Disappearance of Ana Walshe
DateJanuary 1, 2023 (2023-01-01)
LocationCohasset, Massachusetts, U.S.
TypeDisappearance, alleged homicide
MissingAna Walshe, aged 39
AccusedBrian Walshe
Charges

On January 4, 2023, Ana Walshe,[lower-alpha 1] a Serbian-American real estate executive, was reported missing by her employer and, separately, by her husband, Brian Walshe. Ana, who had residences in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., was last seen early on January 1 in Cohasset, having had dinner with Brian and a friend of his on New Year's Eve. Brian told the police that Ana had flown to D.C. for a work emergency. After an initial arrest on January 8 for misleading investigators regarding his whereabouts the day of the disappearance, Brian was charged on January 18 with murder and disinterring a body without authority, to which he pleaded not guilty; prosecutors allege that he beat her to death and dismembered and disposed of her body.[1]

Background

Ana Walshe
Born
Ana Ljubičić

1983 (1983)
Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia
DisappearedJanuary 1, 2023 (aged 39)
Cohasset, Massachusetts, U.S.
StatusMissing for 1 year and 16 days; presumed dead on January 18, 2023
SpouseBrian Walshe
Children3

Ana Ljubičić[lower-alpha 1] was born in Belgrade, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia, in 1983. She was raised in Belgrade where she attended the Fifth Belgrade Gymnasium and obtained a BA in French language and literature from the University of Belgrade.[6][7] She emigrated to the United States in 2005, eventually becoming a dual citizen.[8][2] She found work in the hospitality industry, including at The Inn at Little Washington. According to Boston 25 News, she is thought to have met Brian Walshe during her two years working at the Wheatleigh Hotel in Lenox, Massachusetts. She and Brian married in 2016 and she took his surname.[8] They subsequently had three sons, who at the time of her disappearance were ages two, four, and six.[9]

After working at several more hotels, Ana Walshe became a regional general manager at the real estate company Tishman Speyer in February 2022, splitting her time between her home with Brian in Cohasset, Massachusetts, and a residence in Washington, D.C., where she worked.[8]

In 2021, Brian pleaded guilty in federal court on three charges of fraud relating to selling counterfeit Andy Warhol works. At the time of Ana's disappearance, he was on house arrest awaiting sentencing.[10]

Disappearance

Disappearance of Ana Walshe is located in Massachusetts
Cohasset
Cohasset
Swampscott
Swampscott
Logan Airport
Logan Airport
Locations, within Massachusetts, of relevant places

The Walshes and a friend of Brian's had dinner together on New Year's Eve 2022. In the first hours of 2023, Ana called her mother, sister, and maid of honor, all of whom were unavailable.[11] She was last seen around 4 am.[12] Brian says he spent the following day in Swampscott with his mother.[13]

On January 4, both Tishman Speyer and Brian Walshe reported Ana missing. Brian told the police that Ana had left the house early for a flight from Boston's Logan International Airport to Washington, D.C., after a work emergency caused her to move up a trip scheduled for January 3. Police could not confirm whether she had gotten on a flight or gotten a ride to the airport on January 1; they found that while she had indeed previously booked a flight for January 3, she had not gotten on it, and that her credit and debit cards had not been used since January 1.[13]

Investigation and charges

Brian Walshe was arrested on January 8[13] and charged with misleading the police in the investigation into Ana's disappearance, after police could not find evidence that he had been to the CVS or Whole Foods in Swampscott on January 1 as he had claimed. He pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor alleged that Brian had gone to Home Depot on January 2 and spent $450 on cleaning supplies. Police received a search warrant for the Walshe residence and in the basement found blood and a damaged, bloody knife.[14]

On January 18, Brian Walshe was arrested again[10] and charged with murder and disinterring a body without authority. Prosecutors allege that he beat her to death, dismembered her, and then disposed of the body.[1] As evidence they cited his Google search history on multiple devices including his son's iPad, which they allege includes terms like "How long before a body starts to smell", "Dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body", and "Can you be charged with murder without a body". Brian pleaded not guilty.[15] On March 30, Brian was indicted on the charges of first-degree murder, misleading a police investigation, and "improper conveyance of a human body".[16][17]

