Ana Walshe’s mother remains hopeful her daughter is still alive, despite the mountain of evidence prosecutors say prove otherwise.
Ana, a 39-year-old mother of three and successful real estate executive, was last seen New Year’s Day at her family’s Cohasset, Mass., home. She was first reported missing Jan. 4.
Since then, her husband Brian Walshe, has been charged with murder, improper transport of remains and misleading police in connection with her disappearance and presumed death, authorities announced. He pleaded not guilty to all three charges, and her remains have yet to be recovered.
Speaking with NBC News from her home in Belgrade, Serbia, Ana’s mom Milanka Ljubicic said, “I think that she just left somewhere, to get away, maybe she was tired of everything ... It is only my assumption. I still don’t know the truth about what happened.”
“I just hope that she is alive,” Ljubicic, 69, continued. “Anywhere, but alive. That is my only hope.”
During Brian’s arraignment Wednesday, prosecutors alleged he conducted several disturbing online searches on how to dismember and get rid of a body, using his son’s iPad.
Brian, 47, researched, “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to,” “how to stop a body from decomposing,” and “how long before a body starts to smell,” among other unsettling questions, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors also revealed investigators retrieved 10 trash bags of evidence, according to CNN. The evidence includes part of Ana’s necklace, her COVID-19 vaccination card, cleaning products, a hacksaw and a hatchet, per the outlet.
Additionally, Ana and Brian’s DNA were recovered from slippers and a Tyvek suit — an industrial, full-body, hazmat suit, during the investigation, prosecutors alleged, CNN reports.
In a statement to PEOPLE on Wednesday, Brian’s lawyer, Tracy Miner, said in part, “I am not going to comment on the evidence, first because I am going to try this case in the court and not in the media. Second, because I haven’t been provided with any evidence by the prosecution.”
“In my experience, where, as here, the prosecution leaks so called evidence to the press before they provide it to me, their case isn’t that strong. When they have a strong case, they give me everything as soon as possible. We shall see what they have and what evidence is admissible in court, where the case will ultimately be decided,” Miner said.
Brian remains held without bail. He is due back in court Feb. 9.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
