Lead Investigator in Karen Read Case Admits on Stand He Texted that He Wanted Her to Die by Suicide
Karen Read's defense attorneys claim Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor helped to frame Read after the 2022 death of her police officer boyfriend
John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty
Karen Read and John O'KeefeThe lead investigator in the Karen Read murder case admitted on the stand that he texted about the woman he was investigating, calling her vulgar names and saying he wanted her to die by suicide.
“Hopefully she kills herself,” Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, who headed the investigation into the 2022 death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, texted to his sister — words Read’s defense lawyers made him read aloud in court, CBS News reports.
Read, 44, is charged with second-degree murder for allegedly backing her SUV into her boyfriend, O’Keefe, 46, and leaving him to die in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2022, after she says she dropped him off at a house party at the Canton, Mass., home of retired Boston police officer Brian Albert.
Read and her lawyers allege that O'Keefe got into a fight with someone at the party, was beaten up and carried into the yard.
Read's attorneys allege that Albert and others know what happened inside the house that night and that Read is the victim of a massive coverup among local and state law enforcement officials and others who have closed ranks to protect their own.
Read’s lawyers have accused Proctor of helping to frame Read; they claim he planted evidence of a broken taillight at the scene to protect people at the house that night, with whom he has personal ties.
On the night of Jan. 29, 2022, hours after O’Keefe died, when Proctor was texting with longtime friends, one of them wrote, “I'm sure the owner of the house will receive some s---," the Boston Herald reports.
Proctor texted back, "Nope, homeowner is a Boston cop, too," NBC Boston reports.
Proctor is the subject of an internal investigation by the Massachusetts State Police “into a potential violation of Department policy,” which jurors have not been told about, NBC Boston reports.
On Monday, Read’s lawyers had Proctor read aloud the derogatory messages he sent to fellow troopers about her, CBS News reports.
The texts are part of a federal investigation into the handling of the case, CBS News reports.
“She's a whack-job," he texted. He then texted a vulgar word for a woman, which he spelled out on the stand.
The judge intervened, saying, "These are your words, Trooper Proctor," and had him state the word, "c---," out loud, NBC Boston reports.
Proctor called the texts “unprofessional” and regrettable,” Boston 25 News reports.
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Asked about the text in which he hopes Read takes her own life, Proctor testified, "So my emotions got the best of me with that figure of speech,” Boston.com reports.
Read’s attorneys alleged that Proctor helped frame Read. They say Proctor's sister texted him after to say she'd been in touch with Julie Albert, Brian Albert’s sister-in-law. Referencing Julie Albert, Proctor's sister wrote, "When this is all over, she wants to get you a thank you gift."
Proctor wrote back, "Get Elizabeth one," referring to his wife.
Asked about this, Proctor testified that, "I never received a gift, I never asked for a gift, my wife never received a gift, my wife never asked for a gift.”
“Everyone has forgotten that a person lost his life,” O’Keefe’s friend, Sean Hickey, tells PEOPLE. “Never mind the good person that he was.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
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