Brian Walshe Dismembered, Discarded the Body of Wife Ana Walshe, Prosecutors Allege
Prosecutors claimed that Brian Walshe dismembered his wife’s body before discarding it during his arraignment on a murder charge Wednesday morning.
Walshe, who was led into the courtroom in handcuffs and maintained a blank expression throughout the proceedings, was held without bail.
His second arraignment in the case of his wife’s disappearance took place on Wednesday.
Prosecutors outlined an intricate timeline of the days following Ana Walshe’s disappearance on New Year’s Day, claiming that DNA testing of items discarded in a Swampscott dumpster linked back to the Walshe couple, including slippers, tissues, and a Tyvek suit.
“It is believed that Brian Walshe dismembered Ana Walshe and discarded her body rather than divorce,” Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Lynn Beland said during the hearing. “The bags were later discarded in Swampscott and contained Ana’s property, cleaning supplies, and the DNA that was left behind.”
According to the state, a search of 10 trash bags that were thrown away in Swampscott and ended up at a Peabody processing station turned up a number of items, including towels, rugs, slippers, tape, a Tyvek suit, gloves, a hacksaw, a piece of a necklace Ana had been photographed wearing, a Prada purse, Hunter boots, and a COVID-19 vaccine card in her name. According to the state, many of the items had stains that appeared to be blood.
Packed courtroom in Quincy for the arraignment of Brian Walshe. He will be charged with murder in connection to the disappearance of his wife Ana. Here he is being let into court. @NBC10Boston pic.twitter.com/chRZgvcXUo
— Abbey Niezgoda NBC10 Boston (@AbbeyNBCBoston) January 18, 2023
Walshe allegedly conducted a number of Google searches on his son’s iPad in the days following his wife’s disappearance, including “How long before a body starts to smell?” and “Dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body.”
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Ana Walshe’s Employer reported her missing.
Ana Walshe’s workplace in Washington D.C., where she commuted weekly, notified Cohasset police that she had not arrived, according to prosecutors. Walshe had a flight scheduled from Logan Airport in Boston to Washington D.C. on January 3 but did not board. Officers from the Cohasset Police Department went to the couple’s home to check on their well-being, which is when Walshe first reported his wife missing, telling officers she left the house around 6 a.m. Jan. 1, according to the state.
Walshe told police that his wife was supposed to take a rideshare to the airport, but no Uber or Lyft was called to the house that morning, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Brian Walshe has been charged with Ana Walshe’s murder.
The husband of a missing Cohasset mother has been charged with murder in connection with her disappearance.
Ana’s cellphone appeared to be stationary at the home on New Year’s Eve until 3:14 a.m. on Jan. 2, when it was turned off, according to the state. Walshe claimed his wife should have been dressed in a dress, a black jacket, Hunter boots, a watch, a ring, and a Prada purse.
Brian Walshe’s Week During the Search for Ana
Prosecutors went over Walshe’s alleged lies about his whereabouts in the days following, and said he bought three rugs at a HomeGoods on Jan. 2. Walshe was allegedly seen pushing a cart containing cleaning supplies, mops, brushes, tape, tarp, a Tyvex suit with boot covers, buckets, goggles, baking soda, and a hatchet that day at a Home Depot. Walshe was pushing the cart while wearing a face mask and rubber gloves, according to Beland.
On Jan. 3, surveillance footage allegedly showed Walshe’s Volvo and a man who appeared to be him exiting the car near a dumpster near an Abington apartment complex before dropping off the bag. Prosecutors said he made two more stops at apartments after that, one in Abington and one in Brockton, because the bag appeared heavy.
Prosecutors claim that by the time police officers attempted to locate the bags dropped off in Abington, they had already been picked up and destroyed at a trash processing facility.
The next day, Jan. 4, Walshe is said to have gone to HomeGoods and T.J. Maxx to buy towels, bath mats, and men’s clothing before going to Lowes to buy squeegees and a trash can, according to the state.
The day of the wellbeing check was Jan. 4, when Cohasset police officers noticed Walshe’s Volvo had its seats down and a plastic liner in the back, according to the state.
The state said Walshe went to his mother’s complex in Swampscott on Jan. 5 and went to the southeast corner of the building, where there was a dumpster. Later, the dumpster was secured and searched.
DNA from Brian and Ana Walshe discovered in trash
Investigators discovered many discarded items in Swampscott and had the state crime lab perform DNA testing after it was discovered that blood was on several of the items.
DNA from one or both of the pair was discovered on the slippers, Tyvek suit, and tissues.
Walshe was held without bail after the defense entered not guilty pleas. Walshe’s attorney did not speak in court. Walsh’s only words were “I do,” indicating to the judge that he understood the charges against him.
Walshe is scheduled to appear in court again in February.
Walshe has been in police custody for more than a week after initially being charged with lying to police about his missing wife, a mother of three from Cohasset, Massachusetts.
Prosecutors announced on Tuesday that Walshe is now facing a murder charge in the case, though they did not specify what evidence prompted the new charge.
Walshe was charged with improper handling and transportation of human remains, authorities said Tuesday evening.
Walshe’s Lawyer Issues Statement
Tracy Miner, Brian Walshe’s attorney, issued the following statement:
“It is easy to charge a crime and even easier to say a person committed that crime. It is a much more difficult thing to prove it, which we will see if the prosecution can do. I am not going to comment on the evidence, first because I am going to try this case in the court and not in the media. Second, because I haven’t been provided with any evidence by the prosecution. In my experience, where, as here, the prosecution leaks so called evidence to the press before they provide it to me, their case isn’t that strong. When they have a strong case, they give me everything as soon as possible. We shall see what they have and what evidence is admissible in court, where the case will ultimately be decided.
Although it is probably fruitless, I ask that you not inundate my office, my home or my cell phone with media requests. I will not be giving any media interviews or comments. I intend to win this case in court, not in the media, which has already tried and convicted Mr. Walshe.”
Cohasset Reacts to Brian Walshe Murder Charge
Ana Walshe’s case has received international attention, with a concerned public following the investigation closely.
Walshe’s hometown of Cohasset held a vigil last week in prayer for the missing mother.
Some locals have been outspoken since Brian Walshe’s murder charge became public.
“I’m sure the husband’s going to have a nice time rotting in prison just thinking about what his actions, what his consequences are going to be dealing with right now and for the rest of his life,” Cohasset resident Anderew Giomaritin said.
Tracy Miner, Brian Walshe’s attorney, declined to comment on the new charges, saying she is focused on defending him in court.
Last week, Walshe pleaded not guilty to the charge of misleading police.
