Investigators searching for missing mother Ana Walshe received a ‘ransom note’ days after her disappearance, according to court documents.
The ransom came in the form of an email sent to Cohasset Police Detective Harrison Schmidt at 5.18pm on January 7 – almost a week since Ana Walshe was last seen celebrating New Year’s Eve with her husband and a family friend.
The short note reads: ‘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 mysterious email was first discovered in documents uncovered by the Boston Herald.
The investigation into Walsh’s disappearance has primarily centered around her husband, Brian Walshe. It is unclear why investigators and prosecutors have not mentioned the ransom note until now.
Investigators currently believe Brian Walshe dismembered his wife and disposed of her body at several dumpsters in Massachusetts.
Immediately after Ana’s disappearance, Brian was seen purchasing large amounts of cleaning supplies, plastic sheets, a HAZMAT suit, a hacksaw, and a hatchet.
Prosecutors argued that Brian thought his wife, who had recently started a new job in Washington DC, was having an affair.
They also revealed Brian Walshe searched for several suspicious topics immediately after Ana’s disappearance, including ’10 ways to dismember a body’ and ‘how long before a body starts to smell.’
Brian Walshe was arrested and charged with her murder on January 9, but his missing wife’s body still hasn’t been found.
At a hearing on April 27, Brian Walshe’s defense attorney argued that he should not be charged with murder because of the absence of any remains.
‘As your honor knows under Massachusetts law, a person is not presumed dead because they’re missing for a period of seven years because it is easy for a single person to disappear if they want to disappear,’ defense attorney Tracy Miner told the court on Friday.
‘In that four months there has been no body found, there has been no indication if she died, how she died, there’s no murder weapon, there’s no motive,’ Miner argued.
This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
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