A landlord has filed a lawsuit against the family of a Massachusetts man accused of killing his wife last January.
Brian Walshe is awaiting trial in the murder of his wife, Ana Walshe, at their Cohasset home.
Off Route 3A, behind the trees, the secluded home now sits vacant and dark. The property owner is suing his own insurance company and Brian Walshe’s mother, who signed the lease, asking for damages and losses to the home to be covered.
NBC10 Boston spoke with the landlord Tuesday. He wanted to remain off camera, but he is hopeful he can get back thousands of dollars he says he’s lost.
“I can’t think of another case where a landlord has sued for diminution in value of the property because someone was murdered by another occupant of that home,” NBC10 Boston legal analyst Michael Coyne said Tuesday.
In the latest hearing in the Ana Walshe murder case, Brian Walshe’s attorneys discussed a motion for information on Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, who led the investigation as well as the one that led to Karen Read being charged in John O’Keefe’s death.
In the lawsuit, the landlord made a list of claims, including that Ana Walshe was killed and dismembered on the property, that the family’s German shepherd damaged the house and property, that holes were punched through the walls and rocks were thrown into the pool, and that police damaged the home during their investigations.
“They have a lot of damages attributed to the murder having been allegedly committed there,” Coyne said.
From cleaning costs to loss of rent, the lawsuit also claimed that “the property has now been psychologically impacted, which has substantially decreased its potential rental and sale values.”
“The immediate rental value of the home is likely very, very low, simply because until this case is resolved, you don’t know whether law enforcement will have to come back in, the house will be in the media every other day, virtually, and so their use of the home will be affected over the course of the next few years,” Coyne said.
The lawsuit also states that the landlord was charging the couple $5,000 a month and has lost over $100,000 in potential rent since it has been unoccupied.
