Almost two weeks after she was reported missing, police are still investigating the disappearance of a Massachusetts mother who vanished in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, 2023. The family of Ana Walshe, 39, is desperate for answers in the midst of a tumultuous investigation in which her husband, Brian Walshe, 47, has already been arrested for misleading authorities in their efforts to find her. According to her husband, Ana Walshe was last seen on January 1 when she left to catch a flight to Washington D.C. for a “work emergency,” and has not been seen or heard from since.
Details emerging in the Massachusetts mother’s disappearance have raised the eyebrows of investigators and the public alike. Brian Walshe told investigators that in the days after he last saw his wife, he ran errands and spent time with their three children. However, investigators now claim that Brian Walshe provided a false timeline of events that impeded their ability to investigate her disappearance, earning him a charge of misleading investigators. Investigators found no evidence of Ana Walshe utilizing any rideshare services to get to the airport, nor any evidence that she got on a plane. It was also discovered that Brian Walshe made unauthorized trips in the days following her disappearance, including an errand in which he purchased roughly $450 in cleaning supplies such as mops, buckets, and tarps.
Following his arrest, friends and family of Walshe have described him in a very unflattering manner. Jeffrey Ornstein, a close friend and former roommate, wrote “Brian is not a trustworthy person and his Affidavit is based on lies and misrepresentations.” Ornstein went on to allege that Walshe was a diagnosed sociopath who has been a patient in a psychiatric hospital in nearby Stockbridge, MA. Dr. Fred Pescatore, a friend of Walshe’s deceased father, has similar sentiments regarding what he observed in the relationship between father and son, describing Walshe as a “very angry and physically violent person,” who spent much of their relationship actively contributing to their estrangement with his behavior.
Brian Walshe’s attempts to mislead investigators in the search for his wife eventually led to a search of their home, yielding alarming evidence. In addition to the bloody knife that was found in the basement, analysis of Walshe’s internet searches turned up keywords regarding the dismemberment and disposal of a human body. A hacksaw with apparent bloodstains was also uncovered near the dumpsters outside Walshe’s mother’s apartment complex, according to investigators.
Court documents have also unearthed a history of legal issues in Brian Walshe’s past, including a failed attempt to contest his late father’s will, in which Walshe was left nothing but his father’s “best wishes,” and no part of his estate, which had an estimated value of over $1 million. Court documents have revealed that in an unrelated matter, Brian Walshe was also indicted on federal fraud charges in 2018 after he allegedly sold fake Andy Warhol artwork on eBay. He pleaded guilty to those charges in 2021 and was on house arrest while he awaited sentencing.
Brian Walshe is slated to return to court on February 9, but for now, he is being held on a $500,000 bail. Authorities are currently seeking to take blood samples from Ana Walshe’s sons for forensic comparison to the traces of blood found in the basement of their home.