Brian Walshe is accused of killing and dismembering his wife, Ana.
Brian Walshe, the husband of missing Ana Walshe, who prosecutors believe he killed, dismembered and disposed of her remains, has been indicted on murder charges.
Brian Walshe, 48, was also indicted for misleading a police investigation, obstruction of justice, and improper conveyance of a human body, said Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey in a statement. In Massachusetts, a conviction of murder in the first degree carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Walshe pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder at his Quincy District Court arraignment in January. Morrissey said.
The indictment moves the case to the Norfolk Superior Court. An arraignment will be held in the coming weeks.
“This is only a step in a long process, during which Brian Walshe enjoys the Constitutional presumption of innocence, and all of the protections afforded him under the Constitution,” Morrissey said.
Brian Walshe’s lawyer Tracy Miner has refused to comment on the allegations against her client.
Brian Walshe was charged with murder in January. Ana, 39, was reported missing from her home in Cohasset, Massachusetts, on Jan. 4. Prosecutors said she had been missing since on or about New Year’s Day. Prosecutors believe he dismembered her body and made incriminating internet searches.
Police investigating his wife’s disappearance accused him of lying about his whereabouts.
Authorities said they found a bloody knife in the family’s basement. Brian Walshe allegedly spent $450 on cleaning supplies from Home Deport on Jan. 2.
“Investigators later discovered video evidence of Walshe at the Home Depot in Rockland, wearing a black surgical mask, blue surgical gloves, and making a cash purchase,” police wrote in an affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
He made the Home Depot trip in violation of his probation after admitting to selling fraudulent artwork.
Brian Walshe allegedly claimed Ana Walshe, an executive at a Washington D.C.-based real estate management company, had to leave home early on New Year’s Day due to a work emergency.
“Walshe related Ana got ready and kissed him goodbye and told him to go back to sleep,” authorities said. “Ana will usually then take an Uber, Lyft, or Taxi to the airport. Ana left between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m.”
Brian Walshe said he went to his mother’s home in Swampscott, Massachusetts, later that day, documents said. He allegedly claimed not to have his cellphone and suggested that one of his sons must have taken and lost it sometime on New Year’s Eve or Day.
Walshe maintained that he left his mother’s home to run errands for her at Whole Foods and CVS. But police said they did not find him on surveillance footage at the Whole Foods or CVS when he claimed to have been there.
Law&Crime’s Alberto Luperon contributed to this report.
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Brian Walshe indicted for murder of missing wife Ana Walshe