Brian Walshe, who lived with his wife, Ana, and their children in Marblehead recently has been charged with her murder. Ana Walshe was last seen in her Cohasset home on New Year’s Day. Her disappearance has gripped the state and the nation.
“A continuing investigation has now allowed police to obtain an arrest warrant charging Brian Walshe with the murder of his wife,” said Norfolk County District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey. You can watch Morrissey’s full statement HERE.
Brian Walshe has been locked up since last week when he was charged with misleading police searching for his wife. He will now be transported to Quincy District Court for arraignment on murder charges.
The Walshe’s lived in Marblehead a couple of years ago. Their neighbor and friend Judith Doane is heartbroken by the case.
“I’m beside myself. It’s a very scary situation,” said Doane, who sold the home at 6 Edgewood Road to Ana Walshe in 2018 and lived nearby. Walshe and her family moved to Cohasset in 2020.
“It’s all creepy,” Doane told the Marblehead Current. “My concern is for the boys.” The Walshes have three young sons.
Doane remembers Ana as always looking her best.
“She is absolutely beautiful, always decked out,” Doane said. “I never saw her in sweatpants or a sweatshirt.”
Doane kept in touch with Ana Walshe after she moved away.
“We were going to visit them this year,” Doane said. She last heard from Ana the day after Christmas.
“In her last text, she said that we were the best neighbors she ever had. She sent us a video of the boys with the Christmas presents we sent to them.”
Doane remembers Brian Walshe playing with his sons outside their Edgewood Road home.
“He was outside with the kids all the time,” she said.
Marblehead Police Chief Dennis King declined to comment on the investigation. Anyone with information about Ana Walshe is asked to contact Cohasset Detective Harrison Schmidt at 781-383-1055, ext. 6108, or email hschmidt@cohassetpolice.com.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.