A murder conviction without a body is difficult but can be accomplished if prosecutors focus on other types of evidence to build a strong case, experts say.
Some of this evidence could be forensic in nature — like blood spatter, fibers, or fingerprints to prove a person died. In other cases, prosecutors rely on the suspect’s behavior, witness statements, and forensic internet research.
“Corpus delicti” is a legal term meaning that no one should be convicted without sufficient evidence – actually translating to “body of crime”. However, the term does not imply that an actual body is required.
Thomas A. DiBiase, an attorney who specializes in prosecuting “nobody’s” murders, says convictions for such cases are increasing. DiBiase runs a blog that claims that from 1800 to 2020, more than 500 murder cases were tried without a body and that 88 percent of them were convicted.
The most recent high-profile conviction came in 2022, when Paul Flores was convicted of the murder of Kristin Smart, a 19-year-old student at California State Polytechnic University. She is believed to have been killed in 1996, but her body has never been found.
The question of sentencing “no body” cases was raised again when Brian Walshe, 47, entered a not-guilty plea in the murder of his missing wife in Quincy Circuit Court on Wednesday.
Brian Walshe leaves court today after being charged with the murder of his wife Ana
Ana, 39, enjoyed life as a busy working mom, dividing her time between Cohasset, Massachusetts and Washington DC, where she worked for a real estate company
He is accused of murdering Ana in the early hours of January 1 in the basement of her home in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and then dumping her body in a dumpster.
Ana’s body has not been found, but prosecutors believe the evidence – including chilling Google searches Walshe allegedly made in the hours leading up to her disappearance – which they released in court on Wednesday could help win her case.
At Walshe’s indictment, prosecutors laid out Walshe’s chilling Google searches, which included “How long does it take for a dead body to smell?”. and ‘Ten ways to dispose of a dead body when you really need to?’
When Walshe appeared in Quincy Circuit Court, he was largely blank as prosecutors detailed the evidence against him. He is being held without bail pending charges.
Walshe told police he last saw Ana at 6am on January 1 and claims she went to work.
Today it was revealed that in the preceding hours he had feverishly researched how to dispose of a corpse and how long it would take to decompose.
The digital trail is part of what prosecutors hope will help them win their case.
Brian Walshe pleaded not guilty to beating his wife Ana to death this morning when prosecutors presented a mountain of evidence against him
Thomas A. DiBiase, an attorney who specializes in prosecuting “nobody’s” murders, says convictions for such cases are increasing
DiBiase has attributed the high rate of recent no-one convictions to two factors: a surge in cases being convicted over the past decade as technologies like DNA have become more sophisticated and pervasive, and the fact that people are leaving a more detailed digital trail cell phone recordings, texts and online posts.
Another factor is that “empty” cases tend to involve a family or romantic relationship between the victim and the defendant, and prosecutors bring only strong cases to court given the challenges involved in proving a murder case without a body.
“Murder is the ultimate crime, and murder without a body is the ultimate murder,” DiBiase told Wake Forest Magazine.
“If you get rid of the body, you get rid of the best evidence of the murder: how was the person killed? When was the person killed? Where was the person killed? Figuring out all these things becomes so much harder to prove when you don’t have the body.
But while no-body convictions are challenging, they can be won, he said.
Walshe appeared to be leaving an extensive digital trail when his Google searches on divorce, murder, dismemberment and decomposing bodies were released on Wednesday.
On December 27, days before his wife Ana disappeared, he googled, “What’s the best divorce state for a man?”
Ana was last seen alive at 1:30am on January 1st by friends who had been at her house for a New Year’s Eve party.
Just before 5 a.m. on January 1, he was using his son’s iPad to search;
- “How long does it take for a corpse to smell?”
- “How to prevent a body from decomposing?”
- “Ten Ways to Dispose of a Corpse When You Really Need It?”
- “How long does it take to go missing before you inherit?”
- “Can you throw away body parts?”
- ‘What does formaldehyde do?’
- “How long does DNA last?”
- ‘Can a partial remains be identified?’
- “Dismemberment and the Best Ways to Dispose of a Corpse?”
- ‘Ruminal to detect blood’
- What happens when you put body parts in ammonia?
