Husband of missing Massachusetts woman charged with murder

[January 18, 2023]  By Nate Raymond
 
BOSTON (Reuters) - The husband of a Massachusetts woman who has been missing since New Year's Day was charged on Tuesday with her murder after authorities earlier said they had found a knife and blood in the basement of their home, a prosecutor said on Tuesday.  

Brian Walshe is pictured in this undated Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) photo contained in court papers filed by federal prosecutors in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., on May 9, 2018. Courtesy RMV via U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts/Handout via REUTERS

Brian Walshe, 47, was already being held on $500,000 bail after being arrested on Jan. 8 on a charge of misleading a police investigation into the disappearance of Ana Walshe in a case that has garnered national headlines.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said a murder warrant has now been issued against Brian Walshe in the death of Ana Walshe, a 39-year-old mother of three who has been missing from Cohasset since about Jan. 1.

Walshe will be arraigned Wednesday in Quincy District Court. An assistant for his lawyer, Tracy Miner, declined to comment on the charge, saying her "focus is on defending Mr. Walshe in court."

Ana Walshe, who worked in real estate company Tishman Speyer's Washington office, was reported missing on Jan. 4 by her employer and husband.

At the time, Brian Walshe was on house arrest awaiting sentencing in Boston federal court after admitting in 2021 he sold forgeries of Andy Warhol art based on paintings he had taken from a former college classmate and never returned.

Brian Walshe initially said had taken a ride-hailing service to the airport for a flight to Washington for work, authorities have said.

But during a Jan. 9 court hearing, Assistant Norfolk District Attorney Lynn Beland said authorities found no evidence she actually took such a ride and that a plane ticket for Jan. 3 went unused.

Beland said investigators later discovered that Brian Walshe on Jan. 2 bought $450 of cleaning supplies at a Home Depot. When police obtained a warrant to search his home, they found blood in basement and a bloody knife, she said.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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