Ana Walshe.Photo: Cohasset Police Department
The mystery behindAna Walshe’s disappearancecontinues to get more tangled.
The mom of three from Cohasset, Massachusetts was first reported missing on Jan. 4, three days after she was last seen leaving her home in the coastal community, per Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley.
Since then, new details have emerged about the case, leading to the eventual arrest of Ana’s husband, Brian Walshe.
Days after she was reported missing, Brian was arrested on Jan. 8 on a single charge of misleading police during the investigation into Ana’s whereabouts, according to a statement from the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office. He pleaded not guilty during his court hearing, perNBC News.
During his court appearance Monday, prosecutors alleged that on Jan. 2, Brian was captured on Home Depot surveillance footage spending $450 on cleaning products, including mops and tarps — despite telling authorities he was 40 miles away visiting a Whole Foods and CVS.
Brian was recently in court in 2021, when pled guilty toselling fake Andy Warhol paintingsin 2018, according toThe Boston Globe, and is currently awaiting sentencing. However, police have said there does not appear to be any connection with Ana’s disappearance.
Here’s a timeline of everything that has happened with the case, so far.
Dec. 25, 2022: Ana Walshe reportedly begs her mother to visit
Speaking withFOX News Digitaloutside her Belgrade, Serbia, apartment on Jan. 9, Ana’s mother Milanka Ljubicic recalled thelast text conversation she hadwith her missing 39-year-old daughter on Christmas Day.
“She just said, ‘Please, mama. Come tomorrow,'” Milanka said through a translator. “Which means, that clearly, there must have been some problems.”
Milanka said Ana was pleading for her mother to meet her in Washington D.C., where she worked as a real estate executive, but Milanka, instead, proposed she fly out the following day.
“And now I can’t forgive myself for not just letting things fall where they may, and just go, and whatever happens to me, happens,” she told the outlet.
Days later, around midnight on Dec. 31, Ana made a final attempt to reach loved ones in Serbia.
“She called again at 1 a.m. and I missed that call too,” Milanka said. “She called her elder sister who was also asleep. Then she tried to call her maid of honor who didn’t hear the phone because of the loud music. And now, I regret not getting the phone, because she’s disappeared.”
Jan. 1, 2023: Ana Walshe is last seen leaving her home
According to Cohasset Police, Ana waslast seen leaving her homeon New Year’s Day. A family member who was at the home said they saw Ana around 4 or 5 a.m. on Jan. 1, Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley said during a news conference.
According to police, she had a flight booked for Jan. 3, but “it’s been reported that she was called to D.C. to handle some type of emergency.”
Jan. 4, 2023: Ana Walshe is reported missing
Ana was officially reported missing on Jan. 4, after she failed to show up to her job, authorities say. Both her husband and employer reported her missing the same day.
Jan. 6, 2023: Police hold a press conference as the investigation continues
On Jan. 6,Cohasset Police held a morning news conferenceasking for the public’s help in locating Ana. At the time, police said they were investigating her disappearance as a missing persons case.
“The focus right now is on trying to locate her,” added the police chief. “All it takes is a phone call to let us know that she is okay.”
Jan. 8, 2023: Brian Walshe is arrested on a single charge of misleading police during the investigation into Ana’s whereabouts
On Jan. 8,Brian was arrestedafter he was charged with misleading a police investigation during the search for his missing wife, according to a statement from the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Brian Walshe.Greg Derr/AP/Shutterstock
Jan. 9, 2023: Brian Walshe pleads not guilty to a single charge of misleading police
The following day, Brian was arraigned in Quincy District Court, wherehe pleaded not guiltyto the charge of misleading police, and a judge ordered him held on $500,000 bail. He is due back in court on Feb. 9.
During the hearing, prosecutors also accused him of visiting a Home Depot and purchasing $450 worth of cleaning products, including mops and tarps, following his wife’s alleged New Year’s Day disappearance.