- Is it better to throw away crime scene clothes or wash them?
Ana Walshe has not been seen since January 1 at 1:30am. Police say Brian, her 18-year-old husband, murdered her. Her body was not found
January 2nd
After shopping for rugs at a home goods store while wearing rubber gloves and a face mask, he returned to the iPad for more research.
He also spent $450 on cleaning supplies from a Home Depot, including mops, buckets, tarps, drop cloths, and various types of duct tape.
This time, prosecutors say he was looking;
- ‘Hacksaw best tool for dismembering’
- “Can you be charged with murder without a body?”
- “Can you identify a body with broken teeth?”
January 3rd
Police say he visited a dumpster in Abingdon where he was seen carrying a heavy-looking bin liner.
“He had to heave it into the dumpster,” police said.
Prosecutors tried to locate these garbage bags, but when they got to them, they had been destroyed in an incinerator at a garbage transfer center.
Walshe continued to research and supposedly search;
- “What happens to hair on a corpse?”
- “How quickly does a body in a plastic bag decompose compared to a surface in the forest?”
- “Can baking soda make a body smell good?”
January 4th
Walshe shopped for bathmats, menswear and towels at TJ Maxx and Home Goods. Then he visited Lowe’s.
That same day, a co-worker of Ana’s in Washington DC called the Cohasset Police Department to report her missing and to ask for a welfare check at her home.
Police visited the family home, where they noticed the seats in Brian’s Volvo were folded down and there was a large sheet of plastic in the back seat.
January 5th
Police returned to the Walshe family home, where they noticed that Brian’s Volvo had been freshly cleaned.
When questioned, he said he threw away the plastic wrap they saw the previous day.
On the same day, he visited the dumpster near his mother’s house.
January 8th
Walshe is arrested for misleading the police. A search warrant is obtained for the house and the police discover bloodstains in the basement. They also found a knife with traces of blood on it.
Police then searched the dumpster near his mother’s home and found 10 garbage bags stained with blood. Inside they discovered;
- Slippers with both Ana’s and Brian’s DNA on them
- Rags, duct tape, a medical suit with Brian and Ana’s DNA on it
- Ana’s COVID-19 vaccination card with her name on it
Police say Walshe used one of his young son’s iPads to search for cruel terms like “how long does it take for a dead body to start smelling?”. Ana Walshe is shown with the boys
Ana and Brian left early in their romance when he showered them with designer bags and cars. She is shown, right, more recently. Ana had become independent and was working in Washington DC, separated from her family
According to friends, she and Brian had fallen out over their busy work schedule.
She had spent more time working in Washington DC for the real estate firm Tishman Speyer while her husband was at home in Cohasset, Massachusetts.
Ana, a Serbian immigrant who met the wealthy Walshe while working in hotels in 2005, was enjoying her busy life when she disappeared.
She regularly posted about her colleagues on social media, where her husband was rarely mentioned.
She worked for Tishman Speyer for two years and spent a lot of time away from her family.
On January 1, she failed to show up for work in Washington DC.
Four days later, the chief of security at Tishman Speyer in DC called the police in Cohasset, where she lived with her family, and requested a welfare check.
The caller said he informed Brian that Ana was missing.
Ana Walshe and her husband Brian in happier times. Friends say she barely mentioned him when discussing her family
On January 8th, Brian was arrested for misleading the police investigation into his wife’s disappearance.
As it turned out, police had found traces of blood in the couple’s basement.
A search of a garbage disposal center later turned up bloodied items, including a hatchet and a rug.
Walshe had been researching online “how to dispose of a 115-pound body,” and according to prosecutors, he had also been spotted loitering around a dumpster next to his mother’s house.
Long before his wife disappeared, he was arrested on suspicion of stealing two fake Andy Warhol paintings and attempting to sell them.
Family friends described him as a “sociopath” who turned against his ailing elderly father in a desperate grab for his wealth.
After the murder charges against her husband broke last night, friends began paying tribute to the feisty mother-of-three.
Abdulla Almutairi, her colleague and best friend, said: “You will always be my best friend and family.
‘Rest, the sky is much brighter; be the sunshine and moonlight you always are.’