Lead investigator in Karen Read murder case suspended without pay

Karen Read leaves Stoughton District Court after being arraigned in the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe on February 2, 2022 in Stoughton, MA. (Staff photo by Nancy Lane/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

The lead investigator in a high-profile Boston-area murder case is being suspended without pay following an internal Massachusetts State Police hearing, officials announced Monday.

Police officer Michael Proctor came under criticism when it emerged during the trial that he had used degrading words about Karen Read, who was accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe.

Read, 44, of Mansfield, Massachusetts, was tried on second-degree murder, manslaughter and other charges in connection with O’Keefe’s death on Jan. 29, 2022. A mistrial was declared on July 1.

During Proctor’s two-day testimony, attorneys came forward and revealed personal texts in which the officer made demeaning and explicit comments about Read. State police launched an internal investigation and Proctor was placed on leave the day the mistrial was declared.

During a status hearing Monday, a panel recommended that Proctor be suspended without pay, and Acting State Police Col. John Mawn accepted the recommendation, effective immediately, the department said.

The state is currently looking for a new colonel for the state police. After questions about misconduct in the Read trial and other scandals within the agency – including overtime abuse, drunken driving, bribery allegations – Gov. Maura Healey said the state is considering hiring an outside candidate for the position “for the first time ever.”

The State Police’s internal investigation into Proctor is ongoing and could result in charges that would be decided by a State Police investigative committee. It is not yet clear what Proctor could be charged with if the allegations prove to be substantiated during the course of the investigation.

State auditor’s records show that Proctor earned $184,397 last year.

During his testimony at the trial on June 10 and 12, personal text messages from Proctor showed that he had called Read a “nutcase” (a slur) and a “slut” during the course of the investigation, texted colleagues “No nudes yet” when searching her phone, and explicitly made fun of her gastrointestinal problems, among other derogatory comments.

In a text message to his sister, according to evidence presented by the defense, he wrote: “I hope she kills herself.”

“I am not proud of these regrettable and unprofessional comments, nor are they something I should have written in private or any other setting,” Proctor said during the June 10 trial. He later added that the comments “in no way detract from the integrity of the investigation or the facts derived from it.”

Read was accused of killing O’Keefe by driving into him with her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die in the cold during a severe snowstorm.

The defense claimed it was a massive conspiracy, arguing that O’Keefe was beaten to death in a friend’s house and his body was then dragged into the front yard.

After a dramatic nine-week trial and more than 20 hours of deliberation, the jury said it could not reach a consensus, and Judge Beverly Cannone declared the trial void. The prosecution has announced that it will retry Read.

On Monday, Cannone decided that the names of the jurors would remain secret.

“This case has attracted significant and polarizing attention in Massachusetts and across the country,” Cannone wrote in the order, adding, “The proceedings continue to be the subject of daily commentary on various social media platforms. Intimidation charges have been brought against individuals associated with the case.”

It concluded that “there is a risk of immediate and irreparable harm if the list is now made available to the public.”