Police investigating the disappearance of Ana Walshe, a Massachusetts woman last seen on New Year's Day discovered a bloody knife in the basement of the home she shared with her husband, Brian,, a prosecutor said Monday, reports USA Today. Brian Walshe, 46, was arrested Sunday for allegedly misleading police in their investigation of the disappearance of his wife. Brian Walshe violated his bail on a federal fraud conviction when he withheld information from police trying to find his wife, a prosecutor said. Brian Walshe didn't tell investigators he had spent hundreds of dollars on cleaning supplies at stores after his wife disappeared. A judge set bail at $500,000. Walshe is on probation pending sentencing in a 2021 wire fraud case in which he was convicted of selling fraudulent Andy Warhol paintings. The terms of his probation include monitoring and home confinement.
Ana Walshe, a mother of three young children, was last seen by a family member in her home between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Jan. 1, said Cohasset, Ma., Police Chief William Quigley. Quigley said Walshe's cellphone, as well as her credit and debit cards, have been inactive since New Year's Day. Walshe is an employee of Washington, D.C.-based real estate company Tishman Speyer, which made a missing person report after Ana Walshe didn't arrive at work on Jan. 4. The couple owns a home in Washington and Walshe commutes during the week for work at a real estate company. Brian Walshe told officers that he left the couple's home the day after his wife disappeared only to get ice cream for his son. Surveillance video at a Home Depot showed him buying $450 worth of cleaning supplies, including mops and drop cloths and various kinds of tape, prosecutors said.