DEDHAM, Mass. — The lead investigator in the murder case involving Karen Read, the woman accused of leaving her Boston police officer boyfriend for dead in a snowbank, has come under fire for a series of offensive and inappropriate texts he wrote about the defendant during the investigation.
[ Lead investigator reads his ‘unprofessional & regrettable’ texts on stand in Karen Read murder trial ]
Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, who took the stand Monday, was cross-examined Wednesday. After recapping what Proctor wrote in texts, where he described Read as a “babe” and a “b**ch”, Jackson criticized Proctor for sharing details of the investigation with friends and family and for appearing to single out Karen Read as responsible for O’Keefe’s death less than 24 hours after his body was found.
Detective Lieutenant Brian Tully, the unit commander of State Police detectives for Norfolk County also took the stand later in the afternoon.
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PLAY-BY-PLAY FROM DAY 23 OF TESTIMONY:
3:45 p.m.
- Lt. Tully describes evidence recovered in SERT team search in the late afternoon of Jan. 29 . He’s in charge of evidence for the office.
3:30 p.m.
- Lt. Tully tells ADA Lally he reported Proctor’s texts “up the chain of command” State Police have not revealed the status of the IA investigation involving Proctor
3:00 p.m.
- Proctor says Canton Police dashcam recorded damage to KR’s taillight before her vehicle was taken in custody. That video has been shown a number of times previously.
- Proctor says “Based on all the psychical evidence and facts” – O’Keefe got out of car with cocktail glass... Ms. Read pulled ahead... struck him with her vehicle... and left
- Trooper Proctor is excused. Lally calls Det Lt. Brian Tully. He is the unit commander of State Police detectives for Norfolk County
2:45 p.m.
- Proctor tells ADA Lally Colin Albert “was part of a 3rd party culprit (alleged by defense)” and that’s why he interviewed him. Judge let the “3rd party culprit” term in.
2:30 p.m.
- Proctor says the defense incorrectly identified children in a picture he’s in as Jennifer McCabe’s in a court filing. He says they are not.
- Proctor tells Lally he found no evidence that Brian Albert is connected to O’Keefe’s death and if he had, he would have acted regardless of Albert’s (then job) as a police officer
- Proctor tells ADA Lally, “Colin didn’t stay that long” at 34 Fairview and left sometime around 12:10 am. “Mr. O’Keefe is a half mile away at 12:20 am” Proctor says
2:15 p.m.
- On redirect, Proctor tells Lally that Yannetti has dragged his name by calling him conflicted and corrupt and says Yannetti “showed up at my sister’s school” yesterday. Jackson objects and the parties head to sidebar.
- Judge strikes Proctor’s response about Yannetti “showing up at his sister’s school”
- Proctor tells Lally they gathered compelling evidence against KR and he stands by his work and the work of his colleagues.
2:00 p.m.
- Proctor says “We followed the facts and evidence with an open mind” when Jackson asked if he treated KR differently and as an “outsider”
- In a text to his sister, Proctor writes “Hopefully she kills herself.” Regarding Karen Read: He says it was a “figure of speech” and “my emotions got the best of me because Ms. Read hit Mr. O’Keefe and left him to die” Jackson: “Karen Read had become a very serious problem for you”
- Jackson ends his questioning of Proctor with “Shame on you sir”. Judge chides him saying lawyers should only ask questions.
1:50 p.m.
- The trial resumes with Alan Jackon picking up with questions about the flipped sallyport videos. Proctor says videos were retrieved from Canton Police Chief
12:55 p.m.
- A 45-minute lunch break is called.
12:50 p.m.
- Proctor says it was then Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz who was with him near the back of KR’s vehicle in the Canton police sallyport video. Proctor said the video was not “inverted” when he watched it at his desk but the timestamp on the bottom was.
12:34 p.m.
- “It was a typo” Proctor says when he documented that KR’s SUV was towed at her parents’ home at 5:30 when the tow happened at 4:16.
12:20 p.m.
AJ is going down every avenue he possibly can with Proctor’s text messages - and there are a lot of them.
12:00 p.m.
- The medical examiner ruled JO’s manner of undetermined. Proctor texted another Trooper, “Of course it’s undetermined. She’s a wack job”.
- MP says he’s not sure if he was referencing the Medical Examiner: “It’s a sarcastic remark I made...”
- AJ asks if Proctor has ever had a previous “undetermined” murder case:
- MP: “I don’t feel comfortable putting a number on it but it’s not a lot” AJ; you indicated in another proceeding (feds) that it was never
11:50 a.m.
- AJ: you became aware that Higgins had motive....?
- MP: Absolutely not
- AJ: Are you aware Brian Higgins sent JO a text message “coaxing him” to 34 Fairview?
