“Unprofessional” text messages read out in court by a state trooper during the Karen Reed murder trial opened Pandora’s box.
And “there’s no way to undo this,” legal expert Shira Diner told Fox News Digital about restoring trust and faith.
Jurors shook their heads last week when the lead investigator on the case, Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, read out messages from his own office in which he called Reed a “freak” and a “pussy-pooper,” described suicidal thoughts and joked about searching her phone for nude photos.
It’s ugly, but the impact could be far worse. Proctor, who works for the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, also played a key role in the murder case against Brian Walsh.
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Karen Reed waits for her defense team to meet in the gallery during a trial in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, on Friday, June 14, 2024. Reed, 44, is accused of running into her Boston police officer boyfriend in an SUV in a northeasterly wind and causing his death after a night of heavy drinking. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Poole)
Walsh is accused of killing his wife, Anna, during an early morning fight on New Year’s Day 2023 and abandoning her body, but her body has yet to be found.
The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges against Walsh and Proctor was appointed the officer in charge.
During his testimony, Proctor said the email was “unprofessional and regrettable” under grilling from the defense, but maintained the integrity of the investigation.
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“It’s hard for me to think that this doesn’t impact (Brian Walsh’s case) and the credibility of the district attorney’s office,” Diner said.
The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on Reed’s trial or subsequent developments, and Massachusetts State Police did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor testifies at the trial of Karen Reed, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. (Greg Durr/Patriot Ledger via The Associated Press, Pool)
Brian Walsh, accused of the murder of his wife, Anna, who disappeared on New Year’s Day 2023, enters court for his arraignment in Dedham, Massachusetts, Thursday, April 27, 2023. Walsh is charged with first-degree murder, as well as hindering police investigation/obstruction of justice and improper transportation of a body. (Greg Durr/Patriot Ledger via The Associated Press, Pool)
Diner, a lecturer and clinical instructor at Boston University School of Law and president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Lawyers, is not involved in the Reed or Walsh cases.
“In some ways, this is totally unknown,” Diner said, because the lawsuit is so detailed and there are so many people following the case.
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According to prosecutors, Reed is accused of running over her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, during a drunken fight in January 2022 and leaving him to die in her front yard during a blizzard.
She denies the allegations and claims she was entrapped by the Alberts, the influential clan that owns the Canton, Massachusetts, house where O’Keeffe’s body was found.
Brian and Anna Walsh were married on Monday, December 21, 2015, at Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Newbury Street in Boston, Massachusetts. (Source: Fox News Digital)
Karen Reed is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, with her car in January 2022. She has pleaded not guilty. (John Trumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Reed’s defense team argued that the Alberts orchestrated an elaborate cover-up using friends in law enforcement and the prosecutor’s office.
The TV-worthy murder-or-conspiracy trial grew even more salacious as divided supporters swirled in suburban Boston, where #FreeKaren signs appeared and protesters and supporters clashed.
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Aidan “Turtleboy” Carney, a controversial blogger with a dedicated following and supporter of Reid, was arrested just before the trial was due to begin and charged with witness intimidation.
Though he maintained his innocence, the arrest infuriated Reid supporters and Carney’s readers, who called themselves “Turtle Riders,” adding fuel to the fire.
“If this was a trial where nobody was paying attention, the cross-examination would have been over, maybe a couple of defense attorneys would have paid attention, but that was it,” Diner said. “But now there’s no way to overturn this.”
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Hundreds of supporters gathered outside Norfolk County Superior Court ahead of Karen Reed’s court appearance. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
Massachusetts blogger Aidan “Turtleboy” Carney has been charged with witness intimidation for allegedly threatening a witness in a Massachusetts murder case. (Aidan Carney (@DoctorTurleboy)/X)
Walsh’s lawyer, Larry Tipton, has already taken notice, telling local news outlets: NBC 10 Bostonhe said he plans to file a new motion naming other investigators involved in the trials of Proctor and Reed.
He said he had not reached a conclusion about whether Proctor tainted the investigation into his client, NBC 10 Boston reported.
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Brian Walsh appeared in Quincy District Court in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Anna Walsh. (WBZ)
Tipton did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital and no new motions have yet been filed. Walsh’s next pretrial hearing is scheduled for Friday.
Diner, as an outside legal expert, said Proctor’s testimony could potentially undermine the state’s case and could have ramifications for Walsh’s trial and other cases involving the district attorney’s office and Proctor.
Anna Walsh photographed in front of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel sign in August 2022. (Anna Walsh/Instagram)
Anna Walsh is seen holding her three children in an October 2022 Instagram post. (Anna Walsh/Instagram)
Diner said credibility concerns could lead defense lawyers to seek to impeach Proctor in any future cases involving him.
“This is an extreme example of what we’re dealing with,” she said. “You have police officers you can’t trust and their biases are always an issue. That’s the situation most of the time.”
“But it is pretty unusual that the defense has this much information about what this officer actually said. And what makes it even more unusual is that it’s very public.”
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Walsh’s lawyers did not say what pleas they would pursue.
Diners can only guess what Tipton’s next move will be (she talks about this at length in the interview below).
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There is a bigger problem than the context of the text.
Diner said the key issue was how the defense got access to Proctor’s documents.
Whether prosecutors voluntarily turned them over during discovery or whether Reed’s lawyers obtained them from elsewhere will determine whether the prosecution’s credibility is undermined, she said.
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“As a criminal lawyer, I would have a lot more respect for prosecutors if they were open and forthcoming with information,” Diner said.
“But if (Reed’s) attorney obtained that information in some other way and it was not turned over, that’s a blow to the credibility of the district attorney’s office.”
Fox News Digital’s Bonnie Chu contributed to this report.
