UPDATED Jan. 9, 2023, 6:15 p.m.: Authorities probing last week’s disappearance of Tishman Speyer executive Ana Walshe have arrested her husband on charges of misleading their investigation.
Walshe, a 39-year-old general manager at the commercial real estate firm, has been missing since the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, when she left her suburban Boston home for a flight to Washington, D.C., where she regularly commuted for work, according to police.
The wife and mother of three, who has been with the firm since last February, was reported missing by her employer after she failed to show up for work on Jan. 4, CNN reported.
Brian Walshe, 47, was arraigned Monday for allegedly impeding the investigation into his wife’s disappearance, prosecutors said, after questions arose regarding his statements and actions in conjunction with the probe.
Walshe told police that his wife left for the airport in a ride-sharing vehicle, but the investigation found that she neither took an Uber or Lyft that morning nor boarded her flight. Her cell phone pinged at their home later that day.
“These various statements caused a delay in the investigation to the point that during the time frame when he didn’t report his wife and gave various statements, that allowed him time to either clean up evidence, dispose of evidence, and causing a delay,” the prosecutor said.
Prosecutors said Monday that surveillance footage captured Jan. 2 showed Brian Walshe at a Home Depot buying $450 of cleaning supplies such as mops, tarps and a bucket, which he paid for in cash while wearing a mask and gloves.
Police obtained a search warrant for the family’s Cohasset, Massachusetts home, where they discovered a bloody knife in the basement. Investigators also found that Brian Walshe had conducted an internet search for “how to dispose of a 115-pound woman’s body,” law enforcement sources told CNN.
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A search for Ana Walshe was suspended Saturday, pending any new discoveries in the case.
Brian Walshe pleaded not guilty to the charge of misleading investigators. His bail is at $500,000 and a hearing is scheduled for Feb. 9.
His defense attorney said that Tishman reported Walshe missing only after her husband called to ask about her whereabouts. The attorney also said that Brian Walshe has been cooperative with police.
“We are actively assisting the local authorities in their ongoing search for our beloved colleague, Ana, and are praying for her safe return,” a representative for Tishman Speyer said in a statement provided to The Real Deal.
— Pat Ralph
This story has been updated since its initial publication with newly reported information from law enforcement sources.