(Trends Wide) — Brian Walshe killed and dismembered his wife Ana Walshe and disposed of her body in dumpsters, the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said at an arraignment Wednesday.
“Instead of divorcing, Brian Walshe is believed to have dismembered Ana Walshe and disposed of her body,” prosecutor Lynn Beland said.
Brian Walshe, 47, appeared in Quincy District Court on charges of murder and unauthorized disinterment of a body. The hearing was the first in which prosecutors definitively said that Ana Walshe, a Massachusetts mother of three who has been missing since New Year’s, is dead.
At trial, Beland laid out some of the evidence that led to that accusation, including the discovery of Ana Walshe’s belongings and her blood in the trash.
Surveillance video captured a person who appeared to be Brian Walshe throwing heavy bags into a dumpster in Abington and in Swampscott, Beland said. The bags in Swampscott contained bloodstains, cleaning supplies, a hacksaw, an axe, boots and a bag carried by Ana Walshe and her covid-19 vaccination card, the prosecutor said. DNA from her and her husband was also found in human blood samples found in the dump, she said.
In addition, in the days after her disappearance, Brian Walshe allegedly ran a series of Google searches: “How to dispose of a dead body if you really need to,” “dismemberment and how to dispose of a dead body,” “can you be charged with murder without a corpse? and “can you identify a corpse with broken teeth?”, according to the prosecutor.
In court, Brian Walshe shook his head once, but did not react to the gruesome accusations. He spoke in court to say that he acknowledged the charges, and a plea of ​​not guilty was entered on his behalf.
The judge ordered his detention without bail. His next court date is February 9.
In a statement, Brian Walshe’s defense attorney, Tracy Miner, said she would not comment on the case, suggesting the evidence was not strong.
“I am not going to comment on the evidence, firstly because I am going to defend this case in court and not in the media. Secondly, because the prosecution has not provided me with any evidence. In my experience, when, Since in this case, the prosecution leaks alleged evidence to the press before providing it to me, their case is not that strong,” he said.
“When they have a strong case, they give it to me as soon as possible. We’ll see what they have and what evidence is admissible in court, where the case will ultimately be decided.”
how we got here
Brian Walshe and Ana Walshe married in 2015. Courtesy Peter Kirby
Brian Walshe arrived at court shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday for his hearing. He has been in jail since January 8, when he was arrested and accused of misleading investigators; he pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors accused him of intentionally delaying investigators to hide evidence, alleging that he lied about some of his actions in the days after his wife’s disappearance.
Since Ana Walshe’s employer reported her missing on Jan. 4, authorities have searched the couple’s home, conducted a thorough search of the town of Cohasset and rummaged through dumpsters for any indication of what they were. happened to the woman, 39 years old and mother of three children.
Police also found bloodstains and a broken, bloody knife in the couple’s basement, according to prosecutors.
Pamela Bardhi, a friend and former partner of Ana Walshe, was angered and relieved to learn that investigators believed her friend had been murdered, she told Trends Wide.
“I just had this horrible gut feeling and prayed I was wrong,” she said Tuesday. “I prayed that it wasn’t. And here we are now finding out a few hours ago that there’s a murder charge… It’s very, very hard.”
Although Bardhi is terrified to learn the details of the case, she hopes the truth will come out, she said.
“I think the truth is a double-edged sword. It’s painful to know, but it’s necessary,” he said. “I think those children deserve to know what happened to their mother, no matter what, and to her family and her friends.”
The couple’s children, ranging in age from 2 to 6, are in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, a spokesman said.
Possible evidence against Walshe
Brian Walshe at his arraignment Wednesday in Quincy District Court charged with murder and unauthorized disinterment of a body. Credit: WBTS
So far, several possible pieces of evidence have emerged in the disappearance of Ana Walshe, including her husband’s allegedly false statements to police and items found in and around the small seaside town of Cohasset.
Brian Walshe told police he last saw his wife on the morning of January 1, when she left for a business trip to Washington, according to a police affidavit. The husband said he spent the rest of the day running errands for his mother and spent time Jan. 2 with his children.
However, prosecutors say there is no evidence that Ana Walshe took her usual rideshare or taxi to the airport, took a flight, or arrived in Washington. Her phone also registered activity near the couple’s home during the night of January 1-2.
