Prosecutors: Brian Walshe believed Ana Walshe was having an affair, hired investigator to follow her

DEDHAM, Mass. — Brian Walshe, the Cohasset man accused of murdering and dismembering his wife, believed she was having an affair and hired a private investigator to prove her infidelity prior to her gruesome death, prosecutors said Thursday.

Walshe was arraigned in Dedham District Court, where the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office announced three more indictments against Walshe, including first-degree murder, misleading police, and improper conveyance of a body in the death of Ana Walshe.

Brian, who was led into court in handcuffs, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Brian Walshe is led into court to face new charges in Ana Walshe's death

During the hearing, prosecutors revealed a slew of new details about alleged happenings in the days leading up to and following Ana’s death, including the fact that Brian was the sole beneficiary of a nearly $3 million life insurance policy that Ana had purchased.

“In December 2022, Mr. Walshe suspected Ana was having an affair. During this time, he would repeatedly access the Instagram page of one of Ana’s male friends from Washington D.C.,” Assistant District Attorney Gregory Connor said as he read from a six-page statement that detailed the alleged motive in the case.

Starting when she was hired in early 2022, Ana would routinely travel to Washington D.C., where she worked for international property management company Tishman Spyer.

On Dec. 26, 2022, Brian Walshe’s mother, under his input and direction, hired a private investigator in D.C. to conduct surveillance on Ana “for the purpose of proving infidelity,” Connor said. Two days later, during a night out with a friend in the nation’s capital, Ana is said to have revealed plans to leave Brian and relocate her children to D.C. over fears he was going to be incarcerated on federal fraud charges.

WATCH: Brian Walshe arraigned on new charges in death of Ana Walshe

Ana flew home to Boston on Dec. 30, leaving her car in D.C. with no plans to travel back south until Jan. 3, 2023, according to Connor. On Jan. 4, Brian first reported Ana missing to Tishman Spyer and that she was last seen leaving their Cohasset home on the morning of Jan. 1 for a “work emergency.”

She was last seen alive around 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day at their Cohasset home by a friend who had joined the couple to celebrate the holiday.

After allegedly murdering Ana, Brian used his child’s iPad to make 21 Google searches on how to dismember and dispose of a body during the early morning hours of Jan. 1, according to investigators. That same iPad continued making similar searches from 4:50 a.m. through 2 p.m.

Some of those searches were as follows, according to investigators:

• 4:55 a.m. -- “How long before a body starts to smell?”
• 4:58 a.m. -- “How to stop a body from decomposing?”
• 5:20 a.m. -- “How to embalm a body?”
• 5:47 a.m. -- “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to”
• 6:25 a.m. -- “How long for someone to be missing to inherit?”
• 6:34 a.m. -- “Can you throw away body parts?”

A babysitter was hired to look after the couple’s three children in the days after Ana’s disappearance. That babysitter is said to have told police that Brian replaced all of the downstairs rugs in their house, as well as a trash can. He had also placed a lock on the basement door.

Because Brian left home with a phone that belonged to his oldest child, investigators were able to track him to a Lowe’s in Danvers on Jan. 1, where they say he purchased a handful of five-gallon buckets, a high-tension hacksaw, a 48-pack of terrycloth towel, a framing hammer, a Tyvek suit, shoe guards, and 200 disposable rags.

On Jan. 2, surveillance video from a Home Goods store in Norwell showed Brian purchasing three area rugs and scented candles, Connor said. Brian was also seen on video that same day at the Home Depot in Rockland wearing a black surgical mask, and blue surgical gloves making a cash transaction.

Surveillance photos revealed in court appear to show Brian in the process of purchasing buckets, mops, and a slew of other cleaning supplies.

He is said to have purchased a tarp, mops, tape, more buckets, a second Tyvek suit, and 24 pounds of baking soda.

The iPad in question later searched, “How long does Lowe’s maintain securing videos,” as well as “numerous articles” on dismembering bodies and a visit to Aftermath.com (a crime scene cleaning service company), court documents indicated.

The missing person investigation surrounding Ana quickly shifted to a suspicious disappearance investigation after a blood-covered knife was found in the basement of their home. There were also many blood stains found in Brian’s Volvo SUV.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 32

Brian Walshe: Court docs reveal struggles with mental health, relationship between Ana & his mother

Subsequent clues uncovered by investigators led them to the North Shore, where a hacksaw was found at a transfer station in Peabody.

While some trash bags that Brian dumped were incinerated before being found, other bags that were located contained bloody rugs, a COVID-19 vaccine card with Ana’s name, a hatchet, and the hacksaw, according to investigators.

Other evidence pointed investigators to Swampscott, where Brian allegedly dumped Ana’s clothes and other items in a dumpster near his mother’s home. He is said to have also dumped Ana’s remains in dumpsters at apartment complexes in Abington and Brockton. Her body hasn’t been found.

A bone fragment pulled from the hacksaw and stains on tools and in the Volvo are being tested for Ana’s DNA, investigators said.

On. Jan 5, Cohasset police established that Ana never flew to D.C. and launched a search for her with the assistance of Massachusetts State Police.

Walshe was ultimately taken into custody after authorities executed a search warrant at his home, seized all digital devices, and uncovered blood.

During the court hearing, Brian’s defense attorney argued that there is no proof Ana is dead and that the couple had a good marriage.

Brian remains held without bail.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2023 Cox Media Group