HE WAS THE LAST TO SEA ANA ALIVE: At the trial of Brian Walshe, he revealed details from the New Year’s Eve celebration! (VIDEO)

Cem Mutlu, a family friend who spent New Year’s Eve with Brian and Ana Walshe at their Cohasset home hours before she is believed to have died, testified yesterday at Brian’s trial for Ana’s murder.

Mutlu said he and Ana had talked on the phone about her “marital problems” on December 29, 2022, shortly before the New Year’s gathering.

— It was partly due to the toll of her constant travel between Washington and Cohasset for work, and the fact that Brian couldn’t leave Massachusetts — Mutlu said.

He also said that earlier during the summer they had a different conversation about how Brian Walshe’s art fraud case was affecting their marriage.

Mutlu choked up several times while answering

Mutlu first met Brian Walshe at a semester leadership program, and Ana Walshe also worked for him for two years. Mutlu pointed out that he was a close friend with both Ana and Brian as a couple, and individually.

At the beginning of the questioning, Mutlu said that Ana had admitted to him that “they were having marital problems.”

It is interesting that Mutlu choked up several times while answering several questions.

Photos were also shown of a champagne box that Mutlu signed along with Ana and Brian Walshe during their New Year’s Eve dinner.

“Wow. 2022. What a year! Yet, we are still here and together. Let’s make 2023 the best year yet. We are the authors of our lives,” Ana wrote on one side, while Brian wrote on the other: “To the best triumvirate ever.” Mutlu added: “There’s no place I’d rather be than here. New 2022.”

“His tone was not panicked”

Mutlu said that Ana had no injuries and that he was not concerned about her physical health that night.

— Nothing was visible. It was a festive night — he said.

Brian Walshe sent a message to Mutlu on January 4, 2023, to inform him that Ana was missing. He said she had left due to a work emergency. Mutlu added that he asked Walshe if he and Ana had argued.

— His answer was: “No.” Did it look like we argued? You were there — Mutlu recounted and continued:

— I didn’t know what to think about it. I was in shock. I said that you must call the police, that you must warn everyone. You must notify our community and that we must find her.

When asked about Brian Walshe’s tone, Mutlu replied: “His tone was not panicked.”

Cross-examination

During cross-examination, defense attorney Kelly Pordage tried to show the jurors that Mutlu and Ana Walshe had a close friendship and had worked together for a long time, but Brian Walshe never expressed signs of anger or jealousy about the relationship.

Pordage asked Mutlu about one of Brian Walshe’s hearings in federal court (at the art fraud trial). Mutlu sat with Ana Walshe in the courtroom and said he held her hand during what he called a tense hearing.

The defense attorney added that Brian’s mother, Diana, was also in the courtroom at that time. Diana Walshe later told Ana that she was upset that she was holding hands with Mutlu.

— That’s right — Mutlu said.

Pordage tried to show the jurors that Ana had fallen in love with Mutlu.

— At some point while Ana was working for you, Ana admitted that she was in love with you? — she asked. Mutlu said he did not specifically recall Ana Walshe using that phrase.

Who is Cem Mutlu

Mutlu is a real estate agent working in the suburbs of Boston.

A few days after Ana Walshe was reported missing in 2023, Mutlu spoke to Julie MacDonald of WBZ-TV about the last time the three of them were together.

Mutlu said he left their home around 1:30 a.m. A few days later, Brian Walshe called and told him that Ana Walshe was missing.