Brian Walshe, charged with the murder of his wife who has been missing since New Year’s Day, searched online for ways to dismember and dispose of a body, prosecutors said Wednesday at an arraignment.
What’s new: Assistant District Attorney Lynn Beland said Wednesday it was DNA evidence on a pair of slippers, clothes and a Tyvek disposable suit that led investigators to believe “Brian Walshe dismembered and later discarded” his wife’s body. Walshe pleaded not guilty.
What to know: Brian Walshe, 47, already was in custody and held on $500,000 bail after pleading not guilty to misleading investigators searching for his wife. Walshe also was on probation pending sentencing in a 2021 wire fraud case in which he was convicted of selling fraudulent Andy Warhol paintings.
What happened at Brian Walshe’s arraignment?
In court, Beland presented a timeline of what investigators say were Brian Walshe’s suspicious actions both before and after his wife was reported missing, starting with a Dec. 27 internet search of, “What is the best state to divorce?”
“Rather than divorce, it is believed that Brian Walshe dismembered and later discarded her body,” Beland said.
Beland said Walshe searched inquiries such as, “How long before a body starts to smell,” “Can you throw away body parts,” and “Dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body” on Jan. 1, the last day his wife was seen.
In the days that followed, Walshe is accused of visiting various apartment complexes to dispose of more than a dozen large trash bags. Beland said Walshe is visible on surveillance video throwing trash bags into the complexes’ dumpsters.
Walshe will be held without bail until a status hearing on Feb. 9.
Who is Ana Walshe?
Ana Walshe, a 39-year-old mother of three young boys, was last seen by a family member in her home between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Jan. 1 and was reported missing a few days later. Her body has not been found, and her three children are currently in state custody.
Walshe’s cellphone, as well as her credit and debit cards, have been inactive since New Year’s Day, according to Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley.
Walshe is an employee of Washington, D.C.-based real estate company Tishman Speyer, who made the initial missing person report after Ana Walshe didn’t arrive at work on Jan. 4. The couple owns a home in Washington and Walshe commutes during the week for work at a real estate company, her friends said.
Who is Brian Walshe?
Brain Walshe was arrested earlier this month for allegedly misleading investigators looking into his wife’s disappearance.
Police investigating her disappearance discovered a bloody knife in the basement of the home she shared with her husband last week. Prosecutors also said Walshe neglected to tell police he had spent hundreds of dollars on cleaning supplies at stores shortly after his wife disappeared.
The murder and disinterment charges against Walshe were added Tuesday after DNA testing results showed both Brian and Ana Walshe’s DNA on several pieces of bloodied evidence.
Contributing: The Associated Press; Peter Blandino, The Patriot Ledger