Brian Walshe indicted for murder in death of wife

COHASSET, Mass. — A Massachusetts man has been indicted in the death of his wife who has not been seen since Jan. 1, a top prosecutor said Thursday.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrisey said Brian Walshe, 47, has been charged with first-degree murder as well as misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice and improper conveyance of a human body. A first-degree murder conviction in Massachusetts carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

Walshe is accused of murdering his wife, dismembering her and disposing of her body.

Ana Walshe, a mother of three who is originally from Serbia, was reportedly last seen leaving the family’s home in Cohasset, south of Boston, in the early morning hours of Jan. 1. She was on her way to the airport for a flight to Washington, where she worked for a real estate company, authorities said. Her employer reported her missing Jan. 4.

Starting Jan. 1 and for several days after, Brian Walshe made multiple online searches using an iPad belonging to one of his sons using terms such as “dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body,” “how long before a body starts to smell” and “hacksaw best tool to dismember,” prosecutors said.

Investigators also found Jan. 3 surveillance video of man resembling Brian Walshe throwing what appeared to be heavy trash bags into a dumpster at an apartment complex in Abington, not far from Cohasset.

During a Jan. 8 search of a trash processing facility north of Boston and not far from Brian Walshe’s mother’s home, investigators found trash bags that contained a hatchet, hacksaw, towels and a protective Tyvek suit, cleaning agents, a Prada purse, boots like the ones Ana Walshe was last seen wearing and a COVID-19 vaccination card with her name.

Walshe was charged with murder in January and pleaded not guilty. The indictment moves the case to Norfolk Superior Court, and he will be arraigned in the coming weeks, Morrisey said. Walshe remains in jail. He and his wife’s three young children are now in state custody.