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For an ad-free listening experience, visit patreon.com slash crimehub. Sign up for a 7-day free trial and gain access to all my episodes completely ad-free. That's patreon.com slash crimehub. Now let's dive into the story. Those who knew Anna Walsh remembered her as an extraordinary woman. She was a successful businesswoman, a loving mother, and a devoted wife.
Anna had worked her way to the top of the corporate ladder as an immigrant from Serbia. Everything on the outside showed Anna had a life of happiness, success and wealth. Behind closed doors, Anna's marriage to Brian Walsh was troubled. Anna disappeared on January 1st, 2023, and an investigation was launched. Investigators soon found disturbing evidence that linked Brian Walsh to the disappearance and alleged murder of Anna.
Brian was arrested and pleaded not guilty. But the evidence against him is beyond damning. The most heartbreaking part of this case is that the body of Anna Walsh was never found. Anna Walsh was someone who dedicated her life to family and friends. Her life was cut short for no reason. This is her story. Part 1: Anna Walsh The story of Anna Walsh is that of someone who lived the American Dream.
Anna Ljubicic was born in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1983 and attended the University of Belgrade where she majored in French and Literature. Serbia was a country that had been involved in a bloody civil war during the 1990s. Serbia was once part of Yugoslavia, a communist nation. The fall of communism led to the split of the country, which led to violence.
Anna moved to the United States in 2005 and took a job as a housekeeping attendant at a hotel in rural Virginia. One year later, she was a server at the hotel's restaurant. Anna was able to achieve a dual citizenship role while in the United States. In 2008, Anna moved to a town called Lenox in western Massachusetts. She was the reservations manager of a hotel.
People who knew her said she had an energy that was infectious, and they knew she was someone that was going to be a huge success. Anna was incredibly sharp when it came to business and was driven to be the best. While in Lenox, Anna did some cleaning work at the hotel and at homes of people in the area. It was in Lenox where she met a man named Brian Walsh.
A friend of Anna's told a Boston TV station that their meeting was "love at first sight." Anna stayed in the hotel industry and was the manager at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington, D.C. She was able to move up the ladder and in 2013, she became their front office operations manager. Anna's hard work and dedication led her to another job in Boston in 2015.
She impressed and inspired many as a hardworking manager. Anna and Brian tied the knot in 2016, and they soon were parents to three children. They resided in the Cohasset area of Massachusetts and lived a very comfortable life in a spacious home. By 2020, Anna was part of a top real estate company in Boston. She was able to juggle a career and a family.
She impressed many along the way, and those who knew Anna considered her a very kind person who wasn't afraid to roll up her sleeves and work. Anna moved to another top Boston real estate company in 2022, and it appeared she was living the American dream. However, behind closed doors, her marriage to Brian Walsh was anything but stable. Part 2. Brian Walsh
The man who would sweep Anna off her feet and marry her was Brian Walsh. Those who knew Brian painted a picture of a complex individual. Brian was viewed as a sociopath conman who grew up in a dysfunctional home. Brian's troubled past followed him into adulthood. It is said that Brian attempted to get himself on the right track and somehow he became derailed. In the end, Brian Walsh ended up being the prime suspect in the murder of his wife.
As a child, Brian was raised in a well-to-do family, but was reportedly belittled by his parents. His childhood was toxic because his parents told him he was an unwanted child. As an adult, Brian had a difficult time connecting romantically with people. However, Anna saw the good in him and believed that Brian was capable of being a loving person.
It seemed, in Anna's opinion, that Brian needed a positive environment to flourish. She would also praise Brian for being a good father who loved to cook for their children. Others had a different opinion of Brian. It was in 2011 when Brian visited a friend in South Korea who had an art collection. Brian told his friend that he could assist them in selling the artwork if they were interested. The friend agreed and allowed Brian to take artwork back to the United States for sale.
Included in the artwork were pieces from famed artist Andy Warhol. They were from his 1978 Shadows series. Brian did sell the Warhol artwork to a gallery sometime in 2011. The money from the sale never made its way to the friend in South Korea. Sadly, those paintings were sold to a person or persons outside of the United States. And at the time of this video being created, the paintings have not been returned to the rightful owner.
In 2015, Brian obtained two replicas of the 1978 Shadows artwork from an individual who has not been named. Brian's plan was to sell the two replicas on eBay, unbeknownst to the individual who either gave or sold the items to Brian. According to reports, Brian took pictures of the certificates of authenticity for the paintings he took from his friend in South Korea.
