What We Know About the Missing Massachusetts Woman Ana Walshe

Brian Walshe is led into Quincy District Court to be arraigned on charges that he misled investigators into the disappearance of his wife, Ana, in Quincy, Massachusetts, on January 9, 2023. Credit - David L. Ryan—The Boston Globe/Getty Images

A search for Ana Walshe, a 39-year-old real estate investment manager and mother of three young boys from Cohasset, Massachusetts, is still underway after police say she was last seen around New Year’s Eve. Her husband, Brian Walshe, reported her missing on January 4, and is now under investigation for misleading authorities.

Ana reportedly had dinner with her husband and friend on New Year’s Eve, and Brian told authorities that she left the couple’s Massachusetts home early the next morning for Washington D.C.—where her company is based—for one of her frequent work trips.

Brian was arrested on January 8, however, with authorities alleging that a day after he reported last seeing his wife, he bought hundreds of dollars worth of cleaning supplies and that blood and weapons were found in and near the couple’s home—all of which he failed to disclose to the police.

Brian, 47, was arrested on Sunday and charged with misleading a police investigation. He has pleaded not guilty.

At Brian’s arraignment Monday, Jan. 9, District Attorney Lynn Beland said that Brian’s “various statements caused a delay in the investigation.”

Here’s what to know about the case.

When did Ana Walshe go missing?

Ana Walshe was reported missing on January 4, according to Cohasset Police Chief, William Quigley, who spoke on the case at a press conference on January 6. Quigley said the authorities received missing person reports from Walshe’s employer and her husband simultaneously that day.

Brian told police that Ana took a ride share from her home in Cohasset to Boston Logan International Airport for a flight bound to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Quigley said that police have been in contact with rideshare companies, but have been unable to confirm if Ana actually got a ride to the airport or ever got on a flight. None of Ana’s debit or credit cards have been active since January 1, according to authorities.

Quigley shared that Brian reported that Ana was called to fly to Washington on January 1 due to a work emergency. Ana was originally supposed to fly out on January 3. Detectives found evidence of the January 3 booking, but confirmed that Ana never got on that flight.

Why is Brian Walshe being held on bail?

Police allege that many of the statements Brian gave after his wife’s disappearance were untruthful. Brian has been confined to his home for the past several months while awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in a federal fraud case involving counterfeit art.

Brian’s federal fraud charges from 2018 are for selling fake Andy Warhol artwork. While awaiting sentencing, Brian’s movement has been restricted and he’s only permitted to leave his home for court approved reasons, such as to pick his kids up from school.

Brian told police that on January 1, after his wife left, he made a trip about 30 miles north to see his mother in Swampscott, Massachusetts, also buying groceries and getting home that evening. Police could not verify Brian’s trip north, and allege that he didn’t appear in any surveillance footage of the stores he said he stopped at, nor did he produce any receipts for the groceries.

Brian was seen on video surveillance on January 2 making an unapproved trip to Home Depot buying $450 worth of cleaning products in cash, including tarps and buckets, prosecutors said at his arraignment. When authorities searched the couple’s home, they found blood and a broken knife in the basement, but haven’t determined whose blood it was yet.

Law enforcement hopes to collect blood samples from the couple’s children to compare against the blood found in the basement, according to CNN.

Brian’s car has been impounded and it shows evidence of having recently been cleaned, according to CBS.

Authorities also found materials such as hacksaw and bloodstained cloth in a dumpster in nearby Peabody, Massachusetts, which they believe are linked to Ana’s disappearance.

Beland reported that Ana’s phone pinged from her home on January 1 or 2, a day or two after Brian alleged that Ana had left the state.

In the aftermath of Ana’s disappearance, a police incident report from 2014 filed in Washington D.C. has come to light regarding the couple’s past. In it, Ana alleges that Brian threatened to kill her and her friends, but the case was later closed.

According to affidavits from 2019, when Brian carried out an unsuccessful fight to contest his father’s will, relatives and friends of the family described Brian as untrustworthy and sociopathic.

Brian is currently being held on a $500,000 bail and is scheduled to appear back in court on February 9. The couple’s three children are currently being held in state custody, according to the the Department of Children and Families.

Brian’s attorney, Tracey Miner, did not respond to TIME’s request for comment.