The husband of a missing Massachusetts woman is facing charges after allegedly misleading police in their investigation into his wife's disappearance. Brian Walshe, 46, of Cohasset was taken into custody on Sunday and is being held on a $500,000 bond.
He was arraigned Monday in Quincy District Court on charges of misleading investigators in their search for Ana Walshe, 39, a mother of three, who reportedly went missing on New Year's Day, CNN reported.
A prosecutor with the Norfolk District Attorney's Office revealed disturbing details regarding Ana Walshe's mysterious disappearance during Monday's court hearing. Authorities reportedly found a bloody knife in the basement of the couple's Cohasset home — among several other things pointing to her husband as a suspect — as they continued searching for evidence in the ongoing investigation.
Prosecutors said Ana Walshe was last seen in the early hours of January 1.
Per her husband, Ana Walshe reportedly left her home around 4 a.m. to take an Uber or Lyft to Boston's Logan Airport to board a flight to Washington, DC, on a work-related emergency at her job. Prosecutors, however, say there was no proof of her taking a rideshare to the airport or boarding the flight, CBS News reported.
Cohasset police said during at a news conference Friday that Ana Walshe had a flight booked from Boston to DC on January 3. The following day, however, her employer reported her missing after she didn't show up to her job, authorities said, according to CNN. Ana Walshe's LinkedIn account lists her as a regional manager at the real estate company Tishman Speyer. Ana Walshe often took business trips to the capital, according to police.
Brian Walshe had a search history on ways to dispose of a body, CNN reported.
Police believed Ana Walshe might have been killed after investigators searched her husband's online records and found search queries on "How to dispose of a 115-pound woman's body" and how to dismember a body, two law enforcement sources noted in statements obtained by CNN.
On Monday night, investigators examined trash at a transfer station in Peabody, Massachusetts, searching for possible remains belonging to Ana Walshe, WCVB reported. Authorities also searched a dumpster at an apartment complex in Swampscott, where Brian Walshe's mother lives.
An extensive search for Ana Walshe was conducted by local and state police, combing through areas surrounding her home. Authorities initially ended the two-day search for the mother, stating the search would not continue until "new information that so warrants it," police said, according to NBC News.
Brian Walshe reportedly misled investigators as they questioned his whereabouts.
Although Brian Walshe might have cooperated with police, he allegedly provided several misleading facts about his whereabouts in the days after his wife disappeared. First, he told police he last saw his wife early January 1, when she allegedly took a ride share to the airport for a flight to DC for work.
Police confirmed she did not take an Uber or Lyft to the airport, nor did she board a flight to DC, prosecutor Lynn Beland said. Her cellphone also pinged near her home on January 1 and 2, according to police.
Brian Walshe also told police he went to Whole Foods and CVS On January 1 and took his son for ice cream the following day. Police searched surveillance footage from both stores, however, and did not find him there, according to a criminal affidavit obtained by CNN.
On January 2, he was spotted at Home Depot wearing a blue mask and gloves buying $450 worth of cleaning supplies. He reportedly paid cash when he purchased the items.
His defense attorney, Tracy Miner, said Ana Walshe's workplace had reported her missing after her client grew concerned and called them looking for clarity on her whereabouts. “He has been incredibly cooperative,” she said.
Brian Walshe also was charged with a separate crime in May 2018 involving fraudulent art.
He was charged with wire fraud in US District Court in Massachusetts after selling two fake Andy Warhol paintings on eBay, the FBI stated in a criminal complaint obtained by CNN. Brian Walshe reportedly sold the paintings sometime in November 2016.
In October 2018, he was indicted on multiple charges, including wire fraud, interstate transportation for a scheme to defraud, possession of converted goods, and unlawful monetary transaction. The case remains open because a judge did not sentence Brian Walshe for the crimes. As part of being on house arrest, he is required to get permission to leave and to say how long he will be gone, according to WCVB.
Ana Walshe's mother spoke out following her daughter's mysterious disappearance.
Milanka Ljubicic of Belgrade, Serbia, recalls her daughter pleading with her to visit her in DC just one week before she disappeared. Now, the 69-year-old said she regrets not visiting her daughter after learning that she's gone missing.
"She just said, ‘Please, mama. Come tomorrow,’" Ljubicic told Fox News Digital in an interview on Monday. "Which means, that clearly, there must have been some problems."
She said her daughter texted her December 25, asking if she could make a trip to visit her the following day.
"She texted in the evening, urging me to come the next day to Washington," she said. She recalls responding, "I can’t get myself together in one day. I am 69 years old, I have to get my medications and a thousand other things."
Though Ljubicic offered to visit her daughter the next day, she said she now lives with guilt after postponing the trip.
"And now I can’t forgive myself for not just letting things fall where they may, and just go, and whatever happens to me, happens," she said.
