A timeline of the missing Massachusetts mother Ana Walshe and her husband Brian Walshe

CNN –

Ana Walshe, a mother of three from Massachusetts, has not been seen since at least New Year’s and investigators have been scouring areas north and south of Boston to find out her whereabouts and status.

Her husband, Brian Walshe, 47, told police he last saw her on Jan. 1 when she left their Cohasset home for a flight to Washington, D.C. for work. But authorities have accused him of misleading investigators and said they found a bloody knife in the basement of their home.

Using information from a criminal affidavit, police, prosecutors and defense attorneys, CNN compiled a timeline of the couple’s movements and actions, from his earlier legal troubles to her latest disappearance.

Brian Walshe was indicted on federal fraud charges in 2018 for selling fake Andy Warhol artwork online, according to court documents.

FBI investigators alleged that Brian or Ana Walshe used her eBay account to sell the paintings in November 2016, less than a year after they were married. The complaint does not accuse Ana Walshe of wrongdoing, but says she spoke with the person who bought the forgeries after the buyer learned the paintings were not authentic and found her work number.

The document also claimed that Brian Walshe received real artwork from a friend to sell, but never did. He didn’t even compensate the friend for the art, prosecutors alleged.

In October 2018, Walshe was indicted by a federal grand jury on four counts in the case, including wire fraud, interstate transportation for a scheme to defraud, possession of converted goods and unlawful monetary transaction.

Brian Walshe pleaded not guilty in November 2018.

In April 2021, Brian Walshe pleaded guilty to three of the four counts in exchange for a recommended sentence of imprisonment, supervised release, fines, restitution and forfeiture, court documents show. He also agreed to return the artwork or pay for it.

As part of his probation, Brian Walshe was placed under house arrest and monitoring. He can ask to leave the house, but must detail the specific location, time and reasons.

According to Brian Walshe’s statements to police included in an affidavit, he and his wife hosted a New Year’s Eve dinner at their home with a friend named Gem.

Brian and Ana Walshe went to bed shortly after the friend left around 1 or 1:30 a.m., he told investigators, the affidavit said. Ana Walshe said she had a work emergency and had to fly to Washington for work the next morning, he told police.

As Brian Walshe told police, in the morning Ana Walshe “got ready and kissed him goodbye and told him to go back to sleep,” the affidavit said. She would usually take an Uber, Lyft or Taxi to the airport and leave between 6 and 7 a.m., the affidavit said.

He further told police that a babysitter came in the afternoon and he left the house to get groceries around 3 p.m., the affidavit said.

He told police he then went to see his mother about 4 p.m. in Swampscott, about an hour’s drive from Cohasset, but didn’t have his cell phone and lost it, making the trip longer than usual, it said. in the statement. He said he left his mother’s house within about 15 minutes of arriving to run errands for her at Whole Foods and CVS and eventually returned home to Cohasset around 8 p.m., according to the affidavit.

Ana Walshe’s cell phone was seized in the area of ​​their Cohasset home on Jan. 1 and Jan. 2, according to prosecutor Lynn Beland.

Brian Walshe told investigators he took one of his children for ice cream at a juice bar in Norwell on Jan. 2 while the babysitter watched his other two children, the affidavit said.

Investigators confirmed that this trip took place, the statement said.

According to surveillance video, Brian Walshe drove to a Rockland Home Depot wearing a surgical mask and gloves and made a cash purchase, the affidavit said. There, Walshe bought $450 worth of cleaning equipment, including mops, a bucket, tarps and various types of tape, according to Beland.

Ana Walshe’s workplace, real estate firm Tishman Speyer, called police to report that she didn’t show up for work, Beland said.

According to Brian Walshe’s defense attorney, he called her workplace to ask if they knew her whereabouts before the workplace called the police.

Cohasset police arrived at Ana Walshe’s home for a welfare check, according to an affidavit. Brian Walshe spoke with investigators several times and provided the above timeline of his actions and whereabouts on January 1st and 2nd.

Cohasset police announced that Ana Walshe is missing and asked the public to come forward with any information. Police said she was last seen “just after midnight on New Year’s Day”.

Police launched a massive search for Ana Walshe that included K-9 officers and search and rescue teams in wooded areas near her home.

At least six investigators are tasked with driving to the North Shore area of ​​Massachusetts and looking at surveillance video to try to verify Walshe’s timeline of events, the statement said. They did not observe him on video at Whole Foods or CVS in Swampscott on Jan. 1, as he had said, the affidavit said.

Cohasset Police and Massachusetts State Police announced that the search for Ana Walshe has ended.

Brian Walshe was arrested and charged with defrauding a police investigation, police said in a statement.

Brian Walshe was charged in court and pleaded not guilty to the charge of misleading the police.

Beland, the prosecutor, said investigators had found no evidence that Ana Walshe got a ride from their home on January 1. She said his statements to the police caused a delay in the investigation.

The prosecutor also said investigators obtained a search warrant for their home and found blood and a bloody knife in the basement.

The judge set bail at $500,000 and scheduled the next hearing for February 9.

Prosecutors released the affidavit in support of a criminal complaint that lays out the authorities’ timeline last week. Brian Walshe’s statements to police were described in their statement as a “clear attempt to mislead and delay investigators”.

The affidavit also describes several trips he took that were not previously requested and approved and that could represent a violation of the terms of his probation.

Investigators conducted searches north of Boston and collected a number of items that will be processed and tested, according to a statement from the Norfolk County District Attorney. The statement also referred to Ana Walshe’s disappearance as “suspicious”.

According to a source with direct knowledge of the investigation, investigators placed crime scene tape around bins near Brian Walshe’s mother’s home in Swampscott and dug through trash at a transfer station in Peabody. Both locations are north of Boston.