Can't blame them one bit. This is only the tip of the iceberg in what's about to get filed.
Brian Walshe lawyer to file motion naming investigator Proctor after Read trial testimony
The unprofessional conduct Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor has admitted to on the stand in the Karen Read murder trial is now set to impact another high-profile homicide case he’s connected to. The attorney representing Brian Walshe — the Cohasset man accused of killing his...www.nbcboston.com
By Matt Fortin and Glenn Jones • Published 27 mins ago • Updated 27 mins ago
The unprofessional conduct Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor has admitted to on the stand in the Karen Read murder trial is now set to impact another high-profile homicide case he's connected to.
The attorney representing Brian Walshe — the Cohasset man accused of killing his wife, Ana, in early 2023 — has told NBC10 Boston he plans to file a motion over possible questionable conduct that names Proctor.
Proctor has been on the stand testifying in the Read trial this week. He is the case officer, the same role he had in the Walshe murder investigation. Proctor has been accused by Read's defense team of playing a part in an intricate frame job — a claim vehemently denied by Proctor and state prosecutors.
Proctor did testify to making several insulting comments about Read in text messages during the early days of the investigation into John O'Keefe's death — comments that included remarks about her health condition, and calling her a "c---."
Walshe's defense attorney, Larry Tipton, told NBC10 Boston that he has not yet concluded there is any investigator bias involving his client, but what he’s heard in the Read case has raised his suspicions. His motion will name Proctor, Tipton said, as well as any other investigator implicated in the Read case.
NBC10 Boston has reached out to the Norfolk District Attorney's Office, which is prosecuting both the Read and Walshe cases, for comment. The office has not responded with a comment.
Well, if you look at the pics they presented, one has a black sole and one has a white sole. Wouldn't you say that they don't match? The one in the snow pic has a black sole and the actual shoe they presented in court has a white sole.
www.cbsnews.com
What WAS his beef with her? Somebody that he testified that he had never met prior to this. What piece of the puzzle is missing???Trooper Michael Proctor grilled over "hopefully she kills herself" text in Karen Read murder trial
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor returned the stand in the high-profile Karen Read murder trial.
By Matt Schooley
Updated on: June 12, 2024 / 4:20 PM EDT / CBS Boston
<snip>
Trooper Proctor asked if he developed "hatred" for Karen Read?
In a text message response to his sister that he read in court, Proctor said about Read, "Hopefully she kills herself."
"You literally said that you hope Karen Read, the subject of your investigation … that she would just die," Jackson said, prompting Proctor to respond "It was a figure of speech."
Jackson asked Proctor if he developed "some sort of hatred for Ms. Read at any point during this investigation."
"We followed the facts and evidence which showed Ms. Read hit Mr. O'Keefe with her vehicle. Yes, at times I got emotional because of that and I said some stuff, texted some things I shouldn't have. But it was based off the evidence," Proctor said.
Jackson finished his cross-examination just after 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
"Trooper Proctor. It would be far easier for you to pin it on 'the girl' who's just a 'whackjob [expletive]' in your words, who you hope just kills herself. Right?" Jackson said, before ending by saying "Shame on you sir."
That prompted Judge Beverly Cannone to strike the remark from the record and warn Jackson.
"Jurors, disregard that. I've told you before, lawyers can't make comments, they can ask questions. And Mr. Jackson you know better than that," Cannone said.
Defense says Brian Higgins had motive, means to kill John O'Keefe
Earlier, Jackson questioned Proctor about Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Brian Higgins, who testified earlier in the trial.
Higgins said that he and Read exchanged "flirty" text messages in the months before O'Keefe died.
Higgins was at the Waterfall Bar and Grille in Canton drinking with the group that included Read and O'Keefe before they went to Brian Albert's Fairview Road home.
"You also recognize that Brian Higgins certainly had the means to commit the crime, correct?" Jackson asked. "He's a big guy. He certainly had the physical ability to get into a physical altercation with John O'Keefe, correct?"
Proctor said he could not agree because he was not aware of Higgins' fighting abilities.
"Just because he's a big guy doesn't mean he has the motive to hurt Mr. O'Keefe. They were friends," Proctor said.
Defense focuses on Colin Albert
Brian Albert, a former Boston police officer, owned the home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton at the time O'Keefe's body was found in the snow.
Jackson, as he did earlier in the trial, zeroed in on Colin Albert's presence at the home the night O'Keefe died. Defense attorneys claim that Colin Albert, who has already testified, could have been one of the people who killed O'Keefe during an alleged fight inside the home.
In Proctor's notes, he listed people who were inside 34 Fairview Road at some point January 28 into January 29, 2022. Colin Albert was not included in those notes.
"Isn't it true that in your report you excluded one name, Colin Albert, from the list of individuals that were in your notes," Jackson asked. Proctor testified that he didn't include Colin Albert because he arrived later in the evening, while others who he wrote down were there from the start.
Several witnesses have testified that Colin Albert was at the home, but left before O'Keefe and Read arrived.
<snip>
"Zero chance she skates," Proctor told friends
Jackson displayed a text message between Proctor and friends where the trooper said "Zero chance [Read] skates. She's f----d."
