Murder Suspect Brian Walshe Allegedly Disposed of Wife's Body While Under House Arrest for Wire Fraud

Did Missing Ana Walshe’s Husband Once Threaten to Kill Her?
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A judge's order from 2021 relating to the earlier crime states that Walshe is "restricted to residence at all times except for activities pre-approved by the probation officer" as part of his pre-sentencing release for his involvement in an art heist. 

Brian Walshe is facing a second arraignment after being indicted by a grand jury in the murder of his wife, Ana Walshe.

He had already been arraigned in district court on charges of murder and disinterring a body without authority by the Norfolk County district attorney's office back in January, but this new indictment means that he will now be arraigned in the county superior court.

Three grand jury indictments obtained by Inside Edition Digital show that Brian Walshe is now facing charges of murder, misleading investigators, and willfully conveying away a human body.

Walshe previously entered a not guilty plea to charges of murder and misleading investigators. He has not yet entered a plea to the latter charge.

Authorities have yet to find the body of victim Ana Walshe, who went missing on Jan. 1 from the home she shared with Walshe and their three young sons.

BRIAN WALSHE GRAND JURY INDICTMENT - MURDER

At his initial arraignment on Jan. 18, prosecutors told the judge that their investigation leads them to believe Ana had been murdered by her husband inside their home.

Walshe then allegedly took those remains to transfer stations, where they were incinerated by the time law enforcement located the dumpsters where he had allegedly disposed of her body parts, prosecutors told the judge.

This had all been done before Walshe alerted authorities to the fact that his wife was missing, according to prosecutors.

Walshe also allegedly did all this while under house arrest for an unrelated crime and wearing an ankle monitor.

A judge's order from 2021 relating to the earlier crime states that Walshe is "restricted to residence at all times except for activities pre-approved by the probation officer" as part of his pre-sentencing release for his involvement in an art heist. 

A sentencing memo shows that Walshe pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud, interstate transportation for a scheme to defraud, possession of converted goods and unlawful monetary transaction back in April 2021.

BRIAN WALSHE GRAND JURY INDICTMENT - MISLEADING INVESTIGATORS

Those charges were related to an art heist in which Walshe allegedly promised to sell a pair of Warhol paintings for a friend. The sentencing memo states that Walshe allegedly sold forgeries instead while using the authentication materials provided with the original works.

He then failed to ever return the original works to the owner, according to the sentencing memo filed by federal prosecutors.

Walshe was on house arrest awaiting sentencing in that case when federal prosecutors filed a supplemental sentencing memo claiming that Walshe lied to probation officers, misled authorities about the amount of money he received from both his wife and mother while claiming he could not pay the court-ordered restitution to his victims, and allegedly destroyed his father's final will and testament after being disinherited so that he could be appointed as the personal representative of his father's estate.

This development delayed Walshe's sentencing and the recommendations of prosecutors as it pertained to his sentencing, but did not change anything about his house arrest.

In the two days after Ana's disappearance, Walshe told authorities he took three trips outside the home, which were all at times approved by his probation officer, according to the criminal complaint.

  • On Jan. 1, Walshe told investigators he ran errands while a babysitter watched the children
  • On Jan. 1, Walshe said that after completing those errands he briefly returned home and then went to visit his mother, who was recovering from surgery
  • On Jan. 2, Walshe took his son to get a chocolate shake at a juice bar while a babysitter watched his two other children

He had been approved to visit his mother for six hours on Jan. 1 and had been "granted leave for dropping his children off at school each day from 8:00am to 10:30am and picking up the kids from 3:15pm to 6:45pm."

Walshe failed to tell police however that he also left the home later in that day on Jan. 2, during the 210-minute window that he had been approved to pick up his children at school.

His children did not have school, and the criminal complaint says that Walshe instead went to Home Depot.

After reviewing footage, "investigators discovered video evidence of Walshe at the Home Depot in Rockland, wearing a black surgical mask, blue surgical gloves, and making a cash purchase," the complaint says.

BRIAN WALSHE GRAND JURY INDICTMENT - WILLFULLY CONVEYING AWAY A HUMAN BODY

The footage was necessary because Walshe wore an RF (radio frequency) ankle monitor and not a GPS, as prosecutors noted at his arraignment.  Those two, along with the  SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring), are the most common monitors used in the American justice system.

An RF ankle monitor is able to determine if a person is inside or outside his home, but not their location once outside the home.

Furthermore, the complaint says that Walshe did not have his phone with him on Jan. 1, meaning that police could not use that device to trace his movements.

Instead, police had to review security footage.

Surveillance cameras did capture Washe disposing of multiple trash bags on these days, which appeared to be heavy based on the footage viewed by prosecutors and shared with the court at Walshe's arraignment.

Investigators then found blood in the basement of the Walshes' home and on a hacksaw, said prosecutors. The DNA matched that of Ana according to the complaint.

They also found trash bags containing bloody towels that were disposed along with many of Ana's personal belongings in a dumpster near the residence of Walshe's mother, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said Walshe visited his mother after his wife's disappearance and could be seen on surveillance footage disposing of multiple trash bags in that same dumpster. Officers were later able to locate those trash bags at a transfer station according to prosecutors.  

Ana's DNA was found on the towels and other items obtained from those trash bags, said prosecutors.

Those discoveries provided enough evidence for prosecutors to secure an arrest warrant, despite never finding Ana's remains.

These far more serious charges also mean that Walshe is awaiting trial behind bars and not at home after a judge ordered him held without bail.

His next arraignment will be announced soon according to the district attorney's office, who say they are coordinating with Norfolk County Superior Court to set a date.

 

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