I-Team: Hatchet, hacksaw, blood found in Peabody trash facility during Ana Walshe search
COHASSET - Investigators searching for evidence in the disappearance of Cohasset mother Ana Walshe found trash bags with blood, a hatchet, a hacksaw, a rug and used cleaning supplies at a transfer station in Peabody, sources told WBZ-TV's I-Team Tuesday.
#Sources #Cohasset missing mom - investigators searching #Peabody transfer station found trash bags with blood, hatchet, hack saw, rug and used cleaning supplies. #ITeam #WBZ #AnaWalshe pic.twitter.com/aNyNnuHJmq
— Cheryl Fiandaca (@CherylFiandaca) January 10, 2023
WBZ has also learned State Police searched the Southeastern Massachusetts (SEMASS) recycling center in Wareham Monday but did not find anything. The facility converts waste into electricity within a day, so anything that was brought there several days ago has likely been put through the incinerators.
In a statement Tuesday, a spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey would not confirm what investigators found during the searches.
"Search activity conducted north of Boston yesterday resulted in a number of items being collected which will now be subject to processing and testing to determine if they are of evidentiary value to this investigation. No detail on those items will be disclosed at this time," said spokesman David Traub.
Authorities wearing protective suits and police officers with dogs searched the facility on Newbury Street in Peabody Monday looking for clues linked to the disappearance of the mother of three. Ana Walshe, 39, was last seen alive January 1 after a New Year's Eve dinner at her home in Cohasset with her husband and a friend.
The husband, 47-year-old Brian Walshe, is currently being held on $500,000 bond on a charge of misleading investigators in the case. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday in Quincy District Court.
Related: Who is Brian Walshe?
The Department of Children and Families has taken custody of the couple's three young sons, ages 2 through 6, while the search for their mother continues.
Prosecutors said a bloody knife was found in the family's basement and Brian Walshe allegedly purchased $450 in cleaning supplies after her disappearance. His car has been impounded and there's evidence it was recently cleaned, sources told the I-Team.
"The processing of the home may be completed as soon as today or tomorrow," Traub said Tuesday. "There is no anticipated change or adjustment of the charges in place in this matter at this time."
Prosecutors said Ana Walshe was reportedly last seen leaving her home around 4 a.m. on January 1 to take a ride share to Logan Airport in Boston for a flight to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. During Monday's arraignment, prosecutors said she never got into an Uber or Lyft.
Ana Walshe's cell phone pinged in the area of the house on January 1 and 2, police said.
"There are no anticipated searches of public areas today, but that may change should the work of detectives develop additional areas of potential investigation," Traub said.