Brian Walshe, 46, the husband of Ana Walshe, 39, who disappeared on New Year's Day after failing to catch a work flight to Washington D.C. is a convicted art swindler
A husband has appeared in court accused of 'misleading' police in the disappearance of his wife - with authorities confirming that they found blood in the couple's basement.
Brian Walshe, 46, grinned as he was led out of a police station while officers continued to search for his wife, Ana Walshe, 39, who vanished on New Year's Day.
A court hearing detailed that he bought $450 worth of cleaning supplies from Home Depot while under surveillance on January 2.
They also found blood on a damaged knife as well as in the basement of their Massachusetts home, a court heard.
Mother-of-three Ana has not been seen since she failed to catch a flight to Washington DC.
Walshe appeared at Quincy District Court on Monday morning where he was charged with 'misleading police' - with his statements causing a 'delay in the instigation'.
Walshe has been arraigned on charges of 'misleading police', but prosecutors say that they discovered blood in the basement of their home
Prosecutors confirmed that Ana has still not been found during the court hearing on Monday morning
Authorities say it allowed him time to clean up evidence and dispose of it, with his bail being set at $500,000 in cash.
Ana was reported missing to police on January 4 by her employer in DC and her husband - three days after she was last seen
He claimed that he hadn't left the property after his wife, who is of Serbian descent, went missing, but was seen on cameras buying hundreds of dollars worth of cleaning supplies.
Prosecutors say that Walshe’s statements, including claiming that he didn’t leave the house, delayed the investigation.
Police searched the home, finding blood in an area of the basement before finding a ‘damaged’ knife with blood on it.
It is unclear who the blood belongs to, with prosecutors adding that Walshe bought himself time to ‘either clean up evidence, dispose of evidence, in causing a delay.’
Surveillance footage from Home Depot proved he was lying to officers, which showed him buying taps, mops, buckets, cloths and various kinds of tape.
Court documents show that he was wearing a black surgical mask, blue surgical gloves, and made a cash purchase in the store.
It comes as cops removed items from the couple's home in Cohasset eight days after Ana disappeared .
Walshe was seen cracking a smile as he was handcuffed and led out of the station by officers this morning while they continue to search for Ana Walshe, 39
Police searched the couple's home, finding blood in an area of the basement before finding a ‘damaged’ knife with blood on it
Brian is seen driving away from the Cohasset, Massachusetts, home on Sunday - before his arrest - where he, his wife, Ana, and their three children lived until the mom-of-three's disappearance
The officers loaded a Volvo SUV onto the back of a truck while others searched the grounds of their home.
Art-swindler Walshe was recorded leaving a Cohasset police station on Monday morning, where he smirked and smiled at reporters.
He was charged with fraud after allegedly selling two fake Andy Warhol paintings for $80,000 in 2018, meaning he is on house arrest pending his sentencing in federal court.
This means that he must report when he goes anywhere – but he was caught on camera going to Home Depot on January 2 after saying he never left the house except to take his son for ice cream.
Walshe was arrested on Sunday evening as detectives continued to search for his real estate executive wif.
She has not used her phone or credit cards since disappearing and has not shown up for work.
Walshe told police he was asleep when Ana ordered a ride to Logan International Airport in Boston, with prosecutors saying she was last seen as she left the property at 4am.
Her phone pinged in the area of the house on January 1 and 2 – despite her husband saying that she had left for her flight.
Walshe claimed that he went to Whole Foods and CVS on January 1, but there were no receipts or surveillance footage to back up his claim.
Her friends say her disappearance is out of character, as she would never abandon her three young sons.
In a statement, Norfolk Count DA's office said: 'Police developed probable cause to believe that Ana Walshe's husband, Brian Walshe, had committed the crime of misleading police investigators.'
Walshe told police that he was asleep when Ana ordered a ride to Logan International Airport in Boston, with prosecutors saying she was last seen as she left the property
The ground search for 39-year-old Ana has stopped a week after she was supposed to catch a flight to Washington D.C. from Boston Logan International Airport
A gray Volvo with the Walshe children was also seen heading out of the Walshe property on Sunday. It is believed they were escorted away by close family friends or relatives
The couple’s three young children are being looked after while the search for their mother continues.
Authorities initially said that Walshe was cooperating with the investigation before his sudden arrest on Sunday.
He left a voicemail for his wife’s friend, on the day he reported her missing, claiming that Ana had failed to get in touch for a ‘few days’.
According to WBZ-TV he said: ‘Good afternoon, this is Brian Walshe. I hope all is going well. I was just reaching out to basically everybody I could. Ana hasn't been in touch for a few days.
‘If you know anyone that may have had contact with her, you know I am trying to call everyone. I am sorry to bother you. I am sure everything is fine.’
A specialized State Police unit trained in search and rescue operations, three K-9 teams and the State Police Air Wing searched wooded areas near the Walshe's home on Saturday.