In addition, investigators allege Brian Walshe never ran errands for his mother on New Year’s Day and say he made an undisclosed trip to Home Depot on Jan. 2, where prosecutors say he spent about $450 on cleaning supplies, including mops, a bucket and tarps.
On January 4, Ana Walshe’s employer, the real estate company Tishman Speyer, called police to report her missing, according to investigators. A Cohasset police log says: “The company has contacted her husband. He has not filed a police report.”
Brian Walshe called his wife’s workplace before she was reported missing to say he hadn’t heard from her, defense attorney Miner said.
Items collected when investigators conducted searches north of Boston were sent for analysis as possible evidence, the Norfolk district attorney said, declining to provide further details.
Investigators found a hacksaw, torn cloth and apparent blood stains at a Boston-area garbage collection site, law enforcement sources told Trends Wide.
A bloody knife and blood stains were also found in the couple’s basement, prosecutor Lynn Beland said.
The husband has a troubled court record
Brian Walshe appears in court on January 9, 2023 charged with misleading investigators. Credit: Greg Derr/Pool/The Patriot Ledger/AP
The charges against Brian Walshe for the disappearance of his wife are the latest in a series of legal problems for the husband.
In 2021, he pleaded guilty to three federal fraud charges related to a scheme to sell fake Andy Warhol art on the internet. He was placed under house arrest awaiting sentencing and was required to obtain permission to leave his home for specific activities at specific times.
Investigators allege that Walshe made several unauthorized trips in the week following his wife’s disappearance that could constitute violations of the conditions of her house arrest, according to a police affidavit.
In addition, a police report obtained by Trends Wide shows that Ana Walshe reported that someone threatened to “kill (her) and a friend” in 2014. Brian Walshe was the person involved in the complaint, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed. Washington.
The case was closed because the victim refused to cooperate with the prosecution, police said.
In 2019, a relative and family friends also painted Walshe as violent and untrustworthy during a legal battle over his father’s inheritance. Two friends of Brian Walshe’s father have accused Walshe of financial misconduct and called him “a sociopath,” according to affidavits filed in the case.
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(Trends Wide) — Brian Walshe killed and dismembered his wife Ana Walshe and disposed of her body in dumpsters, the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said at an arraignment Wednesday.
“Instead of divorcing, Brian Walshe is believed to have dismembered Ana Walshe and disposed of her body,” prosecutor Lynn Beland said.
Brian Walshe, 47, appeared in Quincy District Court on charges of murder and unauthorized disinterment of a body. The hearing was the first in which prosecutors definitively said that Ana Walshe, a Massachusetts mother of three who has been missing since New Year’s, is dead.
At trial, Beland laid out some of the evidence that led to that accusation, including the discovery of Ana Walshe’s belongings and her blood in the trash.
Surveillance video captured a person who appeared to be Brian Walshe throwing heavy bags into a dumpster in Abington and in Swampscott, Beland said. The bags in Swampscott contained bloodstains, cleaning supplies, a hacksaw, an axe, boots and a bag carried by Ana Walshe and her covid-19 vaccination card, the prosecutor said. DNA from her and her husband was also found in human blood samples found in the dump, she said.
In addition, in the days after her disappearance, Brian Walshe allegedly ran a series of Google searches: “How to dispose of a dead body if you really need to,” “dismemberment and how to dispose of a dead body,” “can you be charged with murder without a corpse? and “can you identify a corpse with broken teeth?”, according to the prosecutor.
In court, Brian Walshe shook his head once, but did not react to the gruesome accusations. He spoke in court to say that he acknowledged the charges, and a plea of ​​not guilty was entered on his behalf.
The judge ordered his detention without bail. His next court date is February 9.
In a statement, Brian Walshe’s defense attorney, Tracy Miner, said she would not comment on the case, suggesting the evidence was not strong.
“I am not going to comment on the evidence, firstly because I am going to defend this case in court and not in the media. Secondly, because the prosecution has not provided me with any evidence. In my experience, when, Since in this case, the prosecution leaks alleged evidence to the press before providing it to me, their case is not that strong,” he said.
