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Special authoritative Hank Brennan whitethorn person dulled the interaction of inappropriate substance messages the pb homicide detective sent regarding Karen Read days earlier she was charged with the execution of John O'Keefe – but they're inactive damaging to the state's lawsuit and not conscionable due to the fact that helium utilized vulgar and obscene language, experts say.
The texts were a weaponry that blew up the archetypal proceedings erstwhile they were work with Michael Proctor connected the witnesser stand, and it ended with a deadlocked assemblage past year. This clip around, prosecutors decided not to telephone him arsenic a witness, and it was his puerility person Jonathan Diamandis who – visibly uncomfortable – walked the assemblage done the conversation.
But beyond the crass remarks astir Read, experts accidental little explosive messages astir Proctor's aboriginal opinions of the probe could beryllium damning.
"Proctor is mentally begging [the defense] to telephone him," retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge and Boston College instrumentality prof Jack Lu told Fox News Digital. "Now that the texts are in, they volition not telephone Proctor unless they are convinced they person mislaid – the aged ‘Hail Mary’ pass."
Karen Read sits with her defence team, from left, Robert Alessi, Elizabeth Little, Alan Jackson, and David Yannetti during her execution retrial successful Norfolk Superior Court, successful Dedham, Mass., Monday, June 2, 2025. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Lu said the defence squad gained immoderate crushed with Diamandis connected the stand, but with Brennan facing the substance concatenation head-on, the messages were apt not a important displacement successful Read’s favor.
"Will the assemblage beryllium genuinely shocked by abusive texts from a constabulary serviceman investigating a idiosyncratic they deliberation is simply a murderer?" Lu said. "I uncertainty it."
Read is accused of hitting her boyfriend, Boston constabulary serviceman John O’Keefe, with her Lexus SUV during a drunken statement earlier leaving him to frost to death successful the beforehand gait of a friend’s location successful the aboriginal greeting hours of Jan. 29, 2022.
Diamandis testified helium has been successful a radical chat with Proctor for much than a decennary and was privy to substance messages sent during the probe into O’Keefe’s death.
KAREN READ CASE: MASSACHUSETTS TROOPER MICHAEL PROCTOR 'TERMINATED' FROM STATE POLICE
Jonathan Diamandis, a longtime person of Michael Proctor, testifies for the defence during the execution retrial of Karen Read successful Norfolk Superior Court, successful Dedham, Mass., connected Monday, June 2, 2025. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
The Massachusetts State Police fired Proctor successful March aft an interior probe recovered helium had shared delicate and confidential accusation astir the lawsuit with radical extracurricular of instrumentality enforcement.
Read’s archetypal proceedings revealed inappropriate substance messages the pb researcher sent arsenic the case was unfolding.
"The messages beryllium 1 thing, and that Michael is quality – not corrupt, not incompetent successful his relation arsenic a homicide detective and surely not unfit to proceed to beryllium a Massachusetts State Trooper," his sister, Courtney Proctor, antecedently said successful a statement.
On cross-examination, Brennan asked Diamandis to work to the assemblage Proctor’s messages from the time O’Keefe’s assemblage was discovered.
Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor takes the basal during Karen Read's archetypal execution proceedings astatine Norfolk Superior Court successful Dedham, Mass. connected June 10, 2024. (Kayla Bartkowski/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
"She waffled him," Proctor wrote, referring to Read. "I looked astatine his assemblage successful the hospital."
Proctor weighed successful with his ain observations of what whitethorn person happened to O’Keefe, initially agreeing with different subordinate of the radical chat that the Boston constabulary officer whitethorn person been beaten to death.
"That’s what I initially thought aft talking to [a] Canton paramedic," Proctor wrote. "Then I saw the guy."
Karen Read speaks with her defence attorney, Alan Jackson, during her retrial successful Norfolk Superior Court, Thursday, May 29, 2025, successful Dedham, Mass. (Mark Stockwell/AP Photo, Pool)
Asked for much details, Proctor replied with a connection implicating Read, telling his friends, "she deed him with her car."
"Gotcha," 1 pal wrote. "[O’Keefe] was frozen successful the driveway, and she didn’t spot him."
"That’s different carnal we won’t beryllium capable to prove," Proctor replied. "They arrived astatine the location together, got into an argument, she was driving and left."
DEFENSE LAWYERS URGED TO REEXAMINE CONVICTIONS LED BY FIRED KAREN READ DETECTIVE
The substance messages rise the anticipation that Proctor reached a decision connected O’Keefe’s decease earlier the probe finished, according to Massachusetts defence lawyer Grace Edwards. He sent them astir 11 p.m. connected Jan. 29, 2022 – the time O'keefe had been found. An autopsy wasn't completed until 2 days later.
"These substance messages were from the nighttime of John O’Keefe’s death, and it appears that Michael Proctor has already travel to a decision astir the lawsuit – earlier the aesculapian examiner's report," Edwards told Fox News Digital. "His decision was premature."
Proctor’s alleged unreserved to implicate Read could person caused him to disregard grounds pointing to different possibilities surrounding the origin of O’Keefe’s death, according to Edwards.
"Michael Proctor is not qualified to marque a determination astir however John O'Keefe died," Edwards said. "That is what we person aesculapian examiners for. Based connected the substance messages, Michael Proctor had travel to that decision each connected his ain wrong hours of O’Keefe’s death."
Officer John O’Keefe poses for his authoritative headshot. O’Keefe’s girlfriend, Karen Reed, is presently connected proceedings for execution aft helium was recovered dormant extracurricular of a Massachusetts location successful January 2022. (Boston Police Department)
Criminal defence lawyer Mark Bederow besides pointed to Proctor’s nonrecreational inability to find what – oregon who – killed O’Keefe, and however the contiguous presumption could person been detrimental to the investigation.
"[Proctor] is not qualified to accidental that," Bederow told Fox News Digital. "There is an abundance of grounds of Proctor’s investigative passageway imaginativeness and bias."
As the code of the texts shifted, Diamandis told the courtroom helium did not privation to proceed speechmaking the messages aloud due to the fact that they contained "uncomfortable words," prompting Brennan to work them and inquire Diamandis to corroborate that what helium was speechmaking was an close depiction of the texts connected the chain.
Karen Read and John O'Keefe airs for an undated photograph. (Karen Read)
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"Yeah, she’s a babe," Proctor wrote. "Weird Fall River accent though. No a--."
The substance concatenation turned obscene astatine points, including mocking Read implicit a purported aesculapian issue.
Proctor is taxable to witnesser sequestration and declined to comment.
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Proctor is connected the defence witnesser list, but Read's squad called Diamandis instead, successful what Edwards believes is simply a risky determination by the defense.
"Brennan has present taken the upwind retired of the sails of the defence due to the fact that the speechmaking of those texts did not person the interaction that they did during the archetypal proceedings erstwhile Michael Proctor work them himself," Edwards said.
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The prime to telephone Proctor’s puerility person could beryllium viewed arsenic a harmless mode for the defence squad to driblet the bombshell substance concatenation without risking cross-examination by the state.
On the different hand, the defence tin present constituent to the information that prosecutors declined to enactment their pb researcher connected the witnesser stand, Bederow said.
"They’ll apt prosecute a ‘missing witness’ acquisition from the tribunal successful which the justice volition pass jurors they whitethorn gully an adverse inference against prosecution for their nonaccomplishment to telephone Proctor," helium said. "It is virtually unheard of for the prosecution not to telephone the pb researcher successful a execution case, but of people it's besides extraordinarily uncommon that the pb researcher was terminated for unprofessional behaviour and bias connected [the same] case."
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