- Judge: “I’ll see you at sidebar”
11:45 a.m.
- AJ: Did you interview all the people who could have had motive to kill John O’Keefe?
- MP: Nobody else had a motive
11:40 a.m.
Proctor says he interviewed Canton plow driver “Lucky” Loughran after the defense did AJ asks “Are you aware Lucky Loughran reported there was nobody at 2:30 am?”
AL: Objection
11:00 a.m.
- Judge calls a morning recess.
10:25 p.m.
- AJ: Are you aware of any circumstances where any of the Alberts have been over to your parent’s house?
- MP: Yes, MP later says he’s been there when Chris, Julie, and Colin Albert have been there.
10:15 a.m.
- Proctor says he knew Chris, Julie, and Colin Albert prior to this case but doesn’t recall his testimony at a 2/2024 proceeding (safe to assume fed grand jury) about that.
- AJ asks him to review a transcript of his testimony.
10:05 a.m.
- AJ: Trooper Proctor have you ever apologized to Ms. Read? AL: Objection Judge: Sustained
9:53 a.m.
Texts from Trooper Proctor’s text messages with friends, as read by him and AJ Friend: She hot at least?
MP responds: From all accounts he didn’t do a thing wrong, she’s a wackjob (see you next Tuesday).
MP later texts: “zero chance she skates, she’s F*****.”
9:50 a.m.
AJ says one Proctor’s friend texted “something stinks” in a text about the case.
According to AJ, Proctor responded: “There will be some serious charges brought on the girl.”
9:45 a.m.
- AJ says Proctor did not mention Brian Albert’s name in a group chat with friends about the case but did name JO and KR
- AJ: You were actively trying to hide Brian Albert’s name from this group chat?
- MP: Absolutely not
9:40 a.m.
- AJ: Have you ever seen a pedestrian hit by a 6 thousand vehicle with no bruises?
- MP: I cant recall.
9:35 a.m.
- 6 hours into the investigation of John O’Keefe’s, Proctor texted friend, ” She (KR) waffled him. I looked at his body at the hospital”. This is after he told friends he initially believed JO had been beaten up based on what paramedics told him.
9:15 a.m.
- The judge announces a juror has dropped out for a personal reason that has nothing to do with this case. They have extra jurors so the trial continues.
Monday’s testimony came in the seventh week of trial for Read, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the January 2022 death of O’Keefe. Prosecutors say Read dropped O’Keefe off at the home of a fellow officer after a night of drinking and struck him while making a three-point turn. They say she then drove away. Her defense team argues that she has been framed.
Proctor repeatedly apologized Monday for the language used in the text exchanges and acknowledged they were “unprofessional and regrettable comments are something I am not proud and I shouldn’t have written in private or any type of setting.”
But he insisted the comments had no influence on the investigation.
“These juvenile, unprofessional comments had zero impact on the facts and evidence and integrity of the investigation,” Proctor told the court.
The defense team jumped on the exchanges including one where Proctor also wrote that he hated one of Read’s attorneys. They also noted a text in which Proctor joked to his supervisors about not finding nude photos when he was going through Read’s phone.
Proctor denied he was looking for nude photos of Read, though her defense attorney Alan Jackson suggested his response demonstrated bias in the investigation.
“You weren’t so much as objectively investigating her as objectifying her in those moments,” Jackson said.
The text exchanges could raise doubts with the jury about Proctor’s credibility and play into the hands of the defense which has questioned law enforcement’s handling of the investigation.
Read’s lawyers have alleged that O’Keefe was beaten inside the home, bitten by a family dog, and then left outside.
They have portrayed the investigation as shoddy and undermined by the relationship investigators had with the law enforcement agents at the house party. They also have suggested pieces of glass found on the bumper of Read’s SUV and a hair found on the vehicle’s exterior may have been planted.
Proctor acknowledged Monday that he is friends with the brother of Brian Albert and his wife — though he insisted it had no influence on the investigation and had never been to their house before O’Keefe’s death. Brian Albert is a Boston police officer, who hosted the house party where O’Keefe’s body was found in the front yard.
His text exchanges could also distract from the evidence he and other state troopers found at the crime scene, including pieces of clear and red plastic found at the scene in the days and weeks after O’Keefe’s body death. Proctor held up several evidence bags Monday that prosecutors said contained pieces of plastic collected from the crime scene.
Prosecutors argue that the pieces are from the broken taillight on Read’s SUV, which she damaged when she hit O’Keefe. They also produced video evidence Monday refuting defense claims that Read backed into O’Keefe’s car and damaged the taillight. Proctor also testified that he found no damage on O’Keefe’s car nor the garage door.
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