(NewsNation) — Brian Walshe pleaded not guilty to charges including murdering his wife, Ana Walshe, misleading a police investigation and improperly moving a body.
New information in court documents shows Brian Walshe hired a private investigator to follow his wife because he suspected she was having an affair. Ana Walshe also allegedly told friends she was planning to leave her husband because he was going to be incarcerated for other criminal charges, and she planned to relocate to Washington, D.C., with her children.
Walshe’s lawyer said there is no proof Ana Walshe is even dead, that the Walshes had a happy marriage and told the court it was Brian Walshe’s mother who hired a private investigator. She asked for $250,000 bail, which was denied. Walshe is being held without bail.
Peter Raider, a friend of Ana’s, told NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield Thursday night that the news was “shocking.” “She was full of life and a wonderful human being who really cared about everybody she met. … It’s really really still very shocking. It’s bring back raw emotion right now,” Raider said.
Raider said that his relationship professional but that she always spoke about her family in a “positive” way.
In March, a grand jury indicted Brian Walshe on charges of murder, misleading a police investigation and improper conveyance of a human body, moving his case to the Norfolk Superior Court. He had previously pleaded not guilty to murder charges in a district court.
Ana Walshe was reported missing on Jan. 4. She was supposed to be leaving Massachusetts to travel to Washington, D.C., where she worked during the week. Walshe told investigators she left the home on Jan. 1, but he did not report her missing until Jan. 4, when she was due to show up to work.
Evidence in the initial indictment included Ana Walshe’s phone pinging in the vicinity of the family’s Massachusetts home after she supposedly left, surveillance footage and cellphone data showing Brian Walshe made trips to several area dumpsters that weekend as well as purchasing a large number of cleaning supplies.
Searches of the Walshe home and Brian Walshe’s car also revealed traces of blood.
Evidence from Walshe’s Google searches were also part of the indictment. He searched for information on getting a divorce, according to court documents, then later searched for information on how to dispose of a body and destroy evidence. He also searched “Can you be charged with murder without a body?” according to prosecutors.