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Police Downplay ‘Suspicious’ Ransom Note Demanding $127K For Ana Walshe’s Return: 'We Have Her’
"We have the so named Ana walshe with us here,” the "suspicious" ransom note stated.
Police say an individual or individuals purporting to be kidnappers demanded $127,000 for the safe return of Ana Walshe in the aftermath of the missing Massachusetts realtor’s disappearance earlier this year.
Authorities initially disregarded the suspected ransom note, which they viewed as “suspicious,” according to newly filed court documents cited by NBC Boston.
RELATED: Grisly Details In Ana Walshe Case Revealed As Husband Pleads Not Guilty To Her Murder
Ana Walshe, 39, vanished in the early morning hours of Jan. 1. Her husband, Brian Walshe — an accused art fraudster on house arrest at the time of her disappearance — is charged with her murder. Ana’s remains haven’t been recovered.
Police now also suspect Ana was making preparations to leave her husband amid his legal entanglements and was also actively having an affair with another man in Washington, D.C., where she worked on weekdays.
What did the unverified ransom note say?
On Jan. 7, at 5:18 a.m. Cohasset Police Detective Harrison Schmidt opened an email from a Gmail account belonging to richardwalker9984, court records stated.
The author indicated that he or she was holding Ana hostage and wanted $127,000 in exchange for her safe return. The message taunted authorities, mentioned the FBI, and claimed that Ana had “messed up.”
"We have the so named Ana walshe with us here,” the note stated. "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."
Cohasset Police, however, didn’t then take the correspondence seriously, pointing to the lack of information the cryptic note provided.
"Investigators are considering this email suspicious because there is no timeline to respond to the demand and no contact instructions," state authorities said in the court filing.
Law enforcement haven't commented further on the authenticity of the alleged ransom note.
Police say surveillance footage, which captured Brian purchasing five-gallon buckets, a hacksaw, towels, a hammer, protective suit, a mop, trash bags, and other cleaning products linked him to his wife’s slaying.
He also allegedly searched for “dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body,” “how long before a body starts to smell” and “hacksaw best tool to dismember,” on a seized electronic device, the Associated Press reported.
Was Ana Walshe Preparing to Leave Her Husband?
Ana was in the midst of leaving her husband, according to investigators and others close to the presumed-to-be-dead Massachusetts mom.
At the time of her disappearance, Brian was facing federal charges in an art fraud case, which had complicated their marriage, those close to the couple said. Detectives now believe she was actively seeing another man in Washington, D.C., where she routinely worked in the housing market.
According to newly filed court documents, Ana’s suspected romantic partner, who wasn’t identified, divulged to law enforcement that he and the missing Massachusetts woman had been intimately close in the months and weeks leading up to her disappearance. He described their relationship as serious. Police say the pair spent Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve together and recently had traveled to Ireland together, according to People.
A friend of Ana’s also told investigators that days before she vanished, she’d voiced concerns that her husband would be convicted. She added she was prepared to leave Brian should he be sentenced to prison.
“Ana believed Mr. Walshe was going to be incarcerated on his pending criminal case. Ana told her friend that she intended to relocate her three children to Washington, D.C., and was prepared to leave Mr. Walshe,” according to separate court documents cited by the Associated Press.
Authorities also discovered that someone had searched “divorce” on Brian's eldest child’s iPad, according to the Associated Press. Prosecutors previously accused Brian of directing his mother to hire a private investigator to follow his wife in December of 2022 because he allegedly “suspected Ana was having an affair.”
Brian has pleaded not guilty to his wife’s murder. He’s also accused of misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice and improper conveyance of a human body in connection with Ana's death.
