Court officials appointed a new judge on Wednesday Ongoing murder case against Cohasset man The person who allegedly dismembered his wife instead of the real lawyer who was planned to become president Retrial of Karen Read next year.

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael D. Ricciuti said in his decision that Judge Diane C. Freniere was now “specifically assigned” to the case against him. Brian Walshewho He is currently being held without bail. Allegedly killing his wife Ana Walsheat the couple’s home on early January 1, 2023, before his body was dismembered and his remains dumped in several locations. His remains were not found.

Brian Walshe pleaded not guilty in Norfolk Superior Court to charges of murder, improper handling of a corpse and lying to investigators. The hearing date has not yet been set and the next hearing on the matter is scheduled for December 2.

Ricciuti says he will replace Freniere in short order Judge Beverly J. Cannone In the Walshe case.

Cannone presided over Read’s first murder trial. It ended with a hung jury in July. Although prosecutors and defense attorneys are present, the judge is scheduled to oversee the retrial, which is scheduled to begin in January. recently requested a postponement until April. Cannone has not yet made a decision on this request.

In the Brian Walshe case, prosecutors said at his trial in August 2023 that he was the sole beneficiary of a $2.7 million life insurance policy his wife took out.

Prosecutors said his wife closely followed the Instagram page of a man she believed she was having an affair with. When Walshe lost contact with Ana Walshe for about 24 hours around Christmas 2022, he had his mother hire a private investigator to follow her to Washington, D.C., where she had started a new job at a real estate company, according to court documents.

Prosecutors said investigators found clothing and jewelry in a dumpster near his mother’s home that Walshe said his wife was wearing when she left their home in Cohasset, where they lived with their three children, early on New Year’s morning. They also found a hacksaw containing a bone fragment, prosecutors said.

The couple hosted Ana Walshe’s former employer at their home on New Year’s Eve 2022, and he left around 1:30 p.m.

Authorities allege that at 4:50 a.m., 39-year-old Ana Walshe died and her husband’s online searches contained disturbing insinuations. Her son allegedly used his iPad to ask: “How long does it take for the body to start smelling?” and “How long does it take for someone to be disinherited?”

Prosecutors allege that over the next few days, Walshe dismembered his wife’s body in the basement and disposed of her clothes and other evidence in a dumpster at a liquor store near his mother’s Swampscott home. He also allegedly dumped her remains in dumpsters at apartment complexes in Abington and Brockton.

This report used material from previous Globe Stories.

Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected].