India, May 10 -- Brian Higgins, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), had sent 'flirtatious' messages to Karen Read, lawyers said. The messages were exchanged in January 2022, weeks before the death of Read's boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, on January 29, 2022.

Higgins, a friend of O'Keefe and Read, testified that he exchanged 56 pages of text messages with Read from January 12 to January 23, 2022, after she initiated contact. On January 15, 2022, after watching a Patriots game at O'Keefe's home, Higgins said Read "planted a kiss" on him, which he described as "not like a friend." In one text, Read called Higgins "hot," prompting his reply, "Are you serious or messing with me?"...