Jan. 9, 2023: CNN reports that investigators found queries about dismemberment and burial in Brian Walshe’s search history
Amid Brian’s arraignment, CNN reported that during the police’s search of the Walshes' home in Cohasset, investigators foundsearch queries on Brian’s internet recordsfor “how to dispose of a 115-pound woman’s body” and how to dismember a body, according to two law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation.
As a result, investigators “turned their focus from a missing persons case to suspicion she may have been killed,” sources told CNN.
Jan. 9, 2023: Ana Walshe’s Mother Recalls Ana Reaching Out Multiple Times Shortly Before Her Disappearance
Speaking with Fox News Digital outside her home in Belgrade, Serbia, Ana’s mother Milanka Ljubicic said Ana had sent her a text shortly before Christmas asking her to come “tomorrow,” but Ljubicic was not able to leave home so quickly. Ana then attempted to contact her again on Dec. 31, the day before she was last seen.
“She called again at 1 a.m. and I missed that call too,” Ljubicic said. “She called her elder sister who was also asleep. Then she tried to call her maid of honor who didn’t hear the phone because of the loud music. And now, I regret not getting the phone, because she’s disappeared.”
Jan. 10, 2023: Reports emerge that investigators recovered bloody cutting instruments in the search for Ana Walshe
The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office confirmed the collection of items of potential evidence, but did not disclose any details.
“Search activity conducted north of Boston yesterday resulted in a number of items being collected which will now be subject to processing and testing to determine if they are of evidentiary value to this investigation. No details on those items will be disclosed at this time,” spokesman David Traub said, per WBZ.
Jan. 10, 2023: Friends of Ana Walshe say she was in a rush to sell assets before her disappearance
“Over time, within the last six months, things started to get really strange with the Walshes,” Mandi said. “Ana was selling all of her assets in the Boston area, including our unit … Why are you in such a rush to sell our unit? It doesn’t make sense.”
“This was very out of character for them,” Mike, who reportedly worked construction on Ana and Brian Walshe’s many Massachusetts properties, added.
“They never stayed at a property for more than a year, so I figured maybe they’re running from something or hiding from something,” Mike said. “I mean, she sold all her properties and walked away with a lot of money.”
Jan. 13, 2023: Police confirm to PEOPLE that Brian Walshe once told Ana Walshe he was going to kill her
While the report does not nameBrian Walsheas the suspect, Metro D.C. police confirm to PEOPLE he is the person associated with the complaint. The case was closed because Ana, now 39, refused to cooperate with the investigation at the time, police say.
Ana Walshe.Instagram
Jan. 13, 2023: Ana Walshe’s children are taken into state custody
A friend of Ana’s, Pamela Bardhi, told PEOPLE that though the children had initially been placed with Brian’s mom, the state of Massachusetts had removed them amid the investigation.
“Today was supposed to be the day that they get placed in foster care and potentially separated,” Bardhi told PEOPLE on Thursday. “These are three boys under 6 who you don’t know what they’ve seen, heard, experienced, within the last two weeks. The trauma to potentially think about separation — absolutely not.”
She added, “Do not just place them in a random foster care situation, when there are people — Ana’s close friends — that want to take them in.”
Jan. 17, 2023:Police logs show Ana Walshe’s employer, not Brian Walshe, was the first to report her missing
Brian’s lawyer, Tracy Miner, initially told the court that Ana’s employer Tishman Speyer filed a missing persons report as a result of Brian reaching out to ask after his wife’s whereabouts. However,police logs show, the head of security at the Washington, D.C.-based real estate firm reportedly said Tishman Speyer had reached out to Brian first about Ana’s disappearance, but that he had not filed a missing-person report. The head of security then called police requesting a wellness check on Ana on Jan. 4, the day she was reported missing.
Jan. 17, 2023: Brian Walshe is charged with murder
“The continued investigation has now allowed police to obtain an arrest warrant charging Brian Walshe with the murder of his wife,” Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrisseysaid in a video statement released Tuesday.
Brian had already been charged with misleading police, to which he pleaded not guilty and had bail set at $450,000. He has not yet been arraigned for the murder charge.
source: people.com
