The husband of the Massachusetts woman who has been missing for nearly three full weeks has now been charged with her murder.
We’ve been covering the sad case of Ana Walshe, the Massachusetts woman who went missing from her hometown of Cohasset early on New Year’s Day after supposedly hailing a ride share to the airport for a work trip. Almost immediately after her disappearance, though, police were skeptical of husband Brian Walshe‘s story about Ana’s departure from their family home — where she lived with him and the couple’s three sons.
On Tuesday, police announced they have charged Brian with her murder — even as detectives remain tight-lipped while they continue to search for her body. Even more concerning, the prosecutor has cryptically warned that more information about the case will come out in court on Wednesday at Brian’s arraignment. Is it possible they found… something??
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As we previously noted, the 47-year-old man pleaded not guilty last week to a charge of misleading investigators about his actions during the period after his wife first went missing on New Year’s Day. He has been held in jail on that charge while detectives continue to investigate Ana’s disappearance.
However, the last two weeks of investigation have clearly brought Cohasset police closer to a shocking realization: they are sure Ana was murdered. By charging Brian in her death, it’s clear prosecutors are zeroing in on what they believe happened to the 39-year-old mother.
In an announcement to the media on Tuesday from the Boston suburb, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey explained that Brian has now been charged with Ana’s murder:
“The continued investigation has now allowed police to obtain an arrest warrant charging Brian Walshe with murder of his wife. Mr. Walshe will be transported to the court for the charge of murder.”
It’s unclear what specific new information led authorities to charge Brian. As far as the public and media are aware, at least, police have not found Ana’s body yet. However, as CNN and others report, something clearly developed in the last week to put this charge on Brian.
Morrissey himself said as much on Tuesday, too. The prosecutor warned that police will reveal “additional” information about the path of their investigation when Walshe is arraigned in court on Wednesday:
“Additional details in the investigation and the evidence in support of those charges are likely to be presented at arraignment but will not be disclosed at this time.”
Whoa…
Clearly, it’ll be interesting to see what is revealed at that point. According to CNN, Brian’s attorney declined to comment on the murder charge.
As we’ve been reporting, police in Cohasset and nearby towns have found grim evidence possibly linked to Ana’s disappearance. At the family home, they discovered blood and a bloody knife in the basement. At a trash collection site in a neighboring town, they found a hacksaw with apparent bloodstains. And among Brian’s recent computer records, forensic investigators have uncovered internet searches seeking information on dismembering and disposing of a body.
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Wednesday’s arraignment should contain much more information about this unsettling case. Obviously, this murder charge is a significant development. We can only hope police continue to dig for answers on what happened to Ana, and justice can properly be served.
Here is the latest on the murder charge that was just announced against Brian (below):
Such a scary situation.
According to CNN, the couple’s three young children — who are “all between the ages of 2 and 6” — continue to be held under the care of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
We continue to send love to them, and to all of Ana’s loved ones.
[Image via Ana Walshe/Instagram/CBS Boston/YouTube]