Gov. Healey says trooper's 'terrible' behavior in Karen Read case harms law enforcement

The testimony this week of a lead State Police investigator in the Karen Read murder case was "terrible" and tarnishes the integrity of law enforcement, Gov. Maura Healey said Thursday while also declining to weigh in further on the closely-watched trial.

Read is accused of backing her car into her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, and leaving him to die outside a Canton home in January 2022. Her attorneys contend she is being framed as part of a larger cover-up and the trial has attracted the attention of the media and internet sleuths from around the world.

Trooper Michael Proctor was a lead investigator on the case and took the stand in Dedham District Court this week. During cross-examination, Read's attorneys had Proctor read aloud text messages he sent to other troopers and friends disparaging Read, commenting on her physical appearance using vulgar language, suggesting he had made up his mind based on evidence as to Read's guilt, and saying he wished Read would kill herself.

"It's terrible ... it's completely unprofessional. It does harm, frankly, to the dignity and the integrity of the work of men and women across the State Police and law enforcement. So as a former attorney general and as governor, I am disgusted by that," Healey told reporters Thursday afternoon when asked about Proctor's texts.

Proctor, who is based in Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey's office, is also designated as the lead officer on the Brian Walshe murder case, which involves allegations that Walshe murdered and dismembered his wife in their Cohasset home in early 2023. NBC10 reported this week that legal experts think Proctor's testimony in the Read case could undermine cases he has been involved with.

Healey took only one question from reporters on the Read trial Thursday and said she could not say any more.

"This is the subject of a criminal investigation and trial, and therefore it's not appropriate for me to speak more to that at this time," she said.