Trooper suspended over Karen Read investigation won't testify in another high-profile murder case

Michael Proctor, the Massachusetts state trooper suspended over his conduct while investigating Karen Read, will not testify in another high-profile case that he was a lead investigator on, prosecutors said.

In a Sept. 6 court filing, the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said that prosecutors do not intend to call Proctor in the trial of Brian Walshe, the convicted art fraudster indicted on charges of murder and other crimes in the 2023 disappearance of his wife, Ana Walshe.

The filing, which identifies Proctor as the case officer in the Walshe disappearance, said a local police department involved in the investigation had placed a sergeant in an identical position as the state trooper. 

The department devoted dozens of additional officers to investigating the case, the filing says.

The filing cites Proctor’s testimony in the Read case, where the state trooper testified that he made derogatory comments about Read to his family, friends and supervisors, and says the prosecutor’s office is reviewing data extracted from the trooper’s cell phone.

Prosecutors are trying to determine what information they can share with defense lawyers in the Walshe matter and other cases Proctor investigated without compromising them, the filing says.

Walshe's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Proctor, who testified during Read's trial hat his comments were unprofessional but did not compromise the integrity of the investigation, did not respond to a message sent to a phone number listed under his name.

Immediately after Read’s murder trial in the 2023 death of her Boston police officer boyfriend ended with a hung jury in July, the Massachusetts State Police relieved Proctor of duty from his unit within the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office.

The agency had opened an internal affairs investigation into allegations of "serious misconduct" raised at trial, a state police official said at the time. Proctor was later suspended without pay.

A state police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday about the status of the internal affairs investigation.

Brian Walshe was indicted last year on charges of murder, misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice and for the improper conveyance of a human body in connection with the killing of his wife. He has pleaded not guilty.

Ana Walshe, a regional manager for a real estate company, disappeared on New Year's Day in 2023. Her body has not been found.

The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for Oct. 2.

In a separate case, Brian Walshe admitted to selling fake Andy Warhol paintings in what federal authorities called "a years-long, multi-faceted art fraud scheme.”

He passed off the Warhol "Shadows" as authentic and sold them for $80,000, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston said. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud, interstate transportation for a scheme to defraud and unlawful monetary transaction, the prosecutor's office said.

In February, he was sentenced to 37 months in prison.