An online pen pal profile for Brian Walshe - the Cohasset man convicted last December in the killing and dismemberment of his wife, Ana Walshe - is raising eyebrows and blood pressure in town offices. The profile, which lists Walshe as a 51-year-old "widowed" man seeking "worldwide pen pals," leaves out the small matter of his murder conviction, a detail prosecutors say could mislead anyone who writes to him.
The post appears on WriteAPrisoner, where a public listing presents a smiling photo alongside the line, "Brian Walshe, age 51, is incarcerated in Massachusetts and seeks worldwide pen pals." Local station Boston 25 News first spotted the profile and noted that its summary largely steers clear of the details of his case.
"There is no mention anywhere of his murdered wife Ana Walshe, the grisly internet searches for dismembering a body, or any of the steps he took to throw away his wife’s remains in area dumpsters," prosecutor Greg Connor told Boston 25 News. Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley said he "was surprised to see that" and added that he could "understand why members of the public would be upset."
Case background
Walshe was convicted of first-degree murder in December 2025 and received a life sentence without the possibility of parole after a Norfolk County jury found him guilty. At trial, prosecutors presented forensic evidence and internet search history that they said tied him to the dismemberment and disposal of Ana Walshe’s remains, according to reporting by The Boston Globe.
How the pen pal site works
WriteAPrisoner describes itself as an online pen-pal and reintegration platform that has operated since 2000. The company says incarcerated people do not control their profiles directly and cannot log on to manage them; instead, listings and contact options appear on public-facing pages for anyone to browse.
The service is pitched as a way to support reentry and reduce isolation behind bars. Critics and local officials, however, argue that profiles belonging to people convicted of violent crimes should clearly spell out what they did, rather than leaving users to hunt down the backstory on their own.
One prosecutor urged anyone considering a response to such ads to "do your research" and exercise caution before writing. The state Department of Correction did not immediately offer comment to local reporters. DNA evidence in the Ana Walshe case had previously been tracked in detail, including findings that factored into the prosecution’s case.
