On the Stand, the Lead Investigator in the Karen Read Case Says He Texted Her That He Wanted Her to Kill Herself
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor wrote his sister, “Hopefully she kills herself.” Proctor was in charge of the investigation into the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe in 2022. Read’s lawyers made him read these words out loud in court, according to CBS News.
According to the charges, Read, 44, backed her SUV into her 46-year-old boyfriend O’Keefe, and left him to die early the next morning, Jan. 29, 2022. She says she dropped him off at a house party at the home of retired Boston police officer Brian Albert in Canton, Mass., and then left him to die.
Read and her lawyers say that O’Keefe got into a fight at the party and was hit and dragged out to the yard.
Read’s lawyers say that Albert and other people know what happened in the house that night and that Read is the victim of a huge cover-up by local and state police and other people who have teamed up to protect their own.
Proctor is being blamed by Read’s lawyers for trying to frame him. They say he planted evidence of a broken taillight at the scene to protect people at the house that night who are close to him.
There were texts between Proctor and close friends on the night of January 29, 2022, just hours after O’Keefe’s death. One of them wrote, “I’m sure the owner of the house will receive some s—,” according to the Boston Herald.
NBC Boston says Proctor wrote back, “Nope, homeowner is also a Boston cop.”
According to NBC Boston, the Massachusetts State Police are looking into Proctor “into a possible violation of Department policy.” The jury has not been told about this.
CBS News reports that on Monday, Read’s lawyers had Proctor read out loud the mean messages he sent to other cops about her.
CBS News says that the texts are part of a federal probe into how the case was handled.
He wrote, “She’s a nut.” Then he texted a woman a bad word, which he spelled out in court.
NBC Boston reports that the judge stepped in and told Trooper Proctor, “These are your words.” He then had him say the word “c—” out loud.
Boston 25 News says that Proctor said the texts were “unprofessional” and regretted them.
When asked about the part of the text where he says he hopes Read ends her own life, Proctor said, “So my emotions got the best of me with that figure of speech.”
Read’s lawyers said that Proctor helped put Read in jail. They say that afterward, Proctor’s sister texted him to let him know that she had talked to Julie Albert, who is married to Brian Albert. Her sister wrote about Julie Albert, “When this is all over, she wants to get you a thank you gift.”
He replied, “Get Elizabeth one,” which was a reference to his wife.
When asked about this, Proctor said in court, “I never got a gift; I never asked for one; my wife never got a gift; she never asked for one.”
Sean Hickey, O’Keefe’s friend, tells PEOPLE, “Everyone has forgotten that someone died.” “Forget about what a good person he was.”