(NEW YORK) — A Massachusetts man accused of killing and dismembering his missing wife, Ana Walshe, 39, allegedly Googled “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to,” according to prosecutors.
Brian Walshe, 47, of Cohasset, appeared in court Wednesday morning on charges of murder and improper transport of a body. Not guilty pleas to the charges were entered on his behalf. Walshe was already in custody after pleading not guilty to a charge of misleading investigators.
Prosecutors believe Walshe made a series of Google searches including: “how long before a body starts to smell”; “how to stop a body from decomposing”; “how to embalm a body”; and “what’s the best state to divorce.”
Walshe also allegedly Googled “dismemberment” and “what happens when you put body parts in ammonia,” prosecutor Lynn Beland said. There were more Google searches for “hacksaw best tool to dismember” and “can you be charged with murder without a body,” according to Beland.
Blood, a bloody knife and another knife were found in the basement of the Walshes’ Cohasset home, Beland said.
Prosecutors said police also recovered 10 trash bags containing blood-stained items including: a hacksaw, towels, rags, cleaning agents, carpets, slippers, Prada purse and Ana Walshe’s COVID-19 vaccine card. Investigators found DNA from Ana Walshe and Brian Walshe on the slippers, according to Beland.
Ana Walshe, a mom of three, was reported missing by co-workers in Washington on Jan. 4. At that time, Brian Walshe claimed he last saw his wife early on Jan. 1, as she prepared to take a ride share to Boston Logan International Airport for a “work emergency,” but investigators said she never caught a ride and never boarded a plane.
Investigators said they tracked Ana’s phone on Jan. 2, and it pinged in or near her Cohasset home.
Brian Walshe was charged with misleading the investigation on Jan. 8. At that time, investigators revealed they found blood and a broken knife in the family’s basement and had surveillance video of Brian Walshe, wearing a medical mask and surgical gloves, purchasing $450 in cleaning supplies with cash at a Home Depot in nearby Rockland.
Walshe was wearing a monitoring bracelet as he awaited sentencing for selling fake Andy Warhol paintings to an art buyer in California. He was under house arrest but was allowed to leave home for things like doctors’ appointments and grocery shopping. The bracelet did not have GPS tracking.
Police conducted a sweeping search at a Peabody landfill. The landfill was the destination for a dumpster that was outside Brian Walshe’s mother’s apartment building in Swampscott. He had visited his mom in the days following his wife’s disappearance, claiming he went shopping for her. Police found no receipts from the stores he mentioned.
Investigators have not recovered a body.
Ana Walshe’s friend of two years, Pamela Bardhi, told ABC News that the mom of three had big energy and carried herself with grace.
Bardhi said she wasn’t aware of any trouble at the Walshes’ home.
“Watching what has been unfolding for the last 48 hours has been shattering,” she said Wednesday. “It’s almost like a real-life horror movie.”
“My first thought was what’s going on with her boys. We’ve had dozens of families coming forward saying they’d take in these three boys,” she said. “The best thing we can do is remind them there is lightness in darkness, and their mother was a prime example of that.”
Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said Ana Walshe’s disappearance was the second case of domestic violence his office had seen in recent weeks.
“Our thoughts are very much with the families these crimes have left behind,” Morrissey said.
Brian Walshe is being held without bail and is set to return to court on Feb. 9.
ABC News’ Teddy Grant, Stephanie Ramos and Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
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