Brian put up the replicas and added the certificates for an eBay listing claiming he was selling original Shadow's artwork. In the listing, Brian claimed to have purchased the artwork for $240,000 but wanted $100,000. In 2016, someone reached out to Walsh outside of eBay to make a deal for the bogus artwork.
They offered Brian $80,000 and told Brian they would have an assistant pick up the artwork and deliver him a cashier's check. Brian agreed to the deal. The individual who paid for the artwork realized something was wrong when they carefully examined what they had purchased from Walsh. According to an NBC10 Boston report, the suspicion occurred when the buyer realized the canvas for the artwork looked new.
There were other indicators that the artwork was fraudulent. The FBI were notified and an investigation began, and Walsh was arrested in 2018. The investigation noted that Walsh had deposited the check and taken out over $33,000 of the $80,000 some 14 days following the sale. Brian was arrested in 2018, and in 2021 he pleaded guilty to the following:
wire fraud, an interstate transportation scheme to defraud, and an unlawful monetary transaction. It was requested by prosecutors that Brian be sentenced to roughly three years in prison, and then have another three years where he would be on supervised release. It was requested that Brian pay restitution as well. Brian would have an ankle monitor on him as part of his sentencing.
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Part 3: Anna's Disappearance We don't know what went on behind the scenes of Brian and Anna's marriage during his legal battle.
What is known is that friends of Ana said she confided in them and that she had a strained marriage and that she was more than likely looking for a separation or even divorce. A Fox 5 Washington DC report discovered that in 2014, Ana told police that Brian had threatened to kill her. Ana was living in the Washington DC area at the time and said Brian also threatened to kill a friend of hers as well.
Although Ana filed a report, she did not want to do any kind of follow-up report with the police. The Fox 5 Washington DC report said she was not cooperating with police. Brian's behavior of threatening Ana and her friend was a huge red flag. However, not long after she married Brian, Ana posted an image of herself with a black eye and complained of additional injuries including a concussion.
When pressed by friends, Anna claimed she took a fall at work and that it was nothing serious. The accident has never been confirmed to be anything related to Brian, but it raised some concerns about their relationship. It is believed in 2021 or 2022, Anna gave Brian an ultimatum of sorts when it came to paying back those he defrauded in the fraudulent art scheme.
In 2021, Anna had moved on to another real estate company which was based in Washington, D.C. She was working in D.C. and spending time in Boston. Anna then decided to set up residence in Washington, D.C. She would live there with her children. Brian was not able to leave the Boston area due to his art fraud case which was still pending. A friend of Anna's would later tell investigators that she was ready to move on in life without Brian. At this time,
Brian became suspicious of Ana and was under the impression she was having an affair. He hired a private investigator to track her. The truth came out and Ana was seeing another man. She had moved on from Brian and wanted to focus on her family and career. Brian was apparently not interested in this change. Everything came to a horrible ending around January 1st, 2023.
Ana's co-workers in Washington, D.C., reported her missing on January 4th, 2023. They said her absence was unusual. One of the people who was concerned about Ana saw her at the Cohasset, Massachusetts home she shared with Brian on December 31st, 2022. That was the last time she was seen alive.
On January 1st, 2023, Brian claimed that Anna took a flight from Boston to Washington, D.C. to take care of an emergency at a property she managed. Investigators soon learned that Anna never took the flight to D.C. Anna Walsh was missing. Part 4: Discoveries Investigators in 2023 were tasked with finding Anna Walsh. Why did she vanish? Was she taking time away from a troubled marriage?
Those who knew Ana said she would never abandon her children that way. The search was on. One major issue with the investigation was the fact that Ana's cell phone was turned off on January 2, 2023. This was concerning since Ana was someone who stayed in touch with family and friends. Turning off her phone was out of character, and those who were concerned about her being missing were more concerned. Also, there was no record of Ana using her debit or credit cards during this time.
something wasn't right. According to the Fox 5 Washington, D.C. report, Brian was cooperating with law enforcement. However, a person interviewed by Fox 5 stated that law enforcement was not sold on Brian being 100% innocent or forthcoming. Brian told investigators he last saw Ana on January 1, 2023, and since that time he had not seen or heard from her.
Also, he claimed he left his home for a trip to the store to get some ice cream for his children. Since Brian was wearing an ankle monitor, his story would have to match the data from the device. It didn't. A warrant was issued and investigators searched the Walsh family home in Cohasset. When they had completed their search, Brian was led from the home in handcuffs. What was disturbing about the arrest was that Brian was smiling as he was being led away.
