QUINCY – DNA evidence that links a missing Cohasset woman to bloody clothes and shoes left in a Swampscott dumpster have led the state to charge her husband with murder.

Brian Walshe, husband of missing woman Ana Walsh, was arraigned in Quincy District Court Wednesday on charges of murder and improper disinterment of a body. Assistant District Attorney Lynn Beland said it was DNA evidence on a pair of slippers, clothes and a Tyvek disposable suit that led investigators to believe “Brian Walsh dismembered and discarded” his wife’s body.

Ana Walshe, the mother of three young boys, was last seen on New Year’s Day and was reported missing a few days later. Her husband was arrested on Jan. 7 and charged with misleading a police investigation. The murder and disinterment charges were added Tuesday after DNA testing results showed both Brian and Ana’s DNA on several pieces of bloodied evidence. Prosecutors also say a series of Google searches about hiding and dismembering bodies led to the additional charges.

Walshe will be held without bail until a status hearing on Feb. 9. His attorney, Tracy Miner, did not argue for bail. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf. The court has impounded several documents in the case, including Walshe’s murder arrest warrant, the Massachusetts State Police affidavit supporting the warrant and the affidavit explaining the reason for impoundment.

In court Wednesday, Walshe stared blankly at Beland as she presented a brief, but detailed, timeline of what investigators say were his suspicious actions both before and after his wife was reported missing, starting with a Dec. 27 internet search of “What is the best state to divorce for a man?”

“Rather than divorce, it is believed that Brian Walshe dismembered Ana Walsh and discarded her body,” Beland said.

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Beland said Walshe started Googling things like “How long before a body starts to smell?” “Can you throw away body parts?” and “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to” on Jan. 1, the last day his wife was seen.

Beland said surveillance footage shows Walshe buying several rugs at a HomeGoods on Jan 2., as well as cleaning products, tarp, the Tyvek suit and a hatchet at the Home Depot in Rockland. That same day, she said Walsh searched “Hacksaw best to dismember” “Can you be charged with murder without a body?” and “Can you identify a body with broken teeth?”

On Jan. 3, Walshe is accused of visiting apartment complexes in Abington and Brockton to dispose of more than a dozen large trash bags. Beland said Walshe is on surveillance video throwing trash bags into the complexes’ dumpsters.

“He’s leaning and it appears to be heavy, as he had to heave it into the dumpster,” the prosecutor said of the trash bags.

The bags disposed of in Abington and Brockton were picked up by trash collectors on their regular schedule and incinerated, officials said. That same day, Beland said he searched “What happens to hair on a dead body?” and “Can baking soda mask or make a body smell good?”

The next day, Jan. 4, Beland said police visited Walshe’s home and found his Volvo with the seats down and a plastic liner inside. The next day, police said it appeared Walshe had vacuumed the carpet. Later analysis found traces of blood in the car.

On Jan. 5, Beland said Walshe visited the Swampscott apartment complex where his mother lives and discarded more trash into the dumpster. Ten bags tossed in Swampscott were recovered by police and taken to Peabody, where they were searched. The bags included rugs, cleaning products, the boots Ana Walshe was last seen wearing, a hacksaw, her Prada purse, a piece of a necklace she has been pictured wearing, towels and a COVID-19 vaccine card in her name.

“Inside the trash bags, many of these items contained stains consistent with blood. In fact, a lot,” Beland said. “The bags found in Swampscott contained Ana’s property, and the items used to clean up, as well as the DNA that was left behind.”

On Jan. 8, police and crime scene services searched the Walshe’s Cohasset home.

“They found blood in the basement, a knife with presence of blood, the knife was damaged. A second knife was also found in that basement,” Beland said, adding that tarps were also found.

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Reach Mary Whitfill at mwhitfill@patriotledger.com.

Jan. 17:Brian Walshe charged with murder in wife Ana Walshe’s disappearance

Jan. 14:Numerous search warrants linked to missing Cohasset woman Ana Walshe delivered to court

Jan. 13:Fight over estate of Brian Walshe’s father, who lived in Hull, reveals troubling accusations

Jan. 13:Cohasset vigil offers prayers for missing Ana Walshe and the community

Jan. 13:Cohasset police issue warning about potential scams amid Ana Walshe missing mother case

Jan. 13:Missing Cohasset woman Ana Walshe told DC police Brian Walshe threatened to kill her

Jan. 12:‘It can happen wherever’: Cohasset residents grapple with news of missing mother as case unfolds

Jan. 10:Possible evidence tested in case of missing Cohasset mother Ana Walshe

Jan. 9:Prosecutor: Bloody knife found in missing Cohasset woman’s home

Jan. 7:Husband of missing Cohasset woman arrested and charged with misleading police

Jan. 5:Fire chief: ‘I don’t know’ what caused fire at former home of missing Cohasset woman