State Police divers searched a small stream and a pool but did not find anything, and were assisted by the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council.
Brian Walshe (right), pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston in 2021 after being arrested a few years earlier for selling two fake Andy Warhol paintings to a South Korean buyer for $80,000
Ana, who is originally from Serbia, is a graduate of Cornell University and worked in he real estate development before her vanishing. Pictured with her husband, Brian, in Europe
Friends noticed that Ana's normally active social media presence went silent all of a sudden. She regularly posted updates on her life and family on Facebook
Before his arrest, Walshe appeared to be hiding from cameras as he drove away from the family home in a red Volkswagen.
Detectives from Cohasset and the State Police had also been investigating in Washington DC where Ana worked for real estate behemoth, Tishman Speyer.
Ana would commute during the week for her work, with the couple owning a second home in DC.
She was ordered to come back to work sooner than planned after her bosses asked her to help with an 'unexpected emergency.'
Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley said that she never got on the flight, and have been unable to confirm if she had got into or booked a rideshare to the airport.
Friends told NBC Boston that Ana is a ‘remarkable woman’ and a ‘powerful executive’ who was a ‘loving mom and wife’.
Peter Kirby said: 'She's a powerful executive, she's a loving mom, she's just loving wife, she's one of the most remarkable humans we know, and we've very scared.
'We miss her a lot and we're just praying for her to be safe.'
Walshe was known to travel to Washington D.C. weekly for work and had booked a flight for January 3, not January 1, but cops say she may have been hoping to get an earlier flight
Walshe is normally active on social media, according to friends, and often posts pictures of what appears to be her happy family life
Police described Walshe as a woman with brown hair, brown eyes, five feet and two inches tall and weighing about 115 pounds and said she's left no digital footprint since she went missing
Evan Turell added: 'Everyone that knows and loves Ana, we just want her home safely.
'Her husband and her boys were someone she talked to every single day and the fact that she hasn't been in touch with them is concerning and it's not like her to not be in touch with anyone. It's just really scary.'
Her boss Tishman Speyer said in a statement: 'We are actively assisting the local authorities in their ongoing search for our beloved colleague, Ana, and are praying for her safe return.'
A graduate of Cornell University, Ana had worked for various US real estate companies after obtaining a degree from the University of Belgrade.
She's described as having brown hair, brown eyes, and is five-feet-two-inches tall with an estimated weight of about 115 pounds.
Police said she left no digital footprint since she went missing, with her cell phone turned off and credit cards left unused.
In November 2016, Walshe put the paintings up on eBay for $100,000 each, after which art gallery owner Ron Rivlin agreed to buy them for $80,000. Picutred; Rivlin at his Andy Warhol gallery
Walshe got the paintings from his friend, who had recently bought them, and convinced him he could sell them for a good price - but then he disappeared and his friend never received any money in return for them. Pictured: One of the fame Warhol paintings
Walshe was arrested in connection with the art fraud after stealing the paintings from a friend – switching them out for fakes – before selling the legitimate artwork on eBay.
Ron Rivlin, the owner of Revolver Gallery in Los Angeles - found Walshe selling two Andy Warhol paintings for $100,000 each, in November 2016.
Rivlin claims that his gallery is the the world's largest gallery-owned Andy Warhol collection – explaining that the paintings were created in 1978 as part of the Shadows series.
On the listing, Walshe also included a photo of an invoice from the Warhol Foundation, where he claimed he bought the paintings, and which allegedly showed he paid $240,000 for them.
Walshe told Rivlin he was selling the works at a great loss in order to pay for home renovations, with Rivlin agreeing to purchase both paintings for $80,000
The pair signed a contract, which explicitly stated that Rivlin had three days to get a full refund, according to the Massachusetts DA's office.
After buying the paintings, Rivlin realized the artworks he purchased were fakes, When Walshe wouldn't return all the money, Rivlin called the FBI. Pictured: One of the fake Andy Warhol paintings
On Saturday, video showed investigators furiously coming through debris that had gathered at her home's pool after they had drained it as part of the search
On November 7, Rivlin's assistant flew to Boston to collect the paintings and gave Walshe an $80,000 cashier's check, which was deposited that day.
The next day, Rivlin unwrapped the paintings and found there were no authentication stamps on the back from the Warhol Foundation and that the canvasses looked new.
Next, he compared the paintings to the photographs on eBay and determined they were different.
After concluding the paintings in his possession were inauthentic, he made repeated attempts to contact Walshe.
Phone records show Rivlin called and texted Walshe from November 8 to 12, all of which went unanswered.
According to the DA's office, when Walshe did reply, he made several excuses for not refunding the money immediately.
After Walshe refunded Rivlin just $30,000 of the $80,000, the gallery owner said he had he had contacted the FBI.
Cohasset police have repeatedly said Walshe's disappearance and her husband's case seem to be two very separate things.
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