The event gained significant public attention in the United States[18] and Serbia.[19] Serbia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has communicated, through the Serbian consulate-general in New York, with the Norfolk District Attorney's office, in order to provide Ana Walshe's mother with non-publicly available information about the course of the investigation.[20]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Ana's surname at birth was Ljubičić, sometimes spelled without diacritics in anglophone sources.[2] During her first marriage, her surname was Knipp[3] or Ljubičić Knipp.[4] Walshe is written as Volš in Serbian.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Levenson, Eric; Sgueglia, Kristina; Carroll, Jason (January 18, 2023). "Brian Walshe accused of killing and dismembering his wife Ana Walshe, prosecutors say". CNN. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Hilliard, John (January 10, 2023). "In Serbia, Ana Walshe's mother says Ana pleaded with her to visit a week before disappearance - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  3. ↑ Ward, Bob (January 13, 2023). "Ana Walshe told D.C. police Brian Walshe threatened to kill her back in 2014". Boston 25 News. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Pojavila se fotka Ane Walshe u zagrljaju drugog muškarca. Da li je ovo prvi muž nestale Beograđanke?" [A photo of Anna Walsh in the arms of another man has surfaced. Is this the first husband of the missing Belgrade woman?]. Radio Sarajevo (in Croatian). January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Nikad Viđene Fotografije Ane Volš: Srpkinja u zagrljaju muškarca koji ju je poslednji put video živu kobne noći" [Never-seen photos of Ana Walshe: Serbian woman in the arms of the man who last saw her alive on the fateful night]. Danas (in Serbian). January 22, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Slučaj Volš: Da li se sociopata rađa ili postaje, i šta činiti kada ga prepoznamo". Radio Television of Serbia (in Serbian). January 20, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  7. ↑ Lazić, Miloš Ž (January 10, 2023). "Ovako je počela ljubavna priča Ane i Brajana Volš: Dve godine bili na pauzi, a onda su odlučili da krunišu ljubav brakom" [This is how the love story of Ana and Brian Walshe began: They were on a break for two years, and then they decided to crown their love with marriage]. NOVA portal (in Serbian). Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 Papadopoulos, Maria (January 12, 2023). "Before she went missing: Ana Walshe, a Serbian immigrant who sought the American Dream". Boston 25 News. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  9. ↑ Truitt, Brandon (January 12, 2023). "Ana and Brian Walshe's 3 children in state custody as investigation continues". CBS Boston. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Levenson, Eric; Carroll, Jason (January 17, 2023). "Arrest warrant charges Brian Walshe with murder in the death of his wife Ana Walshe". CNN.
  11. ↑ Cristantiello, Ross (January 10, 2023). "'Please, mama. Come tomorrow.' Ana Walshe's mother speaks out on plea to visit". Boston.com. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  12. ↑ Cristantiello, Ross (January 18, 2023). "A timeline of major events in the Ana Walshe case". Boston.com. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 Kohli, Anisha (January 18, 2023). "What to Know About the Case Against Brian Walshe". Time. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  14. ↑ Watts, Amanda; Levenson, Eric; Miller, John (January 9, 2023). "Bloody knife found in basement of missing Massachusetts mother's home, prosecutors say". CNN. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  15. ↑ Levenson, Eric; Sgueglia, Kristina (January 18, 2023). "These are the Google searches Brian Walshe made before and after killing his wife Ana Walshe, according to prosecutors". CNN. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Missing Massachusetts woman's husband indicted for murder". Associated Press. March 31, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Husband indicted for murder of Ana Walshe". Cohasset Anchor. March 31, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  18. ↑ Hager, Christina. "Why do some true crime cases get more attention than others?". Question Everything. CBS News. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  19. ↑ Đorđević, Katarina. "I od slučaja Ane Volš se prave tabloidne priče" [Tabloid stories are made from the Ana Walshe case too]. Politika (in Serbian). Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Majka Ane Volš upoznata sa razgovorima ministarstva sa tužilaštvom u Americi" [Ana Walshe's mother is aware of the ministry's talks with the U.S. prosecutor's office]. Politika (in Serbian). Retrieved January 26, 2023.
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