Trooper Michael Proctor, lead investigator in the Karen Read case, relieved of duty

A Massachusetts State Police officer whose admittedly “unprofessional” text messages played a key role in Karen Read’s murder trial that ended in a mistrial Monday has been relieved of his duties, acting State Police Colonel Jack Mawn announced.

Proctor, the lead investigator in Read’s case, will also be transferred from the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office Detective’s Unit, Mawn said in a statement late Monday. An investigation into “serious misconduct” by Proctor that “emerged from testimony at trial” is ongoing.

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“Our focus remains on providing police services at the highest level with professionalism and integrity,” Mawn said in the statement. “Although Trooper Proctor is still employed by the department, the decision to relieve him of duty means he will no longer be able to work on cases or serve as a trooper during this time.”

During his testimony at Read’s trial, Proctor admitted to sending text messages in which he described Read in demeaning terms, including telling his sister, “I hope she kills herself,” a reference to Read, and calling her a “crazy woman.”

Proctor was relieved of his duties effective immediately on Monday and will be terminated from his position in the district attorney’s office on Sunday because state police collective bargaining requires five days’ notice for a change in duties.

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Read, 44, of Mansfield, was charged with murdering her boyfriend, 46-year-old Boston police officer John O’Keefe. After five days of jury deliberations, Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone declared the trial in Read’s case null and void because the jury said they could not reach a verdict.

In the statement, Mawn remembered O’Keefe as a man who “led a life of honorable service – both to the city of Boston and to the children entrusted to his care following the unexpected deaths of his sister and brother-in-law.”

“We cannot imagine how much this outcome has compounded the immense grief, sorrow and sense of loss felt by the O’Keefe family,” Mawn said.