The lead investigator in the case of a woman accused of leaving her boyfriend, a Boston police officer for dead in a snowbank is under fire for a series of offensive and inappropriate texts he wrote about the suspect during the investigation.
Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, who took the stand Monday and will be questioned further Wednesday, acknowledged to the jury that he called Karen Read a series of names, including “crazy job” in text messages to friends, family and fellow troopers. He also joked during some of those text messages about a medical condition she had and said he believed she was responsible for John O’Keefe’s murder.
The testimony came in the seventh trial week for Read, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in O’Keefe’s death in January 2022. Prosecutors say Read dropped O’Keefe off at a fellow officer’s house after a night of drinking and beat him while he made a three-point turn. They say she then drove away. Her defense team claims she was framed.
Proctor repeatedly apologized Monday for the language in the text exchanges, acknowledging that they were “unprofessional and regrettable comments, something I am not proud of and should not have written privately or in any setting.”
But he insisted the comments had no impact on the investigation.
“These juvenile, unprofessional comments had no bearing whatsoever on the facts, evidence and integrity of the investigation,” Proctor told the court.
The defense team jumped on the exchanges, including one in which Proctor also wrote that he hated one of Read’s lawyers. They also noted a text in which Proctor joked to his supervisors about not finding any nude photos when he searched Read’s phone.
Proctor denied seeking nude photos of Read, although her lawyer Alan Jackson suggested his response showed bias in the investigation.
“You weren’t so much conducting an objective investigation as you were objectifying her in those moments,” Jackson said.
The text exchanges could cast doubt on Proctor’s credibility among the jury and play into the hands of the defense, which has questioned law enforcement’s handling of the investigation.
Read’s attorneys allege O’Keefe was beaten in the home, bitten by a family dog and then left outside.
They have portrayed the investigation as sloppy and undermined by the relationship investigators had with law enforcement at the house party. They have also suggested that pieces of glass were found on the bumper of Read’s SUV and that a hair may have been found on the exterior of the vehicle.
Proctor acknowledged Monday that he is friends with Brian Albert’s brother and his wife — though he insisted that had no bearing on the investigation and had never been to their home 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 be distracting 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. The prosecutor on Monday held up several evidence bags that prosecutors said contained pieces of plastic collected from the crime scene.
Prosecutors allege the pieces came from the broken taillight of Read’s SUV, which she damaged when she struck 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 to O’Keefe’s car or the garage door.