NORFOLK COUNTY, Mass. (Court TV) — State police confirmed that a lead investigator in the Karen Read case is under investigation. The announcement came just one day after Read’s attorneys alleged ‘significant relationships’ while arguing for a motion to dismiss.
Massachusetts State Police confirmed to Court TV on Wednesday that Trooper Michael Proctor is “being investigated for a potential violation of department policy.” The department declined to go into detail, saying, “we are not stating whether the potential violation relates to a specific case, nor are we specifying the nature of the alleged violation.”
Karen Read appears in court Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. (Court TV)
Proctor is one of the lead investigators in the murder case against Karen Read, who is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. While investigators have accused Read of hitting O’Keefe with her car and then leaving him to die in the snow outside a fellow police officer’s home, her defense team has accused the police of conducting a sloppy investigation and covering up a fight inside the house that led to O’Keefe’s death.
On Tuesday, parties were in court to argue multiple motions, including a defense motion to dismiss the case. Defense attorney Alan Jackson listed several examples of what he described as knowing “distortions” of evidence that intentionally misled the state grand jury into delivering a flawed indictment against Read.
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One example was the relationship between Proctor and the Albert family. Jackson said ten days before O’Keefe’s death, Proctor texted Julie Albert about babysitting his child. Jackson also said three days after O’Keefe’s death, Proctor received a text message from his sister that stated, “Just saw Julie (Albert) and Julie said when all this is over, she wants to give you a thank-you gift,” to which he replied, “Get (my wife) one.”
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police confirmed that Proctor is on full active duty during the investigation.
Read is currently scheduled to go to trial on April 16.
