DEDHAM — A Superior Court judge on Friday deemed Brian Walshe mentally competent to stand trial next month for allegedly killing and dismembering his wife in their Cohasset home in 2023.

Speaking from the bench in Norfolk Superior Court, Judge Diane C. Freniere said a specialist at Bridgewater State Hospital, a psychiatric facility, has determined that “the defendant is competent and ready to stand trial,” a finding that “I accept.”

She said the finding clears the way for jury selection to begin next week, with opening arguments slated for Dec. 1.

Freniere also denied Walshe’s motion for a change of venue on the grounds of negative pretrial publicity or to have jurors from another county hear the case in Norfolk Superior Court.

The news coverage, Freniere said, has “been primarily fa

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