FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Thursday’s disciplinary hearing for Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the Karen Read murder case, has concluded.
A panel of three commissioned officers will now deliberate, a Massachusetts State Police spokesperson told Boston 25 News just before 4:00 p.m. Thursday.
Proctor’s appearance before a Massachusetts State Police Trial Board in Framingham is the third disciplinary hearing that he has faced. His second hearing ended without a conclusion last month. 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.
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’s wife Elizabeth confirmed to Boston 25 News Thursday that the family released a statement through a PR company but excluded Boston 25, due in part to Ted Daniel’s one-on-one interview with Karen Read last month.
The Proctor family accuses Read’s lawyers of maligning the state trooper to deflect attention from their client.
Proctor admitted on the stand in the first trial to sending crude text messages about Read on his personal phone.
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.
As 25 investigates was first to report, a federal probe into the investigation led by Proctor has ended with no charges being filed.
Boston 25 News has offered to sit down with the Proctor family both in the past and again Thursday. The family, as well as special prosecutor Hank Brennan, have declined interview requests.
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.
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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