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By Lauren del Valle, Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN

Dedham, Massachusetts (CNN) — A jury in Dedham, Massachusetts, convicted Brian Walshe of first-degree murder Monday morning in the 2023 killing of his wife, Ana Walshe, whose body was never found.

The panel deliberated for around six hours before returning its decision. Walshe is expected to be sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole – the mandatory punishment for first-degree murder in Massachusetts.

Walshe had no visible reaction when the verdict was read. He had no comment as he was led out of the courthouse in handcuffs and shackles.

Walshe was accused of killing his wife, Ana, on January 1, 2023, hours after ringing in the new year and with their three young children still in the house. Prosecutors said Walshe dismembered her body and disposed of her remains in area dumpsters near their home in Cohasset, Massachusetts.

Before the trial, Walshe pleaded guilty to misleading police and illegally disposing of his wife’s body, so he’s expected to face additional prison time for those convictions.

The jurors had to believe the murder was deliberately premeditated to convict Walshe of first-degree murder, the most serious homicide charge available in Massachusetts.

Walshe now faces up to 20 years for misleading police – an enhancement triggered by the murder conviction – and can be sentenced to another three years for pleading guilty to the illegal conveyance of a body.

Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey thanked the jury for their work on “a very difficult case” and “an incredible effort” on the journey to a conviction in a news conference after the verdict.

“It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about getting the right answer. And this was the right answer,” Morrissey said.

While the family of Ana Walshe hasn’t publicly shared a statement following the verdict, her sister told Morrissey, “Justice has been served.”

Walshe has denied killing his wife, and his attorneys have said he found her inexplicably dead in their bed that morning.

Ana Walshe, 39, wasn’t reported missing until January 4, 2023, when Brian Walshe called her employer in Washington, DC, where she worked and lived part time. Walshe told investigators he hadn’t seen his wife since New Year’s Day, when he said she left around 6 a.m. to travel back to DC to handle a work emergency.

The prosecution called about 50 witnesses over eight days, including two of Ana’s close friends and others who described their interactions with her in the final days of her life. Walshe ultimately chose not to testify, and the defense rested its case without presenting any evidence.

Jurors’ question centered on photo of a rug from Walshe home

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VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Two Montebello men were arrested in connection with a crime ring engaged in a months-long series of thefts from U.S. Postal Service collection boxes in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

During the past several months, a recent increase of mail thefts in the Ojai area targeting checks were connected to an organized crime ring operating across Ventura County stated a press release from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

Detectives with the Ojai Unit and the West County Special Enforcement Unit identified two men from Montebello, a 20-year-old and a 27-year-old, as organizers of the mail thefts in affluent communities in Ventura and Los Angeles counties detailed the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

According to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, the stolen checks were being cashed using either stolen or fictitious identification through online banking or in person at various banks across Southern California resulting in several thousand dollars in losses.

The two Montebello men were determined to have been using the stolen money to purchase or illegally acquire luxury and high-end performance vehicles which were being used during the mail thefts in Ventura County added the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office shared that on Dec. 11, detectives executed a search warrant at a home the pair shared in Montebello and discovered about $35,000 in cash, hundreds of checks that are suspected to have been stolen, illegal firearms, several pieces of expensive jewelry, several gaming computers and the following vehicles:

• A 2016 Lamborghini Huracan with an estimated value of $237,000
• A 2017 Audi RS7 with an estimated value of $129,500
• A 2023 Cadillac Escalade with an estimated value of $90,000
• A 2021 Cadillac Escalade with an estimated value of $80,000
• A 2019 Mini Cooper Countryman with an estimated value of $27,000
• A 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Conversion with an estimated value of $20,000
• A 2024 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with an estimated value of $91,000
• An unknown make and model ATV of unknown value

Following the search of their home, both men were taken into custody and booked on charges of mail theft, identity theft, and conspiracy to commit a crime noted the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

Detectives intend to file additional charges of vehicle registration fraud one DMV investigators complete their investigation and the U.S. Postal Service has worked to further secure the targeted mailboxes added the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

The investigation into a coordinated mail theft organization is ongoing and anyone with more information is asked to contact Detective Steve Bibian at 805-677-8733 or Detective Evert Ponce at 805-677-8772.