This was not the look of an innocent man being whisked away by the police. This was the look of someone who had committed a diabolical act. Those who covered the Anna Walsh disappearance noted that Brian had an arrogant attitude during the investigation and didn't come across as a distraught husband who was concerned about the well-being of his wife, who was missing. The arrest allowed investigators to do a comprehensive search into the disappearance of Anna.
In the basement of the Walsh home in Cohasset, investigators found a knife and blood. There was blood in Brian's car as well. He had the seats down and there was plastic tarp covering the seats. It was incredibly suspicious. Also, digital data collected in the case showed Brian had lied about only leaving the house to get ice cream. Another issue that law enforcement had with the case was a message they received not long after Anna went missing.
The message read: "We have the so-named Anna Walsh 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 email was beyond bizarre to investigators because ransom notes come with instructions for contacting them to get the money.
Also, Anna made no calls to anyone to ask for money. She couldn't call anyone because her phone was turned off. Investigators wondered if it was something concocted by Brian Walsh to throw them off the case. It didn't work. As police continued their search, they discovered Brian made a trip to a local Home Depot to purchase $450 in cleaning supplies and related equipment like trash cans and a squeegee.
Brian also shopped for new towels, a bath mat, and men's clothing. Then there was another shocking find by police. In a dumpster near Brian's mother's home, they found 10 trash bags with evidence linked to the disappearance of Anna Walsh. In the bags were bloody items, a hacksaw, and some of Anna's personal belongings. From what police could piece together, they determined Brian killed Anna and dismembered her.
Brian then placed her remains in the garbage in various locations. In addition, there were incredibly disturbing searches Brian made on his son's iPad. These searches were done at the beginning of January 2023 before Ana was reported missing to the police. Here are some of the topics he googled according to a report from Fox 5 Washington DC. How long before a body starts to smell? How to stop a body from decomposing? How to bound a body?
10 ways to dispose of a body if you really need to. How long for someone to be missing to inherit? Can you throw away body parts? What does formaldehyde do? How long does DNA last? Can identification be made on partial remains? Dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body. How to clean blood from a wooden floor. Luminol to detect blood. What happens when you put body parts in ammonia?
Is it better to throw crime scene clothes away or wash them? If this evidence wasn't damning enough, this was just the beginning of Brian Walsh's ridiculous actions. A day after all of those questions were googled, he was back on his son's iPad to do more research. He googled, "Is a hacksaw the best tool to dismember a body?" and "Can you identify a body with broken teeth?"
Brian even googled topics like hair on dead bodies and a comparison of decomposition between a body placed in the woods or a body wrapped in a plastic bag. Finally, he even tried googling how to dismember a 115-pound body that was Ana's weight. These searches are disturbing, and the amount of searches Brian did in that time shocked law enforcement. Despite all this data, Brian pleaded not guilty
Part 5: The Aftermath The evidence against Brian Walsh was circumstantial because the remains of Anna have never been found. It is believed Anna's body was dismembered, disposed of, and incinerated or shredded. Law enforcement never made it to any of the dumpsters on time to find any remains. Video evidence does exist of Brian dumping heavy garbage bags into dumpsters.
Cell phone data corroborates that evidence by showing his location near the dumpsters. The cleaning supplies and Google search histories are enough evidence to persuade a jury that Brian Walsh is guilty of murder. He has been incarcerated due to a grand jury indictment of murder in April of 2023. The prosecution and the defense are working on their arguments at the time of this video.
Law enforcement is still doing work to find any remains so they have something for the case against Brian Walsh. Brian's art fraud case is not over, and he too must deal with that case. Conclusion The Anna Walsh case is a very frustrating case. She was definitely the victim of an abusive relationship. Anna tried to see the best in her husband, but it sadly ended up being her downfall.
The Walsh children lost both a mother and a father in this case. Ana's remains may never be found, and Walsh is very likely to spend the rest of his life in prison. Brian's foolish online searches and bizarre purchases might be his downfall in court. To this day, Brian maintains his innocence. His first defense attorney resigned and is currently working with a new defense attorney.
Anna Walsh was remembered as a selfless person who inspired many by her hard work. She was remembered as a very kind woman who had nothing but love for her friends and family. Anna made sure she spent time with her three sons and showered them with love and affection. Whatever happened to Anna Walsh on January 1st, 2023 may never be known, which is sad because her parents and children still don't have closure.
Hey guys, thanks for listening. I want to give you all a quick heads up regarding some upcoming political ads you may start hearing leading up to this year's presidential election.
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