Brian Walshe held on bail after police find bloody knife in basement of missing Cohasset mother
COHASSET – Prosecutors said a bloody knife was found in the basement of Brian Walshe, the husband of missing Cohasset mother Ana Walshe, and he allegedly purchased hundreds of dollars in cleaning supplies after her disappearance.
A judge ordered Brian Walshe held on $500,000 cash bail Monday after he was arraigned in Quincy District Court. He is charged with misleading police during the investigation into his wife's disappearance.
Monday marks eight days since Ana Walshe was last seen.
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.
According to I-Team sources, investigators found evidence at a trash facility in Peabody connected to the case. Sources also say there is evidence a car that was impounded was recently cleaned.
In 2018, Brian Walshe was charged with fraud in U.S. District Court after he allegedly sold two fake Andy Warhol paintings (see criminal complaint below). As a result, he is on house arrest pending his sentencing in federal court and is required to report when he goes anywhere.
According to prosecutors, Brian Walshe said he went to Whole Foods and CVS on January 1, but there is not surveillance video or receipts to show that he ever went.
"It is also important to note that this is the day one of Ana being missing," police said in court documents.
On January 2, he said the only time he left the house was to take his son for ice cream. Prosecutors said surveillance cameras at Home Depot captured him purchased about $450 of supplies.
Court documents allege that in Home Depot, Brian Walshe was wearing a black surgical mask, blue surgical gloves, and made a cash purchase. Police said items he bought included mops, a bucket, and a tarp.
Investigators executed a search warrant at the home on Sunday, and said they found blood in the basement along with a broken and bloody knife.
A defense attorney asked for no bail in the case, allowing for federal court to determine if Brian Walshe violated his house arrest. Instead, the judge agreed with the prosecution's request for $500,000 cash bail.
The I-Team has learned the couple's three young children are in custody while the search for their mother continues.
WBZ-TV obtained and verified audio of a voicemail left by Brian Walshe for a friend of his wife's. The friend, who lives in Washington, D.C. where Ana Walshe works, said the voicemail was left on Wednesday. That is the same day she was reported missing to police.
"Good afternoon, this is Brian Walshe. I hope all is going well. I was just reaching out to basically everybody I could. Ana hasn't been in touch for a few days," Brian Walshe said in the voicemail. "If you know anyone that may have had contact with her, you know I am trying to call everyone. I am sorry to bother you. I am sure everything is fine."
Peter Kirby lives in Marshfield and is a longtime friend of Walshe family. He called Brian's arrest and the ongoing search for Ana "absolutely heartbreaking."
"The internet is full of people who have made up their mind," Kirby said. "We were concerned that when they didn't find anything that Brian would become the target, the chief suspect. I've known him for years. His biggest fear is Ana is gone. That's really heartbreaking."
Kirby said he was texting with Ana Walshe as recently as the Thursday before she disappeared.
"We have to get back to our lives and yet our friend Ana is still missing," Kirby said. "Our dear friend Brian is in this awful situation where he is terrified and heartbroken and stuck in an endless loop of unknown while the internet decides he's the bad guy."
Brian Walshe Criminal Complaint 2018 by WBZ Webstaff on Scribd