“When they have a strong case, they give it to me as soon as possible. We’ll see what they have and what evidence is admissible in court, where the case will ultimately be decided.”
how we got here
Brian Walshe and Ana Walshe married in 2015. Courtesy Peter Kirby
Brian Walshe arrived at court shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday for his hearing. He has been in jail since January 8, when he was arrested and accused of misleading investigators; he pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors accused him of intentionally delaying investigators to hide evidence, alleging that he lied about some of his actions in the days after his wife’s disappearance.
Since Ana Walshe’s employer reported her missing on Jan. 4, authorities have searched the couple’s home, conducted a thorough search of the town of Cohasset and rummaged through dumpsters for any indication of what they were. happened to the woman, 39 years old and mother of three children.
Police also found bloodstains and a broken, bloody knife in the couple’s basement, according to prosecutors.
Pamela Bardhi, a friend and former partner of Ana Walshe, was angered and relieved to learn that investigators believed her friend had been murdered, she told Trends Wide.
“I just had this horrible gut feeling and prayed I was wrong,” she said Tuesday. “I prayed that it wasn’t. And here we are now finding out a few hours ago that there’s a murder charge… It’s very, very hard.”
Although Bardhi is terrified to learn the details of the case, she hopes the truth will come out, she said.
“I think the truth is a double-edged sword. It’s painful to know, but it’s necessary,” he said. “I think those children deserve to know what happened to their mother, no matter what, and to her family and her friends.”
The couple’s children, ranging in age from 2 to 6, are in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, a spokesman said.
Possible evidence against Walshe
Brian Walshe at his arraignment Wednesday in Quincy District Court charged with murder and unauthorized disinterment of a body. Credit: WBTS
So far, several possible pieces of evidence have emerged in the disappearance of Ana Walshe, including her husband’s allegedly false statements to police and items found in and around the small seaside town of Cohasset.
Brian Walshe told police he last saw his wife on the morning of January 1, when she left for a business trip to Washington, according to a police affidavit. The husband said he spent the rest of the day running errands for his mother and spent time Jan. 2 with his children.
However, prosecutors say there is no evidence that Ana Walshe took her usual rideshare or taxi to the airport, took a flight, or arrived in Washington. Her phone also registered activity near the couple’s home during the night of January 1-2.
In addition, investigators allege Brian Walshe never ran errands for his mother on New Year’s Day and say he made an undisclosed trip to Home Depot on Jan. 2, where prosecutors say he spent about $450 on cleaning supplies, including mops, a bucket and tarps.
On January 4, Ana Walshe’s employer, the real estate company Tishman Speyer, called police to report her missing, according to investigators. A Cohasset police log says: “The company has contacted her husband. He has not filed a police report.”
Brian Walshe called his wife’s workplace before she was reported missing to say he hadn’t heard from her, defense attorney Miner said.
Items collected when investigators conducted searches north of Boston were sent for analysis as possible evidence, the Norfolk district attorney said, declining to provide further details.
Investigators found a hacksaw, torn cloth and apparent blood stains at a Boston-area garbage collection site, law enforcement sources told Trends Wide.
A bloody knife and blood stains were also found in the couple’s basement, prosecutor Lynn Beland said.
The husband has a troubled court record
Brian Walshe appears in court on January 9, 2023 charged with misleading investigators. Credit: Greg Derr/Pool/The Patriot Ledger/AP
The charges against Brian Walshe for the disappearance of his wife are the latest in a series of legal problems for the husband.
In 2021, he pleaded guilty to three federal fraud charges related to a scheme to sell fake Andy Warhol art on the internet. He was placed under house arrest awaiting sentencing and was required to obtain permission to leave his home for specific activities at specific times.
Investigators allege that Walshe made several unauthorized trips in the week following his wife’s disappearance that could constitute violations of the conditions of her house arrest, according to a police affidavit.
In addition, a police report obtained by Trends Wide shows that Ana Walshe reported that someone threatened to “kill (her) and a friend” in 2014. Brian Walshe was the person involved in the complaint, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed. Washington.
The case was closed because the victim refused to cooperate with the prosecution, police said.
In 2019, a relative and family friends also painted Walshe as violent and untrustworthy during a legal battle over his father’s inheritance. Two friends of Brian Walshe’s father have accused Walshe of financial misconduct and called him “a sociopath,” according to affidavits filed in the case.
