On January 4, 2023, Ana Walshe—a successful Serbian-American real estate executive and mother of three—vanished from her Cohasset, Massachusetts, home after a New Year’s Eve dinner with friends. Reported missing by her employer in Washington, D.C., and her husband, Brian Walshe, her disappearance triggered a sprawling investigation that pointed to Brian as the prime suspect. Despite no body being found, prosecutors charged him with murder, alleging he killed and dismembered Ana amid a crumbling marriage strained by his federal art scam indictment. Locked up awaiting trial as of March 18, 2025, Brian’s case has gripped Massachusetts and beyond. This article explores Ana’s life, Brian’s alleged crimes, the damning evidence, and the legal battles ahead in this haunting no-body murder case.
Ana Walshe: From Serbia to the American Dream
Born in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1983, Ana Walshe graduated from the University of Belgrade before moving to the United States in 2005 to work in hospitality. She became a dual U.S.-Serbian citizen, thriving at luxury hotels like the InterContinental in Boston, where she met Brian Walshe in 2008—not 2016 as initially suggested. They married in 2015 and settled in Cohasset, raising three boys born between 2016 and 2020. By 2022, Ana had climbed to a regional manager role at Tishman Speyer, a real estate firm, splitting time between Massachusetts and D.C. Her success starkly contrasted Brian’s unraveling façade, setting the stage for tragedy.
Brian Walshe: A Con Man’s Double Life
Brian Walshe, born August 17, 1976, in Lynn, Massachusetts, crafted an image of wealth and connections. Raised in a well-off family—his father, Dr. Thomas Walshe, was a prominent neurologist—Brian’s life veered into deceit after his father’s 2018 death. A bitter inheritance dispute saw relatives accuse him of looting the estate, including selling a Cohasset home for $800,000. By 2011, Brian was running scams, notably an art fraud scheme involving fake Andy Warhol paintings. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and related charges after selling counterfeit “Shadows” paintings for $80,000 in 2016, sourced from eBay and a duped friend in South Korea. Sentenced in February 2024 to 37 months in prison and $475,000 in restitution, he was on house arrest in late 2022 when Ana disappeared, amplifying marital tension.
A Marriage on the Brink
Ana and Brian’s relationship frayed under financial and legal pressures. In 2014, while dating, Ana reported to police that Brian threatened to kill her over a friend dispute, yet she stayed. By 2022, his art scam indictment loomed—facing prison and fines—while Ana’s career soared. She confided in friends about a strained marriage, worsened by Brian’s house arrest and her D.C. commute. Prosecutors allege Brian suspected an affair after obsessively checking a male friend’s Instagram, confirmed when D.C. investigators found Ana in a months-long relationship with a man she spent Thanksgiving and Christmas 2022 with. On December 27, 2022, Brian hired a private investigator to tail her in D.C., and his son’s iPad showed searches for “best states to divorce.” Ana planned to relocate the boys to D.C., with her apartment prepped with their clothes—steps Brian may not have fully grasped until New Year’s.
The Disappearance: New Year’s 2023
Ana was last seen alive at a New Year’s Eve 2022 dinner with friends in Cohasset. A champagne shipping box found later bore her note to Brian: “This year’s going to be our greatest year. I love you.” On January 1, Brian told their babysitter Ana left at 6 a.m. for a D.C. work emergency—a lie, as her phone pinged at home. He claimed he visited his mother in Swampscott, but surveillance showed him buying cleaning supplies and tools at Lowe’s and CVS in Danvers, including buckets, a hacksaw, and hydrogen peroxide. That day, the oldest son’s iPad logged searches like “how long before a body starts to smell” and “ways to dispose of a body.” Ana’s employer and Brian reported her missing on January 4, three days after her last confirmed contact.
