The New Year's Eve Vanishing
On New Year's Eve 2022, Ana and Brian Walshe appeared to be celebrating the arrival of 2023 with friends at their Massachusetts home in Cohasset. This joyful gathering would become the last time anyone saw Ana Walshe alive. The successful estate agent and mother of three vanished without a trace, and her body has never been located.
Brian Walshe, a convicted conman previously found guilty of selling counterfeit Andy Warhol paintings, told authorities his wife had travelled to Washington DC for work on 1st January. However, this story quickly unravelled when investigators found no evidence of her taking a ride to the airport, boarding a flight, or arriving at her workplace that week.
The Disturbing Evidence
When Ana's concerned colleagues reported her missing several days later, suspicion immediately fell upon her husband. Court documents reveal surveillance footage captured Brian Walshe purchasing cleaning supplies and a utility knife from a Home Depot on 1st January 2023.
The investigation took a darker turn when multiple rubbish bags containing a hacksaw and blood-stained items were discovered in dumpsters near his mother's residence. Perhaps most damning were the disturbing internet searches uncovered by investigators, which included queries about 'How long before a body starts to smell?' and 'Can you be charged with murder without a body?'
The Path to Justice
Brian Walshe soon discovered the answer to his final question when authorities arrested him in January 2023. He was charged with first-degree murder, willfully conveying a human body in violation of state law, and misleading police in his wife's death.
After nearly three years of delays—including a prison stabbing incident and mental competence evaluation—the case is finally proceeding to trial. Jury selection concluded last week, with opening statements scheduled to begin on 1st December.
In a dramatic courtroom development on the first day of jury selection, Walshe unexpectedly changed his plea to guilty on the counts of misleading police and concealing a body. This means he will now stand trial solely for the murder charge against his wife Ana.
