The lead investigator in the murder trial of Karen Read, who was accused of murdering her police officer boyfriend, has been relieved of his duties.
Read, 44, was told Monday that jurors could not agree on whether she killed Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, 46, with her SUV in January 2022.
It marked the end of a contentious nine-week trial in which Read alleged she was the victim of a wide-ranging plot to frame her.
In a sensational turn of events, Detective Chief Constable Michael Proctor has been transferred out of the local detective unit for “serious misconduct”.
The officer will continue to receive his salary, but his car, gun and equipment have been taken away, according to NBC Boston.
Read, 44, was told Monday that jurors could not agree on whether she killed Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.
This undated photo released by the Boston Police Department shows Officer John O’Keefe
Last month, Proctor testified at trial that he had sent several text messages to friends and co-workers about Read, a financial analyst and college professor.
Proctor called Read “a nutcase” and a “moron” and referred to her as a “chick” with “no ass,” while mocking her “Fall River accent.”
In other posts, he joked about searching through his phone for nude photos during the investigation.
Read’s defense attorneys say the texts support their theory that police framed her for a vast conspiracy. blame her for the murder.
Proctor said “these childish and unprofessional comments had zero impact on the facts, evidence and integrity of the investigation.”
Acting Col. Jack Mawn of the Massachusetts State Police had previously taken a strong stance against Proctor’s comments and announced the move Monday.
In a statement, it said: ‘The Department took immediate action to relieve Trooper Michael Proctor of his duties and formally transfer him out of the State Police Detective Unit of the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.
“This comes after information about serious misconduct was revealed in testimony during the trial. The investigation remains ongoing.”
Last month, Proctor testified at trial that he had sent his friends and coworkers several text messages about Read
On Tuesday, Governor Maura Healey said: “The colonel made the right decision. I fully support the decision that the MSP made in this regard.”
‘As you know, this is a case of internal investigation and the process will have to go ahead.
“It was the right decision to remove him. It’s a process. We have to wait for it to move forward.”
He added that he had “no tolerance for that behavior, frankly, with anyone in law enforcement, with anyone in public service.”
Sources have since said NBC Boston that Proctor is also part of a federal investigation into the handling of the case.
The outlet reported that Proctor had graduated from the academy in 2014 and went on to work as a detective, earning $146,053 last year.
His fate will be decided by an internal investigation and a state commission that also deals with allegations of police misconduct.
On the night of O’Keefe’s death, he and Read had been drinking with a group of friends and were invited to their friend Brian Albert’s house for an after-party.
Read and O’Keefe had been drinking the night of her death, before she drove him to an after-party while she went home to sleep. He was found dead on the lawn of the after-party house hours later.
Read, who prosecutors say drank several alcoholic beverages earlier, decided to drop her boyfriend off at the after-party before heading home (which O’Keefe shared with her orphaned niece and nephew) to sleep around 1 a.m.
Court documents revealed the couple had been arguing bitterly for weeks beforehand.
The night O’Keefe died, Read left him a voicemail calling him a “fucking loser” and telling him, “John, I hate you.”
The couple had been together for two years when O’Keefe died. He had been with the Boston Police Department for 16 years.
According to Read’s version of events, she woke up at 4 a.m. to find that O’Keefe had never returned home, prompting her to drive frantically to try to find him.
After finding O’Keefe’s body outside Albert’s home, which partygoers claimed he never entered, first responders at the scene claimed Read repeatedly told them she hit him while in a panic.
Vehicle data also found that Read reversed his SUV for 62 feet at 24 mph near Albert’s home.
O’Keefe’s cause of death was blunt force trauma and hypothermia, and pieces of Read’s taillight were found around his body, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors had said Read’s relationship with O’Keefe was in crisis when he died.
In his closing arguments Tuesday, Norfolk County Deputy District Attorney Adam Lally said allegations that Read was framed were little more than “wild speculation.”
Lally also pointed to O’Keefe’s hair and DNA found in the back of Read’s truck.
The defense argued that the taillight was actually broken by Read when he panicked to look for O’Keefe when he never returned home.
This included surveillance video shown at trial showing Read crashing O’Keefe’s vehicle as she left her home to look for him.
Read claimed he was beaten to death by after-party attendees, and his attorneys presented phone data showing O’Keefe’s phone was carried up dozens of stairs at the time he was allegedly hit.
His lawyer, Alan Jackson, claimed that those steps could have been the basement of Albert’s home. Albert was never charged with any crime.
Proctor opens an evidence box to show the jury a broken taillight while testifying
Read’s attorneys added that while first responders claimed Read spoke of punching O’Keefe at the scene, they claimed this evidence was falsely presented at a later date and not mentioned at the time.
A forensic engineer was brought in to evaluate the case, who testified that if O’Keefe had been hit by a vehicle traveling more than 20 mph, he would expect to see more severe injuries.
When her trial began, Read received an outpouring of support from true crime fans who camped outside the courthouse with signs reading “Free Karen Read.”
Many began wearing pink in support of Read, prompting a judge to issue an order banning any clothing or accessories that could be perceived as encouraging and prohibiting them from coming within 200 feet of the courthouse.
As the trial dominated national headlines, some observers were disheartened by Read’s seemingly flippant attitude during the proceedings, leading to her being dubbed “America’s happiest murder defendant.”
She was seen winking at cameras and eating inside the courtroom, angering some critics.
Prosecutors say they intend to retry the case in which the defense claimed Read had been framed by police.
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