Numerous search warrants linked to missing Cohasset woman Ana Walshe delivered to court

COHASSET — Numerous search warrants related to the search for missing Massachusetts mother Ana Walshe were returned to Quincy District Court on Friday, where the documents were impounded, 5 Investigates has learned.

Between 10 and 20 of the documents were returned. While these files were not made public, they typically include affidavits from police officers describing why they think a crime occurred and why they should have permission to search private property in connection with that investigation.

Several search efforts related to the case are known, including those at the home rented by the family and at a North Shore transfer station. Prosecutors said blood and a knife with blood were found in the basement of the home and 5 Investigates learned that a saw and rug with blood on it were found at the transfer station.

Brian Walshe, the missing woman's husband, remains in custody on a charge of misleading the investigation and the couple's children are in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

On Thursday WCVB learned of a police complaint filed by Ana Walshe prior to her marriage to Brian Walshe, revealing trouble between the couple as far back as the summer of 2014.

According to a public incident report filed in Washington, DC, Ana Knipp, her name from her first marriage, told Metropolitan Police Department that Brian Walshe, "made a statement over the telephone that he was going to kill [Ana] and her friend."

The police incident report dated August 2, 2014, does not specifically name Brian Walshe, but police confirm to 5 Investigates' Karen Anderson that he is the person associated with that complaint.

Police said that the investigation into potential offenses described as felony threats in the incident report was closed because Ana Walshe never cooperated with the investigation. No charges were ever filed.

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Linda Bucci, a former prosecutor, says the district attorney's office continues to gather all kinds of evidence and will likely present that evidence to a grand jury that will attempt to show a motive on what happened to Ana Walshe.

"They have to prove that she's gone and connect her to it somehow," Bucci said. "Like, that she didn't just take a walk or is visiting somebody or ran away. So they have to prove she's dead and they have to prove that she didn't accidentally die."

Prosecutors could bring a formal complaint to the district court for a murder charge or wait for that grand jury to formally indict Brian Walshe, who is currently being held on high bail after being charged with misleading a police investigation.

"They have evidence," Bucci said. "They might have spoken to him. He might have given them evidence. So, they're on their way, but they're not there yet."

Days of searching for evidence at the home the family rented in Cohasset came to a close on Tuesday. During that effort, prosecutors said blood and a knife were found in the basement.

Additionally, the investigation has included searches of a transfer station in Peabody and a waste-to-energy facility in East Wareham. 5 Investigates learned that evidence found at the transfer station, near the home of Brian Walshe's mother, included a hacksaw and a rug with blood on it.

Ana Walshe, a 39-year-old mother of three, was reported missing on Jan. 4 by her employer, Washington, D.C.-based real estate company Tishman Speyer.

"Police were notified around Jan. 4 by her employees in Washington, D.C., that she had not shown up for work on Jan. 4. That was the first time that (anyone) was notified that she was missing," Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Lynn Beland said in court on Monday. "She actually had a plane ticket for Jan. 3 that she did not use and did not show up at the airport."

Brian Walshe is awaiting sentencing in a federal case involving fake Andy Warhol paintings, and he is supposed to request permission to leave his home and specify the time required for each trip.

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Prosecutors said that investigators could not substantiate his claims of getting lost on the way to his mother's home or going to two stores on Jan. 1. Brian Walshe said he was without his phone that day.

Brian Walshe also reported that he only left the couple's home on Jan. 2 to get ice cream, or a smoothie for his son at Press Juice Bar in Norwell. Surveillance video obtained from Press by NewsCenter 5 shows Walshe inside the juice bar the morning of Jan. 2.

However, surveillance video at Home Depot in Rockland showed him purchasing the cleaning supplies, including mops, a bucket and drop cloths and various kinds of tape, officials said. A police report revealed that he wore a surgical mask and gloves at the store, and used cash to pay for the purchase.

Police also found that Walshe's phone traveled to Brockton and Abington, communities where he is not approved to travel.

A defense attorney said her client has been "incredibly cooperative" with police.

"He is not charged with murder. He's charged with misleading investigators by not saying, as I understand it, if he went to a Home Depot," Walshe's attorney said.

Ana Walshe — who was born in Belgrade, Serbia — was working at a deluxe hotel in Lenox, when she met Brian Walshe — the son of a physician who attended boarding schools and top universities — in 2008.

The couple married in 2015 and have three young sons together, ages 2, 4 and 6.

Ana Walshe is now a dual citizen of Serbia and the United States. She still has family members who live in Serbia.

Police said Ana Walshe is 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs 115 pounds. She has brown hair, brown eyes and an olive complexion and speaks with an eastern European accent.

Anyone with information about Ana Walshe's whereabouts is asked to contact Detective Harrison Schmidt at 781-383-1055 extension 6108 or email hschmidt@cohassetpolice.com.

Cohasset police have also set up a new email for tips at tips@cohassetpolice.com.

WCVB is a media partner of The Patriot Ledger.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Search warrants linked to missing Cohasset woman delivered to court