A missing woman from Cohasset who has not been seen since the early-morning hours of New Years Day once penned a letter to a judge vouching for her husbands character ahead of his sentencing in an art fraud case.

In the letter, the missing woman, Ana Walshe, described a man with relationship and trust issues due to emotional trauma caused by his parents during his childhood. She wrote of a man regretful for his previous actions conning people by selling them fake copies of Andy Warhol paintings on eBay and a man rehabilitated by emotional intelligence training.

Monday, her husband, Brian Walshe, was arrested and charged with misleading the police investigation into her disappearance.

The 46-year-old man was arrested on Jan. 9 and charged with misleading a police investigation into his wifes disappearance. He was arraigned later that day in Quincy District Court and is currently being held on $500,000 cash bail.

In April 2021, Brian Walshe pleaded guilty to selling fake copies of Andy Warhol paintings on eBay. He was arrested and charged in connection with the scheme in May 2018, court records show.

In August 2021, Ana Walshe, 39, wrote a letter to Judge Douglas P. Woodlock vouching for her husbands character ahead of the judges sentencing decision. Court documents show there have been various issues surrounding Brian Walshes sentencing, which initially was scheduled for home confinement. The sentencing decision in the art fraud case has still not been determined.Read more: Ana Walshe has been missing since New Years; her husband was in court. Heres what we know so far

In the letter, Ana Walshe writes that she met Brian Walshe in 2008 and that it was, love at first sight. She called him the love of her life, her best friend and the father of her three children.

When I met Brian, I witnessed his kindness and generosity on many occasions, however, I also saw the level of suffering in his life, Ana Walshe wrote. He was afraid of relationships and for years did not allow anyone to get close to him, including me. He was clearly in doubt that he could be loved for who he truly was. Brian has been deeply affected by his childhood and relationship with his parents.

Cohasset police are seeking a missing 39-year-old mother who never boarded a D.C.-bound plane on New Year's Day. (Photo courtesy Cohasset Police)

Walshe wrote that her husband was told that his parents should not have had him and that he had no chance of making anything of himself in life and that he was a lost cause.

This trauma has been ever-present in Brians life, brought deep sadness for years and was the determining factor of how he showed up for himself and others in the past, Ana Walshe wrote.

She wrote of her experience with an experiential emotional intelligence leadership program at Boston Breakthrough Academy following the birth of the couples second son in October 2019. The program was so transformative she encouraged her husband to participate.

During this program, he established what integrity was all about, as well as accountability, responsibility and clear communication, Ana Walshe wrote. He learned how important it was to love yourself first and how much more you have to offer the world when so.

Following the program, Brian Walshe participated in community organizations, including Lovin Spoonfuls, the woman wrote.

Brian has a big heart and he is impacting everyone around him in ways that will surpass the present moment, she wrote. He has been a leader to our family and an inspiration to all he comes into contact with … I am in awe of his transformation and so happy to see him living a fulfilled life.

The pain and sadness Brian Walshe felt for his past actions was unbearable to him, his wife wrote.

I want to thank you in advance for the decision you are about to make, Ana Walshe wrote to the judge.

In the case, Brian Walshe pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud, interstate transportation for a scheme to defraud, possession of converted goods and unlawful monetary transaction.

The cause of a fire that broke out Jan. 6 at the former home of Ana Walshe, the Cohasset woman who has been missing since Jan. 1, 2023, has yet to be determined, according to authorities. The woman's former home at 725 Jerusalem Road in Cohasset is pictured here. (Cohasset Fire Department)

To orchestrate the scheme, Brian Walshe received paintings from a person in South Korea. He told that person he would sell the art.

With the artwork in hand, Walshe then cut off contact with the individual in South Korea and attempted to consign actual Warhol paintings to a gallery in New York City. However, the gallery declined to accept the paintings because Walshe did not have a bill of sale, the United States Attorneys Office said.

Through a mutual friend, the original owner of the artwork was able to retrieve some of the art. Walshe then turned to eBay to sell two Warhol paintings.

The paintings were two of Warhols Shadows, a series of untitled, abstract canvas paintings from 1978, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. The original listing price for the paintings was $100,000. In the advertisement, the eBay seller included a picture of an invoice for the two Warhol Shadows paintings with Warhol Foundation numbers and a purchase price of $240,000.

The buyer arranged to purchase the artwork from Walsh, independent of eBay, for $80,000 between Nov. 3 and 5, 2016, believing what hed receive would be authentic.

