Experts say that investigator Michael Proctor’s vulgar text messages about Karen Read could spell trouble for Proctor’s credibility while testifying in other cases as well, including the pending Brian Walshe murder trial, for which he is also the designated case officer.
www.nbcboston.com
By Matt Fortin • Published June 11, 2024 • Updated on June 11, 2024 at 8:33 pm
Monday's testimony by Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor could not just have
implications on Karen Read's ongoing murder trial, but potentially beyond.
Experts say that the
investigator's vulgar text messages about Read could spell trouble for Proctor's credibility while testifying in other cases as well, including the pending
Brian Walshe murder trial, for which he is the designated case officer — the same position that Proctor holds in the Read investigation.
Read denies the state's allegations that she killed her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, in Canton in 2022, and her lawyers have depicted a large-scale coverup by law enforcement, which they say Proctor was part of. The prosecution has denied there was a coverup, calling the allegations "fanciful."
In a text conversation with friends that prosecutors had Proctor read from Monday, he referred to Read as a "whack job" and "c---," made fun of a medical condition she has and made a disparaging comment about her rear. Proctor said his comments were "unprofessional and regrettable," but said they "have zero impact on the facts and the evidence and the integrity of this investigation."
In another text chain with colleagues, Proctor made a joke about not being able to find naked photos of Read while going through her phone. Read's defense team hammered Proctor — and is expected to continue doing so when court returns Wednesday, on whether his text messages about the defendant reflected a bias.
"I think the testimony likely was fatal to the government's case," Dean of the Massachusetts School of Law and NBC10 Boston legal analyst Michael Coyne said. "The fact is, it does taint all law enforcement in this case."
Former Massachusetts State Trooper Todd McGhee explained Tuesday that the bombshell testimony could taint other cases, too, saying it was possible the situation could potentially put Proctor at risk for being included on what's called a Brady list, referring to a Supreme Court case.
Brady lists are typically used by prosecutors to determine whether they should consider officers unqualified to testify in a case over lack of credibility.
"Once that officer has been deemed as compromised, their integrity has been compromised, their name ends up on the list," McGhee said. "Once your name was on the Brady list, anytime you testify in a court of law, the opposing attorney is going to challenge your veracity.
"Effectively, you are of no real use in the court of law based on any investigative work you’ve conducted," McGhee continued.
Proctor, who works out of the Norfolk District Attorney's Office, is also the designated case officer for the Brian Walshe murder case.
Brian Walshe is charged with murdering and dismembering his wife, Ana Walshe, in their Cohasset home in early 2023. He's pleaded not guilty. The case is expected to be heard soon after the Read trial concludes.
Shira Diner, an instructor at the Defender Clinic at Boston University, believes these developments could impact Proctor's involvement at the Walshe trial.
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More at link. ~Summer
