Ana Walshe case: Detective received ransom note after Cohasset mom disappeared, court docs say

COHASSET, Mass. — Newly unsealed court documents related to the investigation into the murder of Ana Walshe indicate that a detective investigating her disappearance received a ransom note shortly after she was reported missing.

The detective was looking into the missing Cohasset mother’s disappearance when he got a message from a person named “Richard Walker” just three days after Walshe’s name was entered into the National Crime Information Database, according to the documents.

In the note, Walker claimed that he had Walshe with him and that no one would ever find her if he didn’t get the $120,000 that she allegedly owed him.

Investigators say they were suspicious of Walker’s message because it didn’t include a timeline to respond to the demand or any contact information.

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Ana’s husband, Brian Walshe, is charged with her murder. Prosecutors say he dismembered her inside their Cohasset home on New Year’s Day.

Investigators say Brian used his son’s iPad to research an array of topics related to getting rid of Ana’s body. He then allegedly disposed of her remains in dumpsters in Swampscott, Abington, and Brockton.

Brian was indicted last week on three new charges in Ana’s death, including first-degree murder, misleading police, and improper conveyance of a body.

During that court proceeding, prosecutors alleged that Brian believed Ana was having an affair and hired a private investigator to prove her infidelity prior to her gruesome killing.

New surveillance photos were also released that showed Brian purchasing a slew of cleaning products, five-gallon buckets, a high-tension hacksaw, a 48-pack of terrycloth towels, a framing hammer, a Tyvek suit, shoe guards, and 200 disposable rags, and mops at a Home Depot in Rockland and a Lowe’s in Danvers.

Walshe was ultimately taken into custody after authorities executed a search warrant at his home, seized all digital devices, and uncovered blood. A bone fragment pulled from the hacksaw and blood stains found in a Volvo are being tested for Ana’s DNA, investigators said.

Brian is currently being held behind bars without bail. He is due back in court in August.

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