A Cohasset man was arraigned on charges that he murdered and dismembered his wife.
Brian Walshe, 47, was in Quincy District Court, charged in connection to the death of 39-year-old Ana Walshe. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
Ana Walshe is a mother of three young children, and worked as an executive for a property management company in Washington, D.C.
Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Lynn Beland says Walshe was reported missing on January 4th, and investigators later found blood and a damaged knife in the basement of their Cohasset home.
Phone records and surveillance footage indicate Brian Walshe traveled to apartment complexes in Abington and Brockton to dispose of heavy trash bags.
A few minutes later, he was tracked to another location in Abington, and a complex in Brockton.
Brian Walshe told investigators he last saw his wife around 6 a.m. on New Year’s Day, getting into a rideshare vehicle. But investigators say there was no record of her using Uber or Lyft that day.
She had a flight scheduled on January 3rd, but investigators said she did not board a plane. Her employer requested a wellness check, and she was reported missing.
Brian Walshe was accused of using his son’s iPad to search the internet on January 1, with searches including “how long before a body starts to smell,” and “how to stop a body from decomposing,” and “10 ways to dispose a body if you really need to.”
On January 2nd, he was seen on surveillance video at the Home Depot in Rockland. He was observed pushing a cart that included a Tyvek suit, hatchet, mops, tarp, and brushes.
On December 27th, it’s alleged Brian Walshe Googled “What’s the best state to divorce for a man.”
“Rather than divorce, it is believed that Brian Walshe dismembered Ana Walshe and discarded her body,” said Beland. “The bags were later discarded in Swampscott and contained Ana’s property and the items used to clean up, as well as the DNA that was left behind.”
It’s alleged he discarded trash bags in a dumpster near his mother’s home in Swampscott.
A search of a transfer station in Peabody found a hacksaw, bags with stains consistent to blood, a necklace Ana Walshe was known to wear, and a COVID-19 vaccination card in her name.
Human blood was found on items, which were sent for DNA testing.
Judge Mark Coven ordered Brian Walshe to be held without bail, which was not contested by his defense attorney, Tracy Miner.
Walshe is due back in court on February 9th for a status hearing.
WATD’s Gill Johnston and Dan McCready contributed to this report.
