Karen Read Murder Trial: Cop Forced To Read His Vulgar Texts About Her In Explosive Testimony

State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, was instructed Monday to read the messages he exchanged with friends, relatives and co-workers about Karen Read, 45, who is charged with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and leaving the scene of a collision in the Jan. 29, 2022, death of John O’Keefe, 46. Proctor’s testimony concluded on Wednesday, and the trial then turned to Massachusetts State Police Lt. Brian Tully.

Read has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and said in interviews that she does not recall what happened while she was behind the wheel.

Proctor’s testimony had been much anticipated by her vocal defenders. Many of them, loosely organized under the hashtag #FreeKarenRead, claim she is the victim of a vast conspiracy among corrupt state and local law enforcement officials who they say are trying to frame her for killing O’Keefe — a theory embraced by her defense team. Meanwhile, prosecutors have pushed back against the “false narratives” that they say have resulted in the harassment and intimidation of witnesses by Read’s defenders, who include a controversial local blogger who is now himself facing criminal charges.

Read’s supporters believe instead of being hit by her SUV, O’Keefe was attacked by a dog and brutally beaten at a house party in the Boston suburb of Canton. The homeowner, Brian Albert, is also a police officer, and Read’s defense team has argued that Proctor mishandled the investigation, and favorably treated Albert and his family because they are friends.

Proctor is the subject of a police internal affairs investigation for a potential violation of department policy, which sources told NBC10 Boston is connected to the Read case.