A Massachusetts state trooper heading the investigation into to death of Karen Read’s boyfriend took the stand again this morning after Monday’s testimony, when he admitted to sending “unprofessional” texts during the investigation.
“I don’t have an explanation other than they’re regrettable and it’s something I’m not proud of, the language that I used,” Lt. Michael Proctor said on the stand Monday, Boston.com reports.
Texts messages revealed in court described how Proctor referred to Read as “retarded,” among other things, while making rude remarks about her Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disorder that affects the gastrointestinal tract.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, a Norfolk County grand jury in Massachusetts indicted Read in 2022 on murder, motor vehicle manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a collision causing death charges. She’s accused of killing her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer.
Read was initially arrested on manslaughter charges after she allegedly hit O’Keefe with her SUV, then left him for dead outside a friend’s residence in Canton. Police said the incident happened after Read had a night out involving drinking.
During his testimony, Proctor reviewed and read messages he sent to childhood friends in the hours and days after O’Keefe was found unresponsive.
Proctor: “She waffled him. I looked at his body in the hospital. He was banged up.”
Proctor: “She hit him with her car.”
Friend: “She hot, at least?”
Proctor: “She’s a wack job c**t. Yes, she’s a babe. Weird Fall River accent, though. No ass.”
In another message, while referring to her Crohn’s disease, Proctor wrote, “She’s got a leaky balloon knot. Leaks poo.”
Under questioning from prosecutor Adam Lally, Proctor admitted his messages were “unprofessional and regrettable,” but argued that his comments didn’t impact the investigation.
“These juvenile, unprofessional comments have zero impact on the facts and the evidence and the integrity of this investigation.”
Lally also questioned Proctor about messages exchanged with another State Police trooper on April 28, 2022, concerning discussions with the medical examiner’s office, after a medical examiner classified O’Keefe’s cause of death as “undetermined.”
“Of course it’s undetermined,” Proctor reportedly wrote. “She was a wack job.”
Proctor also acknowledged that on June 9, 2022, the day Read was indicted and arrested for O’Keefe’s death, he texted his wife saying he was “waiting to lock this wack job up.”
Meanwhile, Read continues to assert her innocence. Her lawyers argued that Proctor’s texts bolster their contention that she’s being scapegoated in a conspiracy involving multiple branches of Massachusetts law enforcement.
A jury was chosen from a pool of hundreds of potential jurors last month, marking the beginning of what is anticipated to be a “lengthy and tense trial.”
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[Feature Photo: Defendant Karen Read listens to her lawyer Alan Jackson question witness Massachusetts State trooper Michael Proctor during her, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Norfolk Super Court in Dedham, Mass. Read is facing charges, including second degree murder, in the 2022 death of her boyfriend Boston Officer John O’Keefe. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)]
