Two more Massachusetts state troopers linked to the Karen Read case are under an internal affairs investigation after her trial, which included allegations of a law enforcement effort to frame Read in the killing of her police officer boyfriend, ended with a hung jury this month, authorities said Wednesday.
The troopers, Detective Lt. Brian Tully and Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik, will remain on active duty during the investigation, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police said.
A third trooper who is also under investigation, Michael Proctor, was suspended without pay this month after a three-member panel made the recommendation following a duty status hearing.
The agency spokesperson would not provide additional details about the investigations into Tully and Bukhenik.
The interim state police superintendent, Col. John Mawn, has said the agency was reviewing allegations of “serious misconduct” raised at Read’s trial about Proctor, the lead investigator in the case.
Tully supervised the detective unit at the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office, where Proctor worked.
At trial, Proctor admitted sending offensive text messages about Read to a group that included Bukhenik. In the messages, Proctor testified, he used a pejorative term for intellectually disabled people to describe Read.
Proctor also admitted to saying on the thread that he was searching Read’s phone and had found “no nudes so far.”
Proctor, who described the messages as “poor jokes” that were “regrettable” and “unprofessional,” said he was not reprimanded for the texts.
Proctor has not responded to repeated requests for comment. He was relieved of duty in the prosecutor’s office after a judge declared a mistrial in Read’s case.
Bukhenik did not respond to a message seeking comment left at a phone number listed under his name. Efforts to reach Tully were unsuccessful.
The mistrial in Read’s murder trial was declared after nine weeks of testimony, dozens of witnesses and five days of deliberations. Prosecutors charged her with second-degree murder and other crimes in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, on Jan. 29, 2022.
Authorities alleged that during a tumultuous relationship, Read backed her Lexus SUV into O’Keefe, 46, and left him for dead outside the home of another Boston police officer, Brian Albert.
Lawyers for Read alleged that there had most likely been a fight during a party at Albert’s home that left O’Keefe dead. The defense pointed to Albert and another law enforcement officer whom they said Read “ghosted” after she traded flirty texts with him as the possible assailants.
Albert testified that O’Keefe never stepped foot inside his house during the party. He would have been “welcomed with open arms” if he had, Albert testified.
After the judge declared a mistrial, prosecutors vowed to retry the case. On Monday, a judge scheduled a new trial for Jan. 27.
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