Warrants released in connection with missing Massachusetts mother, Ana Walshe, included a mysterious ransom note that police received during the early days of the investigation.
The Boston Herald reports that Cohasset Police Detective Harrison Schmidt received an email on January 7 at around 5:18 a.m. The email came three days after Ana’s name was submitted to the National Crime Information Center database as a missing person. It’s unclear at this time who sent the email.
The ransom note was included in an affidavit filed on January 9 by Nicholas Guarino, a Trooper with the Massachusetts State Police. Guarino submitted the affidavit to obtain a search warrant for electronic devices in Ana’s home, shared with her husband, Brian Walshe, who’s currently behind bars for her disappearance and presumed death.
“We have the so named Ana Walshe with us here..we had a deal worth $127,000.. She messed up..we have her here with us and if she doesn’t pay the money..then she’ll never be back, and we know that the police and the FBI are involved.. Good luck finding us,” the ransom note read.
During a court hearing last week, Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Greg Connor laid out a timeline of his movements, following Ana’s disappearance. As CrimeOnline previously reported, Ana was last seen by a family member in her Cohasset apartment between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on January 1.
Brian Walshe was initially arrested for hindering a missing person investigation after police said he lied about his whereabouts on New Year’s Day and the day after. He was later charged with first-degree murder.
Walshe’s defense team claims that despite Ana being missing for months, there is no proof that she’s deceased. They also said the pair had a happy marriage and emphasized that his mother was the one who hired a private investigator to follow her, although Walshe was against it.
Evidence presented at the defendant’s arraignment earlier this year indicated that he made numerous searches on his son’s iPad around the time Ana vanished, including, in part:
- ’10 ways to dismember a body’
- ‘does baking soda make a body smell good?’
- ‘how long is someone missing before you can inherit?
- ‘Can you throw away body parts?’
- ‘Can you be charged with murder without a body?’
- ‘Dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body?’
Brian Walshe is also accused of buying $400 worth of cleaning supplies during the days surrounding his wife’s disappearance.
Prosecutors said blood was found in the family home’s basement, along with a bent knife that appeared to have blood on it. Prosecutors also said a hacksaw and a rug with blood on it were found at a transfer station in Peabody, around 45 miles from the Walshe’s residence.
Meanwhile, the search for Ana continues.
Ana’s cellphone, credit card, and debit cards have not been used since New Year’s Day, and her phone pinged last at her home on January 1.
Police first said she was reported missing on January 4 by the defendant and her Washington, D.C.-based employer. In court, however, it was determined that only Ana’s employer made the initial missing persons report.
“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 (police were) notified that she was missing,” Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Lynn Beland previously said.
Brian Walshe told investigators that Ana was supposed to take an Uber or Lyft to Washington, D.C., for work, but prosecutors said that there is no evidence of her ever leaving her home. He also allegedly said there was “an incident” around Christmas and that his wife told him not to call looking for her.
“Brian explained the fact that he had not reported his wife missing was due to an incident he said occurred over Christmas when Ana had been unreachable for about 24 hours. Brian said when he told Ana how concerned he was, she told Brian not to worry and not to call her work looking for her,” the affidavit read.
He remains behind bars without bail. Check back for updates.
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[Featured image: Ana Walshe/Instagram]