The Investigation: A Trail of Evidence
Investigators swiftly suspected Brian, executing a search warrant on January 8, 2023, at the Walshe home. They found blood and a broken knife with Ana’s DNA in the basement. Surveillance tracked Brian’s erratic movements: on January 2, he bought rugs in Norwell, later replacing downstairs rugs noted by the babysitter. On January 3, he visited apartment complexes in Brockton and Abington, caught on video dumping heavy bags into dumpsters—one so heavy he struggled. Trash from a Swampscott dumpster yielded a hacksaw, clothing, and jewelry linked to Ana, with DNA testing ongoing as of March 2025. Southern dumpsters emptied into a Cape Cod incinerator, destroying potential remains at 1,800°F. Brian’s lies—claiming he lost his phone (found plugged in at home) and misstating his whereabouts—bolstered the case. Notably, on January 1, his son’s iPad also searched “Can you be charged with murder without a body?”—a chilling query suggesting he anticipated legal scrutiny.
Charges and Legal Battles
On January 17, 2023, Brian was arrested for Ana’s murder, charged with first-degree murder, misleading police, and improper disposal of a body. Prosecutors allege he killed Ana on January 1, dismembered her with tools like the hacksaw, and incinerated her remains to hide the crime, driven by rage over her affair and $2.7 million in life insurance policies naming him sole beneficiary. Held without bail since January 18, 2023, Brian pleaded not guilty. His defense, led by Tracy Miner, claims no direct evidence ties him to a murder—only circumstantial proof and no body—while attacking lead investigator Trooper Michael Proctor’s credibility, citing his role in another high-profile case where he faced misconduct allegations.
The Art Scam Connection
Brian’s 2021 federal indictment for art fraud cast a long shadow. Starting in 2011, he borrowed authentic Warhol “Shadows” paintings from a friend in South Korea, promising sales. He sold fakes—lacking authentication stamps and featuring modern staples—for $80,000 in 2016 via eBay, pocketing cashier’s checks while dodging buyers. Earlier scams in 2015 and estate theft allegations painted him as a career con artist. Sentenced in February 2024, post-arrest, the scam’s fallout—financial ruin and house arrest—fed prosecutors’ motive: killing Ana to secure insurance money and punish her for leaving.
Trial Delays and Proctor’s Role
Brian’s trial, initially set for late 2024, remains unscheduled, delayed by evidence disputes and defense motions. A key contention is Trooper Michael Proctor, also central to another 2022 case, where he was investigated for unprofessional texts and bias. Brian’s team seeks Proctor’s phone records, arguing his federal scrutiny during Ana’s case taints the investigation. Prosecutors resist, insisting the evidence—DNA, searches, and surveillance—stands independent of Proctor. Legal experts predict a month-long trial once set, likely in late 2025, testing Massachusetts’ ability to convict without a body. Recent developments have confirmed jury selection for October 20, 2025, as set by Judge Diane Freniere in a December 2024 hearing, with the trial expected to span three to four weeks. The defense now challenges the admissibility of incriminating Google searches, such as those about body disposal, claiming investigators accessed them without proper consent during the initial missing person probe. Hearings in May 2025 featured testimony from Trooper Nicholas Guarino, who noted the searches raised red flags, while DNA testing delays persist, with prosecutors awaiting results from Bode Technology on samples like tissue and bone fragments, hindered by funding disputes. Proctor’s role remains under scrutiny, with his suspension tied to unprofessional conduct in the Karen Read case, and his notes now in defense possession, potentially impacting trial integrity.
A Case Without Closure
The Brian Walshe case hinges on whether circumstantial evidence—blood, tools, and suspicious behavior—proves murder beyond doubt. Ana’s presumed death leaves three boys, now in state custody, without parents, their D.C. move thwarted. Brian maintains innocence, but no proof of life counters his claims Ana fled. The incinerated remains theory suggests her body is lost to ashes. As the art scam’s financial desperation and Ana’s new life collide, the trial will weigh if Brian’s façade masked a killer—or if gaps, like Proctor’s role, leave room for doubt in this chilling Massachusetts mystery.
Sources
- The Boston Globe. (2023–2025). Various articles on the Brian Walshe case and Ana Walshe disappearance.
- The Patriot Ledger. (2023). Coverage of Brian Walshe’s inheritance dispute and estate theft allegations.
- NBC Boston. (2023–2025). Reports on Ana Walshe’s disappearance, Brian’s arrest, and investigation details.
- MassLive. (2024–2025). Updates on Trooper Michael Proctor’s role and trial delays in the Brian Walshe case.
- U.S. Attorney’s Office. (2021–2024). Records on Brian Walshe’s art fraud indictment and sentencing.
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