Prosecutor: Blood and knife found in basement of missing mother of three Ana Walshe, Brian held on bail

The husband of a missing Massachusetts mother of three young children was held on bail at his arraignment on Monday morning.

46-year-old Brian Walshe of Cohasset was taken into custody Sunday and charged with misleading a police investigation.

Ana Walshe was reported to be last seen at her home in Cohasset shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day. Walshe reportedly left her home in the early morning hours to take a flight to Washington D.C. where she works and has a townhouse. Police say she never boarded the flight. Both Walshe’s employer and her husband reported her missing on Wednesday. Investigators have also searched Walshe’s D.C. home with negative results.

During Walshe’s arraignment, prosecutors stated that Ana Walshe’s phone pinged on January 2nd, a day after she reportedly went missing. Police have also not found any evidence that a ride share was used by Ana Walshe.

The Commonwealth also stated that Brian Walshe was not truthful about where he went which is a condition of his release after admitting in April 2021 to taking art from a friend and falsely offering authentic Warhol paintings for sale on eBay and delivering fake paintings to the buyer. It is also reportedly on video surveillance that Brian Walshe went to Home Depot on January 2nd and purchased $450 of cleaning supplies including mops, buckets, and tape. Prosecutors revealed that the untruths hindered and delayed the investigation into the missing Walshe. A knife and blood were also found in the basement, according to prosecutors.

According to Massachusetts State Police, on Friday the State Police Special Emergency Response Team and a local police regional police team began searching an area adjacent to Chief Justice Cushing Highway (Route 3A) which is near Walshe’s home.

On Saturday, Massachusetts State Police and Cohasset Police continued to search the wooded area near Walshe’s home in addition to a pool and a nearby stream with no results. Officials stated that the ground search had concluded, however, the investigation continues.

On Sunday, authorities spent hours at the home of Walshe.

On Friday, a home on Jerusalem Road in Cohasset that was owned by Walshe until a few months ago went up in flames. The cause of the fire was deemed by investigators to be accidental.

Walshe’s bail was set at $500,000 cash.