Tips about this case or other criminal activity can be shared while remaining anonymous by calling the Ventura County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

The post Montebello duo arrested in connection

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Comenzamos la mañana con cielos nublados y temperaturas frescas. Hay Aviso de Niebla Densa para el Valle de Salinas y el interior del Valle de Santa Ynez. La capa marina y las nubes bajas se disiparán con bastante rapidez. Las máximas subirán a los 70s y bajos a mediados de los 80s, con la mayoría de las zonas por encima del promedio. ¡Salgan y disfruten!

Más nubes cubrirán las playas el martes por la mañana. Continuamos con una marcada tendencia de calentamiento a medida que un sistema de alta presión se desplaza hacia la región. Mañana fresca, pero máximas en los altos 70s y mediados de los 80s. La mayoría de las áreas por encima del promedio y ambiente playero una vez más.

Niebla y nubes se presentarán el miércoles mientras las temperaturas siguen en aumento. La alta presión trae aire cálido y seco a mitad de semana. El calor se mantiene hasta el viernes, antes de que llegue un sistema más fresco. La Navidad está cerca, ¡y también la próxima posibilidad de lluvia! El momento y los acumulados aún no están definidos, pero la mayoría de los modelos indican bajas probabilidades el sábado o domingo, siendo más probable la lluvia más cerca de Navidad.

The post Sube la temperatura el lunes, con lluvias en camino cerca de Navidad appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Jessie Yeung, Kristie Lu Stout, Karina Tsui, CNN

Hong Kong (CNN) — Former Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been found guilty on two national security charges and a lesser sedition charge, in a landmark two-year trial widely viewed as a measure of the city’s shrinking freedoms under Beijing’s rule.

Self-made billionaire Lai, 78, is one of the highest-profile critics of Beijing charged under a sweeping security law imposed on the semi-autonomous city in 2020 following months of huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.

He founded Apple Daily, a fiercely pro-democracy tabloid newspaper known for its blistering broadsides against the Chinese Communist Party until its forced closure in 2021.

Lai had pleaded not guilty to all charges, and now faces possible life in prison. Monday’s verdict marks the end of a tumultuous legal saga that had drawn condemnation from supporters and foreign leaders around the world, including US President Donald Trump – who had once vowed to “get him out.”

The imposition of the national security law has transformed Hong Kong, with authorities jailing dozens of political opponents, forcing civil society groups and outspoken media outlets to disband, and transforming the once-freewheeling city into one ruled by “patriots only.”

Hong Kong and China’s leaders say it has “restored stability” following the 2019 protests.

Lai is a British citizen, and the UK government has previously called for his release.

At a news conference in London on Monday, Lai’s son, Sebastian, said he was “heartbroken” about his father’s condition and called on the UK government to do more to secure his freedom.

“Now it’s time to put action behind words, and make my father’s release a precondition to closer relationships with China,” Lai said. “Because how can you expect a fruitful relationship if they can’t even put a 70-year-old man – who’s in such ill health – on a plane and send him back home here in the UK where he belongs?”

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Monday condemned Lai’s verdict as “politically motivated,” saying Beijing’s national security law had been imposed to silence China’s critics. She later told British lawmakers that the foreign office had summoned the Chinese ambassador to underline the UK’s position “in the strongest terms.”

‘Mastermind’ of conspiracies

In delivering their verdict, judges said there was “no doubt that (Lai) had harbored his resentment and hatred of the PRC (People’s Republic of China) for many of his adult years.”

They pointed to Lai’s lobbying of US politicians during Trump’s first term – much of it before the security law was enacted – as evidence of sedition and colluding with foreign forces, including his meetings with then-Vice President Mike Pence, then-State Secretary Mike Pompeo, and attempts to meet Trump himself.

They also pointed to his WhatsApp messages with other pro-democracy activists and Apple Daily leaders, and a New York Times opinion piece he had written in May 2020 – in which he suggested ways to punish China for its repression of Hong Kong, such as revoking student visas for the children of government officials.