brian Walshe is accused of killing his wife Ana, dismembering her body and throwing her remains in several garbage containers around Boston (USA), but he denies the facts and pleads not guilty, says CNN. His lawyer believes that the evidence against him is not strong enough.
Except his internet history tells a different story. During a hearing Wednesday, his Google searches weighed on his defense. Last December 27, four days before Ana’s disappearance, the investigators discovered that Brian had typed the following search: “What is the best way for a man to divorce?”, which would provide the motive for the crime.
The Perfect Killer’s Guide via Google
On Jan. 1, the day Ana Walshe was last seen alive, the couple went to bed around 1:30 a.m. after celebrating New Year’s with a friend, according to statements from the accused. Brian Walshe then claimed that his wife had left very early that morning to go to work in Washington DC, but there is no evidence that she left the house.
That day, between 04:55 and 13:21, the accused made several terrifying Google searches:
- 4:55: “How long before a body starts to smell?”
- 4:58: “How do you prevent a body from decomposing?”
- 5:47: “10 ways to get rid of a dead body if you really need to”
- 06:25: “How long can you inherit after someone is gone?”
- 6:34: “How do you get rid of body parts?”
- 9:29: “What does formaldehyde do?”
- 9:34: “How long does a DNA trace last?”
- 9:59: “Can identification be done on partial remains?”
- 11:34: “Dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body”
- 11:44: “How do you clean blood off a hardwood floor?”
- 11:56: “Luminol to detect blood”
- 13:08: “What happens when you put body parts in ammonia?”
- 13:21: “Is it better to get rid of the crime scene clothes or to wash them?”
On January 2, Brian bought a bucket, goggles, several tarps, an ax and baking soda for a total of $450, which he paid in cash. When he got home, he went to Google again and searched:
- 12:45: “Hacksaw best tool for disassembly”
- 13.10: “Can you be charged with murder without a body?”
- 13:14: “Can a body be identified by knocked teeth?”
On January 3, he went to the search engine again, this time to write:
- 13:02: “What happens to the hair on a corpse?”
- 13:13: “What is the rate of decomposition of a body found in a plastic bag compared to a surface in the forest?”
- 13:20: “Can baking soda mask or make a body smell good?”
After Brian’s story was told, prosecutors argued that the divorce and inheritance questions pointed to a possible motive.