A Massachusetts man has been arrested for misleading authorities about the disappearance of his wife from a wealthy Boston suburb. On Sunday, 47-year-old Brian Walshe was arrested in Cohasset. He had reported his wife, Ana Walshe, 39 and a mother of three, missing on Jan. 4. The circumstances of Ana Walshe's disappearance have been murky. Questions surround the moments she was allegedly last seen, and the search for her has involved police from several surrounding towns.
On Tuesday, investigators turned up evidence found in the trash they believe is connected to her disappearance and referred to the case as "suspicious." Brian Walshe was already awaiting sentencing on federal fraud charges after pleading guilty to selling two fake Andy Warhol paintings. Read on to see what investigators have uncovered in the mysterious case and where it stands now.
Cohasset police announced they were searching for Ana Walshe on Jan. 5, the day after she was reported missing and four days after she was allegedly last seen by an unnamed family member. Police said Friday that Ana Walshe was allegedly last seen in her home early Sunday, Jan. 1.
She allegedly took a rideshare car from her home to Boston's Logan Airport to catch a plane to Washington, D.C., to deal with a work emergency. But police said they hadn't been able to independently confirm that she booked the car service or flight on Jan. 1.
Cohasset Police said D.C. authorities had not been able to locate her in the capital. Her cellphone pinged near her home on Jan. 1 and 2. During the investigation into her disappearance, "police developed probable cause to believe that her husband Brian Walshe had committed the crime of misleading police investigators," the Norfolk DA's Office said Sunday.
In an affidavit, police allege that many of his statements were "untruthful." He was then arrested and has pleaded not guilty to that charge.
On Tuesday, investigators searching through trash at a Peabody, Massachusetts, transfer station recovered evidence they believe will be linked to Ana Walshe's disappearance, CNN reported. Law enforcement sources said those items included a hacksaw, torn-up cloth material and what appears to be bloodstains.
While executing a search warrant on the couple's home Sunday, "blood was found in the basement area as well as (a) knife which also contained some blood," police said.
Additionally, authorities have uncovered other information that suggests Ana Walshe may have been killed, CNN reported. These include her husband's internet history, which includes searches about dismemberment and "how to dispose of a 115-pound woman's body," and a large cleaning supplies purchase.
On Tuesday, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said "a number of items" were collected in searches north of Boston on Monday and were being processed and tested. In a statement, he called Ana Walshe's disappearance "suspicious."
According to Cohasset Police, Ana Walshe is 5 foot 2 inches tall, weighs 115 pounds, has brown hair, brown eyes and an olive complexion. She speaks with an Eastern European accent. Ana Walshe's friends and neighbors have expressed dismay at her disappearance.
"This is completely unlike her, and I think that is part of the shock," her friend Evan Turell told NBC Boston. "She would not go a day without talking to her husband and her boys. This is honestly just really mind-boggling, and gut wrenching. There's no words."
In 2021, Brian Walshe pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to three counts, including wire fraud, after stealing Andy Warhol paintings from a former college classmate and then selling forgeries of them on eBay. He has not yet been sentenced on those charges. He is currently being held on $500,000 bail on the charge of misleading investigators. His next hearing is Feb. 9.
