Accused spouse killer Brian Walshe is searching for the mobile phone information of the lead investigator in his case, a suspended Massachusetts State Trooper whose belligerent texts have been revealed within the explosive Karen Learn trial that ended earlier this 12 months in mistrial.
Walshe’s lawyer, Larry Tipton, shortly seized on the chance within the case that has been virtually dormant since prosecutors learn out Walshe’s alleged web searches for how you can eliminate physique components and clear up a criminal offense scene.
A listening to this afternoon which was scheduled to argue the movement was rescheduled for Dec. 2.
Walshe, 49, is charged with the homicide of his spouse, Ana Walshe, who the prosecutors say he slayed after which lower up on the primary day of 2023 after which hid her physique components in dumpsters across the Higher Boston area. Since being indicted for her homicide, he was sentenced in federal court docket to an unrelated worldwide artwork fraud case, which he has appealed. He has been detained on the Norfolk Home of Correction since his preliminary arrest.
In a Sept. 24 submitting, Tipton requested “A complete copy of all data referred to in the Commonwealth’s notice dated September 6, 2024, described as an ‘extraction of Trooper Proctor’s work cell phone’ and ‘Trooper Proctor’s work cloud account.’” He requested much more materials, as nicely, together with the greater than 3,000 pages of U.S. Division of Justice supplies trying into the investigation within the Karen Learn case, for which Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor additionally served because the case officer.
Along with these major supplies, he additionally requested any correspondence or different written supplies concerning that investigation, in addition to into the case of the suspicious demise of 23-year-old Sandra Birchmore. Birchmore’s demise was initially dominated a suicide however federal prosecutors not too long ago charged a former Stoughton cop with killing her after native prosecutors made no transfer on the case for greater than three years.
“Mr. Walshe’s motion does not allege the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office of any wrongdoing. The motion addresses what has been revealed as serious questions about the conduct, decisions and bias in its investigations, the bias and inadequate supervision of the state police assigned to the office and other police departments reporting to the office in its investigations,” Tipton wrote in a subsequent affidavit supporting the movement, “and is an effort to require production of any exculpatory evidence that raises questions about the investigation of Mr. Walshe.”
Prosecutor Greg Connor objected to the scope of the request in his response, which was filed Wednesday morning forward of the listening to.
“The Commonwealth alerted the Court and the defendant that there is privileged information within Trooper Proctor’s work phone,” he wrote. “The Commonwealth has sought the assistance of an independent examiner to review the contents of the phone and cloud information.
“In the meantime,” he continued, “the Commonwealth is reviewing the extraction reports for all exculpatory evidence that pertains to this investigation including any allegations of misconduct that bear upon truthfulness or could be read as suggesting bias, as well as any material that would question one’s ability to be impartial.”
Proctor, was relieved of responsibility after testimony throughout the Karen Learn trial revealed he’d despatched vulgar texts to colleagues and household, calling Learn a “whack job” and telling his sister he wished Learn would “kill herself.” He stated that was a determine of speech and that his feelings had gotten the higher of him.