"Seventeen hours into this investigation, you made the decision that you were going to put it on Ms. Read, didn't you? Put the case on Ms. Read. She's going to catch the case, correct?" Jackson asked.
Proctor said "No. Absolutely not."
"After the day's investigation with multiple troopers conducting multiple tasks, a debriefing at Canton PD amongst detectives in my office, we went through the overwhelming amount of evidence against Ms. Read that she struck Mr. O'Keefe with her vehicle. That's what I meant by that comment," Proctor said.
Proctor said intent "another animal we won't be able to prove"
Jackson attempted to show that the trooper was biased early on in the investigation.
"Before you ever went into the house, only having interviewed three folks, you had this case nice and wrapped up didn't you?" Jackson asked.
"Based on the evidence my office uncovered that day, the one shoe discovered at the scene, the one shoe at the hospital, Mr. O'Keefe's injuries, the broken taillight pieces underneath the snow," Proctor said before Jackson interrupted and asked if it was "cut and dry" in the trooper's mind. "Yes," he responded.
In a group text with high school friends, Proctor referenced if it was intentional or not, and said "That's another animal we won't be able to prove."
Jackson asked "Did you mean by that statement that you were going to pursue this case no matter what the proof might be?"
"What I meant by that statement was if Ms. Read backed into Mr. O'Keefe intentionally or not," Proctor said.
<snip>
Lt. Brian Tully takes stand
Massachusetts State Police Lt. Brian Tully took the stand to end the day of testimony on Wednesday after Proctor stepped down. Prosecutor Adam Lally asked Tully, who leads the detective unit at the Norfolk County district attorney's office, if he became aware of the text messages on Proctor's personal phone.
"I had a long discussion with him about the content and nature of them," Tully said. "I expressed my displeasure at his unprofessionalism and the content of them, and then I reported it up my chain of command."
Tully also says he "admonished" Proctor over the texts.
I'm pretty sure that Lt. Tully said that the sneakers matched, black with white swoosh, white soles. I'm looking for that in writing.
Of course Tully said that. They also said the video was a correct representation of the conditions in the garage bay.
yes, that's the one shown in court and the one shown in a pic buried in the snow appeared to have a black sole. I can't find that image right now though. If you can find it I would love to take another look at it.
www.nbcboston.com
So isn't this him admitting that this is the way he treats all people he's investigating?Lead investigator in Karen Read trial finishes testimony, supervisor takes stand
Editor’s note: The testimony was at times graphic. The lead investigator in the Karen Read murder trial completed his testimony on Wednesday, and his unit’s supervisor, Det. Lt. Brian Tully, took the stand. Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor’s testimony was nothing short of...
After the break, Proctor testified that he didn't retrieve any of the videos from Canton police. He believed Tully got them from now-Canton Police Chief Helena Rafferty.
Proctor had possession of O'Keefe's cellphone, he said, and had access to the Ring video app on it, but said he never deleted any videos, including one, which has come up previously in the trial, of Read coming home the night O'Keefe died.
Proctor asked another trooper to review the ring footage, and Jackson had him review the notes. He wrote at 12:41 a.m., "Taillights from driveway (I think she arrived home)." But a report Proctor later wrote memorializing the Ring footage made no note of the 12:41 a.m. video.
When Jackson asked if Proctor was aware the video footage was gone, the trooper said, "Yes, it's something that I've tried to find," adding he'd tried to find another deleted video of some of the key players in the trial looking at the taillight as well.
Proctor texts his sister, 'Hopefully she kills herself'
Jackson turned to a new subject, asking if Proctor would agree that he treated Read differently from the Alberts and McCabes.
"Absolutely not," Proctor said. "Like I've said before, we followed the facts and the evidence with an open mind."
He noted, "At times I got emotional … and I said some stuff, texted some things that I shouldn't have."
That led Jackson to a text exchange from Feb. 4, 2022, several days after O'Keefe's death, in which he told his sister of Read, "Hopefully she kills herself."
Proctor explained it was "a figure of speech."
"Did you believe Karen Read was a problem or an issue for your investigaiton?" Jackson asked .
"No, absolutely not," Proctor replied, saying, when Jackson asked if Proctor was facing a lot of pressure, "There's a lot of pressure on every case, sir."
Proctor said he did not believe his life would be easier if Read would be dead, saying "my emotions got the best of me" because she left a police officer to died.
Jackson went through nine vulgar or insulting phrases Proctor testifed to saying in the wake of O'Keefe's death to ask if they were figures of speech, including, "whack job," and asked if Proctor agreed he'd dehumanized her.
"I would say based off that language, yes," Proctor replied.
But he denied that, when he texted a friend that the police officer who owned the home where O'Keefe's body was found "wasn't going to catch any s---," that it was because the homeowner, Brian Albert, was a police officer himself. It was because Albert didn't kill O'Keefe, Proctor said.
Jackson ended his questioning, saying, "Shame on you, sir." Cannone immediately told the jury to disregard the comment, saying that lawyers can't make statements, only ask questions, and to Jackson, "you know better than that."
www.courttv.com
Hopefully they have a plan when it's their turn. Remember, they haven't even started their side yet.
