FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the Karen Read case, will face a third day of disciplinary hearings on Thursday to determine his future with the law enforcement agency.
Proctor will appear before a Massachusetts State Police Trial Board in Framingham, a month after his second hearing ended without a conclusion. His first hearing was held in January.
He was assigned to investigate the death of Read’s Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe. He was relieved of his duty without pay this past summer after a mistrial was declared in Read’s murder case and his last day with the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office followed soon thereafter.
Proctor came under fire for a series of disparaging texts he sent about Read, which he read aloud in court during witness testimony at her first trial. Proctor admitted on the stand that the texts were “unprofessional.”
He called Read things like a “whack job” and other derogatory words, he talked about her medical issues and wrote, “No nudes so far,” while going through her phone.
Read is accused of hitting O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die after a night of drinking. The defense has sought to portray Read as the victim, saying O’Keefe was actually killed inside the Albert family home and then dragged outside and left for dead.
The Trial Board is weighing whether or not Proctor is guilty of allegations of misconduct in the performances of his duties as a uniformed trooper.
If Proctor is found guilty, the panel will recommend a punishment to Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble.
Proctor also served as the lead investigator in the case against Brian Walshe, who is accused of killing and dismembering his wife Ana Walshe.
Read’s second trial is scheduled to get underway with jury selection on April 1.
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