Wife, sister of embattled Karen Read investigator Trooper Proctor speak out

The wife and sister of Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the Karen Read case who's been suspended from the force, have released statements Wednesday saying that Read's lawyers have maligned Proctor's character as a distraction from the case.

The statement was released as Proctor was before a state police trial board for his third hearing on whether he should remain on the force based on his handling of the case. 

Proctor faced allegations of misconduct and criticism for derogatory text messages he sent about Read that were read aloud in court during the first trial — his investigation led to Read being charged with murder in the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, an allegation she denies.

Proctor admitted on the stand that those messages were unprofessional and regrettable, but said they didn't affect the investigation.

Proctor's sister, Courtney, referred to those messages in her part of the statement, writing, "Who among
us has not said something regrettable in moments of stress, shock, or sadness? And how would you feel if the contents of your personal phone were questionably released to the public without full context?"

Proctor testified during the trial that he texted Courtney, "Hopefully she kills herself."

Read the full statement below, as released:

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March 12, 2025 (BOSTON) -- In light of the egregiously false statements from Karen
Read and her defense team—both inside and outside the courtroom—Michael Proctor’s family
is speaking out for the first time to address the ongoing misrepresentations of his character and calling for the public to actually look at the facts of this case.

On January 29, 2022, fourteen minutes before his on-call shift was due to end, Michael Proctor
was assigned to an unattended death case, and his life was forever changed. Proctor and the other investigators followed the evidence, and a jury of the defendant’s peers indicted Read, and only Read, for the murder of Officer John O’Keefe.

Despite this, the family says, Michael Proctor has been defamed, maligned, and falsely labeled corrupt by the alleged murderer, her family, her defense team, and a mob of her followers.  Through unrelenting propaganda and disinformation, the defense is trying this case in the court of public opinion and painting Karen Read as the victim with the hope of tainting a jury pool.

“At the end of the day, a beloved police officer and honorable man was killed. The Prosecution believes it’s an open and shut case, and the defense knows this, too. So, their tactic is to put my husband, the lead investigator, on trial for sending texts on his personal phone to his friends and family,“ said Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth Proctor. “The Karen Read defense team is unabashedly creating false narratives and distracting the public and potential jurors from clear-cut evidence.”

It was recently announced that all aspects of the federal investigation involving this case has been closed.

Michael Proctor, who has an unblemished police record in his 12 years with the Massachusetts
State Police, testified that the texts on his personal phone were unprofessional and regrettable,
but certainly didn’t affect the integrity of the investigation.

“Michael—and so many others in his line of work—see horrible things every day and may at
times need to vent personally. He saw a fellow officer die a horrible, tragic death. Who among
us has not said something regrettable in moments of stress, shock, or sadness? And how would
you feel if the contents of your personal phone were questionably released to the public
without full context?” said Courtney Proctor, Proctor’s sister.

Proctor’s wife says the family has been tormented for years because of the case, and it’s time to focus on the real perpetrator.

“Unfortunately, we know that by speaking out, more harassment will be unleashed on our family. But we can no longer stand by and silently watch Michael’s character be attacked and disparaged so unfairly. After exhaustive investigations at both the state and federal level, and a grand jury, only one person has been charged with a crime, the defendant Karen Read,” said Elizabeth Proctor.