Karen Read Murder Trial: Cop Forced To Read His Vulgar Texts About Her In Explosive Testimony
The trial of a Massachusetts woman accused of backing her SUV into her Boston police officer boyfriend and leaving him to die in the snow took an explosive turn this week as the lead investigator in the case was instructed to read aloud in court the vulgar, derogatory text messages he’d sent about her.
State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, the investigator, was told Monday to read messages he exchanged with friends, relatives and co-workers about defendant Karen Read. Read, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and leaving the scene of a collision in the Jan. 29, 2022, death of John O’Keefe, 46. Proctor’s testimony concluded on Wednesday, and the trial then turned to Massachusetts State Police Lt. Brian Tully.
Read has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and said in interviews that she does not recall what happened while she was behind the wheel.
Proctor’s testimony had been much anticipated by her vocal defenders. Many of them, loosely organized under the hashtag #FreeKarenRead, claim she is the victim of a vast conspiracy among corrupt state and local law enforcement officials who they say are trying to frame her for killing O’Keefe — a theory embraced by her defense team. Meanwhile, prosecutors have pushed back against the “false narratives” that they say have resulted in the harassment and intimidation of witnesses by Read’s defenders, who include a controversial local blogger who is now himself facing criminal charges.
Read’s supporters believe instead of being hit by her SUV, O’Keefe was attacked by a dog and brutally beaten at a house party in the Boston suburb of Canton. The homeowner, Brian Albert, is also a police officer, and Read’s defense team has argued that Proctor mishandled the investigation, and favorably treated Albert and his family because they are friends.
Proctor is the subject of a police internal affairs investigation for a potential violation of department policy, which sources told NBC10 Boston is connected to the Read case.
Proctor testified about another point of contention between prosecutors and Read’s defense team: a broken taillight. He said he noticed the right taillight on her Lexus SUV was cracked when he arrived at her parents’ home after O’Keefe’s death. From an evidence bag, he removed plastic fragments collected near where O’Keefe was found and showed them to the jury. Prosecutors say the fragments match Read’s broken taillight.
Read’s attorneys, however, argued that Read damaged the taillight when she backed out of O’Keefe’s garage and struck his car.
Later in his testimony, Proctor was instructed to read aloud the texts he sent to friends, relatives and co-workers in group chats following O’Keefe’s death.
In one group chat with friends, Proctor called Read a “whack job,” and a “nutbag.”
He also used a disparaging word for a woman, which he spelled out in court rather than saying the word.
In response to an objection by Read’s attorney, the judge asked, “These are your words, Trooper Proctor?” When he said yes, she instructed him to pronounce the word, “c**t.”
In other group text messages, Proctor used a slur for those with intellectual disabilities in referring to Read and her defense attorney David Yannetti, adding how much he hated them.
“Hopefully she kills herself,” Proctor told his sister about Read.
He also called Read a “babe” and joked about her body.
While he was searching Read’s phone as part of the investigation, Proctor texted his friends, “no nudes so far.”
Proctor also called Read an “ass leaker” and said “she’s got a leaky balloon knot,” which he confirmed referred to one of her health conditions, which include colitis and multiple sclerosis.
During cross-examination Wednesday, Proctor said it was a “disgusting comment.”
On Monday, he called his texts “unprofessional and regrettable,” and said he regrets writing them.
But Proctor denied the defense attorney’s argument that the text messages show that he was biased in the investigation.
“These unprofessional comments have zero impact on the facts and the evidence and the integrity of this investigation,” Proctor said.
