Delaware News Hub
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A Massachusetts man was charged with murder in the disappearance and abduction of Ana Walshe, his wife and mother of three, according to a district prosecutor.
Brian Walshe already had been charged with murder and other counts in January in connection with his spouse’s disappearance – charges for which he pleaded not guilty – after authorities said they found evidence he killed and dismembered her and gruesomely disposed of her remains.
Thursday’s indictment by a Norfolk County grand jury moves the case from a district court to a county superior court, and a new arraignment will happen, county District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said.
Morrissey stated that Brian Walshe, 48 was indicted by the grand jury on murder, misleading investigators and improperly transmitting a human body.
A massive search for Ana Walshe, 39, was launched after her employer reported her missing on January 4, and her husband told investigators he’d last seen her leaving their Cohasset home for a work trip on New Year’s Day.
Investigators found a string of disturbing internet searches they claim Brian Walshe did, prosecutors claimed. “How long before a body starts to smell?” And “How to stop a body from decomposing.” Investigators also uncovered 10 trash bags of evidence at a garbage collection station, containing a hacksaw, a hatchet, and several items with Brian and Ana Walshe’s DNA on them, prosecutors said.
Brian Walshe was arrested January 8 on suspicion of misleading investigators, and arraigned on charges of murder and disinterring a body without authority on January 18 – the first day prosecutors publicly said they believed Ana Walshe was dead, though they did not say whether her body had been found.
The January Quincy district court arraignment saw prosecutors allege that Brian Walshe killed his wife in order to end their marriage. He also lied to investigators about certain of his actions in the days leading up to her disappearance.
“Rather than divorce, it is believed that Brian Walshe dismembered Ana Walshe and discarded her body,” Lynn Beland, the prosecutor, stated during the January proceeding.
Delaware News Hub has reached out to Brian Walshe’s attorney for comment. Walshe is being held without opportunity for bail, the district attorney’s office said.
“This is only a step in a long process, during which Brian Walshe enjoys the constitutional presumption of innocence and all of the protections afforded him under the Constitution,” Morrissey spoke. “We are thankful to the detectives who have put so many hours into assembling the evidence in this matter and the witnesses who have assisted us in coming to this step.”
Tracy Miner, Brian Walshe’s defense attorney, suggested in January that prosecutors’ case was not strong, and said she hadn’t yet been sent the evidence.
Brian Walshe stated to police that he last seen his wife January 1st. He claimed she told him that she had a Washington, DC work emergency and that she fled their home. According to a police statement. According to a friend, Ana Walshe lived in Massachussets with her family and traveled to Washington during the week for work.
Prosecutors argued that Ana Walshe did not take her regular rideshare or taxi to Washington. According to the husband, he spent the rest the day doing errands for his mother before spending time with his children on January 2.
Investigators believe that Brian Walshe lied about his running of the errands. On January 2, he also visited Home Depot on an unspecified trip. Prosecutors claim that he spent $450 on cleaning supplies such as mops, buckets, and tarps.
On January 4, Ana Walshe’s employer, real estate company Tishman Speyer, called police to report her missing, according to investigators.
Brian Walshe’s defense attorney has said the husband called her workplace to ask if it knew of her whereabouts before the company called police.
Investigators began to focus on suspicions that Ana Walshe may have been murdered after a long search for her. Two law enforcement sources briefed about the investigation said that they discovered more information as a result of the days-long hunt.
Among the evidence that prosecutors say was uncovered was: blood and a bloody knife in the Walshes’ basement; dumpsters containing what appeared to be Ana Walshe’s belongings, blood stains, a hacksaw, a hatchet, cleaning supplies and more items believed to be related to the case; Brian and Ana Walshe’s DNA on some of the discarded items; and surveillance footage showing the husband throwing bags into area dumpsters.
Ana Walshe’s cell phone also pinged in the area of their home around January 1 and 2, after Brian Walshe said his wife had left the house, prosecutors said.
Additionally, prosecutors said Brian Walshe made grim Google searches – including some on their son’s iPad. Prosecutors claim that these searches included: “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to”; “dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body” “can you be charged with murder without a body.”
Brian Walshe’s charges are just the latest in a long line of legal problems for his husband. He pleaded guilty in 2021 to federal fraud charges related a scheme to buy fake Andy Warhol art online.
In 2019, he was engaged in a legal battle over his father’s estate. A relative and friends of Walshe argued that Walshe was violent and untrustworthy during the dispute.