Brian Walshe husband of missing Cohasset, Massachusetts realtor, Ana Walshe arrested for misleading cops after investigations reveal no ride share picking up mom of three nor any airline booking ever existing.
The mystery deepens. The husband of a missing Massachusetts mom was taken into custody over the weekend connection with her disappearance, a week after the woman vanished.
Brian Walshe was arrested and charged with misleading police seven days after his wife, Ana Walshe, a Cohasset realtor failed to board her plane to Washington, DC, according to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Walshe’s gray Volvo minivan was also apparently taken as evidence, video of the arrest shows.
Ana, 39, — a real estate agent and mother-of-three boys between the ages of two and six, and of Serbian descent,— disappeared after getting into an Uber on New Year’s Day en route for Logan International Airport in Boston.
She has not used her phone or credit cards since disappearing and has not shown up for work. Police also told of Ana Walshe leaving no digital footprint and having turned off her phone on Jan. 1.
Why would Ana’s husband preempt investigations?
‘During the course of that investigation, police developed probable cause to believe that her husband Brian Walshe had committed the crime of misleading police investigators,’ police said.
Brian Walshe reported Ana missing Wednesday, three days after she disappeared. With the husband saying Ana had ordered a ride to the airport last Sunday at 4 a.m., but never made it on the plane, police said.
During their investigations police could not confirm a ride share picking up Ana nor an airline ticket booking leading them to suspect that Brian Walshe had misled police.
Police had initially said that Brian was cooperating with the investigation but things suddenly changed on Sunday night. It remained unclear if more information would be forthcoming during Brian Walshe’s court arraignment, Monday morning.
It remained unclear why the husband would seek to preempt the discovery of his missing wife. Walshe is scheduled to be formally arraigned on Monday.
But there’s more. Brian has a history with law enforcement.
Walshe pled guilty to federal fraud charges in 2021 after stealing two fake Andy Warhol paintings from a friend and trying to pass of pictures of it as the real thing, according to court documents obtained by NBC Boston.
Police outside Boston have arrested 46-year-old Brian Walshe in the disappearance of his wife, who is also the mother of their three young children. @MonaKAbdi reports on Walshe being charged with ‘misleading a police investigation’. https://t.co/vBGdDGo5Jm pic.twitter.com/FBXDVlNTjO
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) January 9, 2023
History of fraud
Brian reportedly told the lawful owner of the two ‘Shadows’ series paintings that he would sell them for a good price. The friend was unable to get in contact with Brian after he took the paintings and never recovered the hundreds of thousands of dollars the paintings were worth, court documents said.
Brian then took pictures of the real paintings and posted them on an eBay listing. The FBI investigation was initiated after a buyer found them in 2016 and tried to buy them for $80,000.
After picking them up, the buyer noticed neither came with the authentication stamps promised on the listing and noticed that the canvas looked new.
Brian was arrested in 2018. Three years later, he pled guilty to wire fraud, interstate transportation for a scheme to defraud, possession of converted goods and unlawful monetary transaction.
Ana was mentioned in the court documents as Brian’s wife.
A friend said Ana had been traveling to Washington DC for a real estate job.
‘Honestly, I’m scared. Really, really scared,’
Her friends say that her disappearance is out of character, as she would never abandon her three young sons.
‘Honestly, I’m scared. Really, really scared,’ friend Alissa Kirby said.
‘She’s a loving and loyal wife and mother of three beautiful boys. I know in my heart, that of her choice, she would not go a day without speaking to her husband and her kids.’
Her real estate agency reported her missing the same day.
As many as 20 troopers from a specialized unit trained in search and rescue operations, three police K9 teams, and a police helicopter searched the family’s home Saturday, according to NBC Boston.
State police divers also searched a small stream and drained the pool at Walshe’s home.
Of note, the woman’s disappearance comes as a fire broke out at the family’ former home on Jerusalem Road in Cohasset on Friday, NBC Boston reported. Officials believe the blaze does not appear to be in connection to the missing mother.
The fire was accidental, officials reported. It originated in the area of damaged piping connected to a natural gas fireplace insert and no one was injured.
Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley said it was common for Walshe to work long hours without contacting her family, which may have accounted for the gap between her disappearance and her husband’s call to the police.
A graduate of Cornell University, Ana had worked for various US real estate companies after obtaining a degree from the University of Belgrade.
Ana is described as 5 feet 2 inches tall and 115 pounds. She has brown hair, brown eyes, an olive complexion and speaks with an Eastern European accent
Police will likely reveal additional facts on the case at Brian’s arraignment Monday, police said.