A day later, however, the buyer removed the paintings from the frames and discovered the Warhol Foundation authentication stamps were missing. It was also noticed that the canvasses and staples looked new. He was sold copies.

When he compared the paintings to the photographs from the eBay listing, they did not look identical, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

The buyer then repeatedly attempted to contact Walshe, who initially did not respond, and then made excuses for the delay in refunding the buyers money, officials said.

Court documents show there have been various issues surrounding Brian Walshes sentencing, which initially was scheduled for home confinement.Read more: Fire breaks out at former home of missing woman Ana Walshe

It was originally stated by Cohasset Police that Ana Walshe was first reported missing on Wednesday, Jan. 4, simultaneously by her husband and her employer.

However, during Brian Walshes arraignment on Jan. 9, prosecutors said Brian Walshe actually had never reported his wife as missing, and that her employer was the only one who reported her missing on Jan. 4 after she did not show up for work.

Ana Walshe works as an executive at a property management company in Washington, D.C., and officials said she was headed to her second home in D.C. that Jan. 1 morning to handle an emergency at one of her properties.

Police originally stated Ana Walshe was last seen physically walking out the door of her home by a family member around 4 a.m. on Jan. 1. Her husband told police she was leaving to catch a ride with a rideshare vehicle to Boston Logan International Airport for a 6 a.m. flight. She reportedly had her license, cell phone and other personal belongings with her when she allegedly left.

Cohasset Police initially said Ana Walshes cellphone had been off since that day but revealed during Brian Walshes arraignment that her phone had been pinged to their Cohasset home on both Jan. 1 and Jan. 2.

Police have no record of Ana Walshe ever reaching the airport with a rideshare, nor boarding the 6 a.m. flight. Police also stated that at the time of her disappearance, it was difficult for them to obtain records from airlines due to the thousands of flights canceled across the country during the holiday travel meltdown caused by a nationwide winter storm.

Originally, Ana Walshe had been planning to make her weekly commute after the holidays back to Washington, D.C., on a Jan. 3 flight. Police stated Brian Walshe told officers it was not unusual for the family to not hear from the property management executive given the nature of her job.

Police also said Brian alshe stated he was asleep when his wife left the home on Jan. 1, and that he, her other family and her friends had been cooperative in the investigation thus far.

According to prosecutors, there are records of Brian Walshe going to various commercial stores the day after Ana Walshe went missing, including Home Depot, Whole Foods and CVS, and he did not inform police of his whereabouts.

Prosecutors said Jan. 2 video surveillance shows Walshe purchasing hundreds of dollars of cleaning supplies, including mops, drop clothes and various kinds of tape, from a Home Depot in Rockland. They also stated Walshe had told police he had only left the home in Cohasset on that day to get ice cream for one of his children.

Hes on surveillance at that time on Jan. 2, even though he said he never left the house, a prosecutor stated.

Police obtained a search warrant, and actually searched the house with crime scene services. During that time, they found blood in the basement. Blood was found in the basement area, as well as a knife, which also contained some blood, the prosecutor added.

Prosecutors also state Walshe was in Brockton and Abington on Jan. 1 and did not inform police.

Cohasset Police had conducted an initial search of the Walshes Cohasset home, along with the surrounding area, with K-9 units upon filing the missing persons report, police said. Cohasset and Massachusetts State police revisited the area on Jan. 6, along with searching the area around a Stop & Shop located along Chief Justice Cushing Highway, or Route 3A, in Cohasset.

Washington, D.C., Police also conducted a welfare check and search inside Walshes Washington, D.C., home, and did not find anybody there, police said. Walshes car had remained in her driveway in D.C., police said.

Massachusetts State Police officers and Cohasset Police officers had traveled to Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Jan. 7 to further investigate Walshes D.C. home.

Ana and Brian Walshe have three children, aged 2 to 6 years old. She has family outside of the country, many friends across the United States, and speaks with an Eastern European accent, according to police.

A fire broke out at a home previously owned by the Walshe family up until last year in Cohasset around 2:15 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6. When crews arrived at the scene, they noticed smoke coming from the attic of the house and soon struck a second alarm, the Cohasset Fire Department said in a statement.

The four people inside the home, three adults and a young child, were able to safely escape before first responders arrived. Nobody was injured, according to the statement.

MassLive reporter Irene Rotondo contributed to this report.