When the prosecution called William Fastow, Ana Walshe’s D.C. lover, they were clearly aiming to build a motive: a failing marriage, a wife emotionally checked out, a husband allegedly pushed to a breaking point. But by the time Fastow stepped off the stand, many trial watchers were asking a very different question:

Did this witness help the prosecution—or accidentally strengthen the defense?

If the prosecution was hoping for passion, fear, or evidence of an unraveling marriage… they got none of it. What they got instead was a man who sounded more like a casual companion than a catalyst for murder.

Fastow, a Washington real estate broker, first met Ana when he helped her purchase the family’s D.C. townhouse. Their relationship quickly evolved from professional → friendly → intimate. They saw each other several times a week, communicated daily, and spent holidays together—including Thanksgiving in Dublin and Christmas Eve at his D.C. home.

Yet despite the frequency, viewers noticed something immediately:

“He has the emotional range of a stapler.”

Fastow’s demeanor was flat, cool, and at times almost bored. If the jury expected a grieving lover, they didn’t get one. What they got was a man describing a relationship that felt pleasant, convenient, and walled off from the rest of his life—not a grand love affair threatening to blow up a marriage.

What Ana Told Him — and What She Didn’t

No abuse, no control, no fear of Brian

In a case where motive hinges on the idea that Ana wanted to leave her husband, Fastow offered the opposite picture. According to him:

Ana never described Brian as violent

Never said she was scared of him

Never indicated he was controlling or suspicious

Never suggested her marriage was on the verge of collapse

In fact, she spoke of Brian positively and wanted others—including Fastow—to see Brian “in the light she saw him.”

Her biggest stressor wasn’t her marriage—it was her children. She was emotionally distressed about being separated from her boys due to Brian’s federal case. Her sadness centered on motherhood, not marital dissatisfaction.

This is where the prosecution’s motive really falters. Fastow testified multiple times that:

Ana had no concrete plan to leave Brian

She never said she intended to separate

She never set any timeline

She never suggested she was preparing to disclose the affair

She never told him she intended to “blow up” her marriage after the holidays

But the most striking detail was this:

Ana made it clear—repeatedly—that it would devastate her if Brian discovered the affair.

Fastow said this several times. She wanted Brian to hear it only from her someday, not from anyone else. The idea of him finding out accidentally was “deeply upsetting”. She feared what it would mean for her children and her integrity. It would “devastate” her emotionally if he discovered it prematurely.

This does not sound like a woman preparing to leave her husband. It sounds like a woman desperately managing two conflicting worlds—and terrified of them colliding.

No wonder social media lit up with comments like:

“This was the prosecution’s motive witness???”
“He just confirmed there was no motive for Brian.”

Fastow’s last in-person contact with Ana was Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. She returned late to Massachusetts and told him she and Brian argued about it. That argument was clearly important to the prosecution.

Trial Watchers, however, were less impressed:

“People argue at Christmas. That’s not motive for murder.”

Ana’s final message to him was a simple Happy New Year text. After that, she went silent. Fastow tried calling and texting. He even called from a landline because he worried she might have blocked him. She didn’t answer.

If the prosecution hoped this was the passionate affair that would drive a man to murder, Fastow’s fear of being ghosted was a sobering reality check.

On January 4th, Brian called Fastow politely, saying Ana hadn’t shown up to work and asking if Fastow had heard from her. Calm, concerned, measured. Fastow checked the D.C. townhouse and found nothing unusual.

Nothing about that interaction suggested a man covering up a homicide.

Viewers were quick to pounce on his courtroom demeanor. Many described him as:

Aloof

Unemotional

Self-protective

Mildly irritated to even be there

When he admitted to deleting intimate messages out of “embarrassment,” trial watchers rolled their eyes:

“He wanted the fun of the affair, not the responsibility.”

He also said he wasn’t ready to introduce another woman into his sons’ lives—which further undercut any notion of the affair being a life-changing relationship.

It is very difficult to see this relationship as something so substantial or threatening that Brian Walshe would kill his wife over it.

A story of a marriage crumbling, a wife emotionally gone, a husband desperate.

What they got was a witness who testified:

Ana still cared deeply about Brian

Ana was terrified of him finding out about the affair

Ana had no plan to leave

The affair was not intensifying—it was stalled

The marriage was not imploding

Brian was never violent, controlling, or abusive

There was no evidence Brian even suspected the affair

Fastow himself wasn’t preparing for a shared future

Public consensus?

“This helped the defense more than the prosecution.”

It’s hard to overstate how much this undermines the idea that Brian had a motive. If Ana wasn’t leaving, wasn’t preparing to leave, wasn’t afraid of him, and wasn’t pushing for a breakup—where does the motive come from?

Fastow’s testimony didn’t paint the picture prosecutors needed. Instead of establishing a motive rooted in jealousy or fear of abandonment, it suggested a marriage still intact—complicated, yes, but not crumbling.

The affair appears more casual than consequential. Ana was conflicted, still loyal to her family, still worried about her children, still protective of Brian’s feelings, and deeply afraid of the two sides of her life colliding.

In the end, the prosecution’s own witness may have handed the defense a powerful narrative:

If Ana wasn’t leaving Brian, why would he kill her?

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