Police found blood on a damaged knife in the basement of the home of missing Massachusetts mom Ana Walshe a day after her art-swindler husband was arrested and charged with "misleading" officers in the investigation. This comes as prosecutors revealed Ana's husband Brian Walshe bought $450 of cleaning materials following her disappearance.
As police led Brian Walshe, 46, to Quincy District Court on Monday for his arraignment on allegations that he misled detectives probing into the disappearance of his wife, he was seen grinning at the press cameras. The discovery of the knife and the purchase of the cleaning materials have now raised fears about the safety of Ana Walshe's life.
What Happened to Ana Walshe?
The prosecution informed Quincy District Court that they had found the evidence after executing a search warrant at the Cohasset home of Brian and Ana Walshe. The evidence cited was a damaged knife with blood on it.
Ana, 39, a real estate agent and a mother of three vanished after Brian claimed she took an Uber on January 1 for Boston's Logan International Airport to catch a flight to Washington, D.C., for work.
Brian allegedly lied to the police on Monday, saying he was purchasing ice cream for himself and his three young sons-- all of whom are under six—when he actually was purchasing $450 in cleaning supplies from Home Depot.
Brian purchased the cleaning materials the day after Ana vanished. Detectives have been searching the family home for clues and removing a Volvo SUV since Ana was last seen on New Year's Day.
Police believe Ana never caught the flight to Washington, DC.
Brian Walshe is also accused of lying to police about his location at a time when prosecutors believe he may have been getting rid of the evidence.
Walshe is being held on $500,000 bail. He is now just accused of deceiving a police investigation. Ana's disappearance is still being investigated by authorities.
Mystery Deepens
Although Ana disappeared on January 1, she was reported missing three days later on January 4 by her DC-based employer. Brian also filed a missing persons complaint with the police on the same day. Brian claimed that he hadn't left the property after his wife Ana, who is of Serbian descent, went missing.
However, that was a lie as he was caught on camera purchasing cleaning material costing hundreds of dollars. Walshe's statement, particularly his claims that he didn't leave the residence, according to prosecutors at Quincy District Court, slowed down the investigation.
When police searched the house, they first discovered blood in the basement in one place before discovering a 'damaged' knife with blood on it.
Prosecutors added that Walshe bought himself time to "either clean up evidence, dispose of evidence, in causing a delay." It is still unclear whose blood it is on the knife. Brian was caught on camera at Home Depot purchasing taps, mops, buckets, clothes, and several types of tape, which revealed he was lying to the police.
He made a cash transaction in the shop while donning a black surgical mask and blue surgical gloves, according to court documents.
It comes as police clear out the Cohasset home of the couple eight days after Ana vanished.
While other officers examined the home's grounds, the officers put a Volvo SUV onto the back of a truck.
Walshe, an art swindler, was seen exiting a Cohasset police station on Monday morning, where he grinned and waved at reporters. He is under house arrest while waiting for his federal court sentencing after being accused of selling two phony Andy Warhol paintings for $80,000 in 2016.
This requires him to report anywhere he goes, yet on January 2, he was seen on camera leaving the house to take his son for ice cream and then heading to Home Depot.
On Sunday night, Walshe was arrested while cops were still looking for his wife, a real estate executive.
Since going missing, Ana hasn't used her phone or credit cards, and she hasn't turned up for work. Walshe admitted to authorities that he was dozing off when Ana called for a rideshare to Boston's Logan International Airport. According to the prosecutors, Ana was last seen leaving the house at 4 am.
On January 1 and 2, her phone rang near the house despite her husband indicating she had boarded her flight. Brian claimed to have visited Whole Foods and CVS on January 1, but there were no receipts or security tapes to support his assertion.
Ana's friends claim that she would never abandon her three small sons and her disappearance is unexpected.
