COHASETTE, Mass. (WWLP) – The husband of missing 39-year-old mother Ana Walshe was arrested, authorities announced Sunday.
46-year-old Brian Walshe was arrested and charged with imitation of a witness, thereby misleading a police investigation. He pleaded not guilty in court Monday morning.
According to the Cohasset Police Department, Ana Walshe was last seen at her home shortly after midnight on Jan. 1. Cohasset lies roughly 20 miles southeast of Boston.
Friends say she’s a wife and a mother to three young boys.
Friends of Walshe said she was supposed to catch a flight Sunday from Boston Logan International Airport to Washington, D.C., where she works, according to WBTS.
Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley confirmed during a news conference Friday morning that she did not board a flight from Logan Airport.
Ana Walshe was reported missing Wednesday by her husband and her employer.
During this time, Brian Walshe was on house arrest pending federal sentencing in a separate case. However, he told police during the investigation of his missing wife that on Jan. 1 he went to his mother’s house but got lost. He also told police he went to Whole Foods and CVS, but surveillance footage indicated he was not at either place, and receipts were not provided to prove he was there, prosecutors said during the arraignment Monday.
As part of his probation, Brian Walshe was required to indicate if he was leaving his house, but he only reported that he took his son for ice cream, according to prosecutors. According to the court hearing, surveillance shows that on Jan. 2 at around 4 p.m. that he went to the Rockland Home Depot and purchased about $450 worth of cleaning supplies, such as mops, a bucket, drop cloths, and various amounts of tape.
A search warrant of Ana’s home found blood in the basement area and a damaged knife with blood on it.
Police were back at the Walshe residence Sunday morning.
The Cohasset Police Department said Saturday, “The ground search will not resume unless police develop new information that so warrants it.”
Walshe is described as 5 feet 2 inches tall, 115 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes, and an olive complexion. Police say it is believed that she speaks with an Eastern European accent.
Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact the Cohasset Police Department, Detective Harrison Schmidt, at (781) 383-1055 extension 6108 or email hschmidt@cohassetpolice.com.
