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BOSTON (AP) — Two more Massachusetts state law enforcement officials who testified within the murder trial of Karen Read within the death of her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, at the moment are under internal investigation, the Massachusetts State Police said Wednesday.
Detective Lt. Brian Tully and Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik are being investigated together with the lead investigator within the case, State Trooper Michael Proctor. It was also determined that there was insufficient evidence against a fourth state trooper, Lt. John Fanning, to prove allegations that he violated state police regulations by failing to perform his duties as a supervisor.
A Massachusetts State Police spokesman declined to comment further “out of fairness to the integrity of the pending investigation results.”
Most of the main target has been on Proctor, who was relieved of his duties after the trial revealed he had sent vulgar text messages to colleagues and family, calling Read a “nutcase” and telling his sister he wished Read would “kill himself.” He said it was a figure of speech and his emotions got the higher of him.
The defense also said he must have recused himself from the investigation because he had personal relationships with several of the people involved within the case. Read's lawyers also questioned the sloppiness of the police work: the crime scene was left unsecured for hours; the house of Boston police Detective Brian Albert was not searched; blood-stained snow was picked up with red plastic cups; and a leaf blower was used to clear snow.
Proctor was paid until earlier this month, when a state police hearing board modified the suspension to an unpaid suspension, effective immediately. Meanwhile, an internal investigation could lead on to charges against him, and there’s a federal investigation into the state police's handling of the case. The U.S. Attorney's Office said it neither confirmed nor denied an investigation.
Read is accused of driving her SUV right into a snowstorm in January 2022, leaving John O'Keefe to die. Her two-month trial ended when jurors declared they were hopelessly deadlocked and a judge declared a mistrial on the fifth day of deliberations.
The judge announced on Monday that she would hold a hearing on August 9 on the defense's motion to dismiss two of the three charges against her, with a retrial scheduled for January 27.
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