Bloody Knife Found in Missing Woman’s Basement, Husband Spent Hundreds on Cleaning Supplies: Prosecutors

Ana Walshe appears in a photo that police released during her missing person’s case. On left, officers are taking her husband Brian Walshe out of the police station after his arrest for allegedly misleading them in their search for Ana. [Image of Ana Walshe via Cohasset Police Department; screenshot of her husband via CBS Boston]

Investigators discovered blood and a bloody knife in a missing woman’s basement, prosecutors said Monday morning in an arraignment covered by NBC Boston. Defendant Brian Walshe, 47, is charged with misleading police about his whereabouts during their investigation of the disappearance of his wife Ana Walshe, 39. He later purchased $450 in cleaning supplies from a Home Depot, prosecutors reportedly said. Items allegedly included mops, buckets, tarps, and tape.

“Investigators later discovered video evidence of Walshe at the Home Depot in Rockland, wearing a black surgical mask, blue surgical gloves, and making a cash purchase,” police wrote in an affidavit obtained by Law&Crime. “This trip was made in violation of his probation conditions during the time he is allotted to pick up his kids from school.”

Authorities were noting his federal criminal case, in which he illegally offered Warhol paintings for sale. Online records show he pleaded guilty in 2021 to wire fraud, interstate transportation for a scheme to defraud, and unlawful monetary transaction. A count of possession of converted goods will be dropped after his sentencing, authorities said. There has been no action in the matter since July 17, 2022 after his sentencing hearing got postponed. Police said in state court documents that he was on house arrest for pre-sentencing probation, only allowed to leave his residence with prior permission.

As previously reported, police said that Ana Walshe, an executive at a Washington D.C.-based real estate management company, went missing from her home in Cohasset, Massachusetts, which is about 45 minutes southeast of Boston.

According to court documents, Cohasset police performed a welfare check on her Jan. 4. Police said they spoke to her husband multiple times. In his alleged timeline of events, they hosted a friend for dinner at their home on New Year’s Eve. The friend, Gem, arrived around 8:30 p.m. and left at about 1 a.m. or 1:30 a.m., according to documents. He and Ana went to bed shortly after.

“WALSHE further related Ana told him she had a work emergency and needed to fly back to D.C. in the morning,” records state. “WALSHE related Ana got ready and kissed him goodbye and told him to go back to sleep. Ana will usually then take an Uber, Lyft, or Taxi to the airport. Ana left between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m.”

Brian Walshe allegedly said he left home in the afternoon to see his mother, who lives in the town of Swampscott, Massachusetts.

“At the time, WALSHE did not have his cell phone so he did not use a GPS,” authorities wrote. Brian allegedly suggested that one of his sons must have taken and lost his phone sometime on New Year’s Eve or Day. “WALSHE related he drove to his mother’s house via the route leading by Derby Street in Hingham, Route 3 north, Route 93 through Boston, and instead of taking Route 1A, he got lost and took Route 1 and then maybe Route 114. WALSH related the commute should have taken 60-70 minutes but ended up taking about 90 minutes.”

Brian Walshe allegedly said he left his mother’s home within 15 minutes to run errands for her at Whole Foods and CVS for groceries and cleaning wipes. He returned to her condo and arrived at his Cohasset home about 8 p.m.

But police claimed not to find him on surveillance footage at the Whole Foods or CVS in the time frame he claimed to have been there.

Walshe allegedly maintained that he found his phone under a pillow on Jan. 2. He allegedly said that on that same day, he took one of his sons out for ice cream while the babysitter watched the other children. This was allegedly during his allotted time for taking his kids to class, though school was closed that day.

Police claimed that Walshe violated probation by showing up to the Home Depot later on Jan. 2. It was allegedly not the only time he violated probation.

“The data from WALSHE’S cell phone data extraction, given on consent, also showed that the device traveled to the areas of Brockton and Abington during the week beginning January 1, 2023,” authorities wrote. “The itinerary for WALSHE’s leave from home does not include such towns for approved travel.”

Officers said his lies about his whereabouts wasted their time because they had to verify the truth.

“Investigators explained to WALSHE that he would naturally be suspected of harming his wife due to her disappearance and they would need to account for his whereabouts,” they wrote. “The fact that he was asked a specific question and he gave an untruthful answer that led investigators out of the area caused a clear delay in the search for the missing person.”