THE MISSING FILES: Brian Walshe may have killed wife Ana 'in an unplanned act of passion,' says expert
The Missing Files is a weekly special feature that looks into cases of missing people across America that have shattered communities and families. It delves into the known facts and the latest updates on these mysterious disappearances.
UPDATE: Brian Walshe, the husband of missing Ana Walshe, has been charged by prosecutors in connection with his wife's death. "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 Morrissey said, according to People. Brian has not yet been arraigned on the murder charge.
COHASSET, MASSACHUSETTS: Missing mom-of-three Ana Walshe mysteriously went missing on New Year's Day, and no one has heard from her since. Several speculations have surfaced on social media about what could have happened to the 39-year-old from Massachusetts.
Ana's husband, Brian Walshe, claimed his wife took a ride to Boston's Logan International Airport and has since disappeared. However, shortly after, he was arrested for misleading investigators and held on $500,000 bail. He has pleaded not guilty.
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In the aftermath of Ana's disappearance, criminal defense attorney Rachel Fiset, co-founder and managing partner of Los Angeles-based Zweiback, Fiset & Zalduendo LLP, opened up about the case, including about the possible penalty Brian could face if found guilty, and the way forward.
'The circumstances of Ana’s disappearance are deeply disturbing'
In an email shared with MEAWW, Fiset said, "The authorities are probably going to charge Brian Walshe with the murder of his wife. Prosecutors absolutely have enough circumstantial evidence to charge him with murder, but they may be taking their time to dot the i’s and cross the t’s on the affidavit of probable cause and make sure all the evidence they present in that document is solid. They may feel like they have a little extra time to do this because he is already in custody and there is not a rush to get him off the streets."
It is important to note that investigators have not yet shared any evidence that confirms Ana could be dead, or what may have happened her. Brian, who has three children aged between two and six with Ana, has not been formally accused of being involved in her disappearance.
"Brian could be found to have violated his probation in his federal case which could land him in federal prison, so the local District Attorney’s Office and the US Attorney’s Office might be trying to untangle who will take custody of him before they decide to charge him in state court with his wife’s murder," Fiset said. "In the meantime, prosecutors are running the risk that he could get free on bail on the state charge of misleading investigators. Authorities can’t hold him indefinitely. The advantage of charging him as soon as possible for Ana’s murder is that the bail would be set at a higher amount or a judge may order no bail in the case."
She continued, "The circumstances of Ana’s disappearance are deeply disturbing. Based on the fact that she was quickly trying to sell off assets, it’s possible that she was trying to give herself the means to get away from her husband. It’s also possible that Brian Walsh could have killed his wife in an unplanned act of passion, which would explain why he would have had to buy cleaning supplies after she went 'missing' to wash up a bloody scene as opposed to being prepared in advance of her murder.”
What we know about Brian Walshe
Ana met Brian in 2008. Named Anna Ljubicic Knipp at the time, she was working at the Wheatleigh Hotel in the Berkshires. Brian, on the other hand, is the son of a renowned Boston neurosurgeon. According to a Serbian newspaper, Ana's mother said her daughter met Brian when she cleaned his apartment. The two tied the knot in Serbia in 2015 and began living together in a wealthy seaside suburb south of Boston. However, their relationship began to get toxic as time passed.
After Ana's disappearance, Brian told authorities that he stepped out to get ice cream with his son on January 2, according to prosecutors, The Sun reported. However, he was spotted on surveillance video purchasing cleaning supplies at a Home Depot in Rockland. Police reportedly found a broken knife and blood in the basement of the couple’s home, a prosecutor said, as reported by KKTV. However, it is unknown whose blood it was. In the latest developments in the case, law enforcement sources told CNN that materials including a hacksaw, torn-up cloth material and what appears to be bloodstains have been recovered as evidence.
In disturbing developments in the case, Brian allegedly searched online for “how to dispose of a 115-pound woman’s body" in the days surrounding Ana's mysterious disappearance. He also looked up how to dismember a body, law enforcement sources said. This led investigators to suspect Ana may have been killed. Meanwhile, Brian allegedly asked his landlord if he had any surveillance cameras set up.
A convicted fraudster
In the past, Brian, 48, pleaded guilty to selling fake copies of Andy Warhol paintings on eBay in April 2021. He reportedly tried to sell the paintings for about $100,000 each. During the art fraud case, Ana reportedly sought leniency for him. In a letter to a federal judge last summer, she said Brian brought “joy” and “comfort” to the family.
In court documents, Brian’s cousin and two close friends of his father accused the convicted fraudster of stealing a million dollars from his father. He was reportedly estranged from most of his family. Ana, however, may or may not have known about this. His father’s friend, Jeffrey Ornstein, claimed he knew Brian since he was 13. He said Brian's father told him his son had been a “long-term patient” at the Austin Riggs Psychiatric Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, the New York Post reported. Brian had been diagnosed as a 'sociopath'.
Brian was let out a few years ago, but his father turned him down. “You’re my son and I will always hope for the best for you, but I do not want to re-engage,” Orenstein quoted Brian's father, adding, “If I did, I know that I would be letting mayhem back into my life, and I can’t have that.”
Similarities between Shannan Watts' murder and Ana Walshe's disappearance
In August of 2018, American oil field operator Christopher Lee Watts brutally murdered his pregnant wife Shanann, 34, by strangulating her. He also killed his children, Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, by smothering them. While he buried Shannan's body in a shallow grave near an oil-storage facility, he dumped his children's bodies into crude oil tanks.
Watts initially maintained that he was not involved in his family's disappearance. However, he was later arrested after confessing to murdering Shanann in an interview with detectives. He then also admitted that he murdered his children.
Weighing in on the similarities between Ana's case and that of Chris Watts, Fiset told MEAWW, "The murders of Shanann Watts and her children and the actions leading to Ana Walshe’s murder, likely at the hands of her husband Brian, remind the public that domestic violence can happen to anyone."
"Ana Walshe told police in 2014 that her husband had threatened to kill her and the domestic abuse may have continued from that time until her ultimate demise," she alleged. "Both cases serve as a stark reminder that it can be impossible to know what is going on inside of other people’s marriages and that threatening behavior may quickly escalate to a point of no return." However, it has not been proven that Ana is dead, or that she has been murdered by Brian. Investigators have not made any of these claims.
It has been reported that Brian threatened to kill Ana in the past. "If Brian is charged and convicted of Ana’s murder, depending on circumstances, it is possible that he could spend the rest of his life in prison. Massachusetts does not impose the death penalty," Fiset said. "The police are looking feverishly to investigate Ana’s disappearance. If she is not found alive and her remains are recovered, it is significantly easier to bring a case against her murderer because the evidence is clearer both for an affidavit of probable cause leading to arrest and eventually for a jury. In a case like this, however, it is not necessary that her body be recovered as the prosecution would still attempt to make out a circumstantial case against her killer relying on the evidence which has thus far been recovered and that which will be discovered throughout further investigation. Either way, it seems very likely that Brian Walshe will be charged with his wife’s homicide in the near future."
Ana, who is originally from Serbia, is described as 5′ 2″ tall and weighing approximately 115lbs. She has an eastern-European accent. If anyone has seen Ana Walshe or has any information regarding her whereabouts, they are urged to contact the Cohasset Police Department, Detective Harrison Schmidt, at 781-383-1055 x6108 or email hschmidt@cohassetpolice.com.