Investigator and jurors speak out about Karen Read murder trial in aftermath of not guilty verdict

Two jurors and the lead investigator in the murder trial of Karen Read have come forward to comment about the case since a jury returned a not guilty verdict earlier this week.

Read, 45, was charged with second-degree murder by authorities who said she intentionally hit Boston police officer John O’Keefe with her car after dropping him off outside a party following a night of drinking in the suburbs. The high-profile case culminated in a not guilty verdict on murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene charges Wednesday. The jury found Read guilty of operating a vehicle while under the influence.

The trial has centered in part on lead investigator Michael Proctor, who defense attorneys described as biased against Read from the beginning. The Massachusetts State Police trial board found Proctor guilty of sending crude and defamatory text messages about Read while leading the investigation into her. He was fired and has drawn ire from Read supporters who believe he played a key role in a cover-up to frame her.

Proctor told NBC’s “Dateline” that the idea he is corrupt and framed Read is a “ridiculous” accusation. He specifically said an accusation that he cracked Read’s taillight to make it look like she backed into O’Keefe is “absolutely not” true.

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“I laugh because it’s such a ridiculous accusation,” Proctor told the program. “There’s not one piece of evidence or fact to support that because it did not happen.”

The judge in the case announced via court papers Wednesday that the jurors’ names would be sealed from public view due to safety concerns. But one of the jurors, who identified himself only as “Jason” in an interview with TMZ, said he did not believe Read collided with O’Keefe. He also said he did not think investigators planted taillight pieces at the scene to frame Read.

“I don’t really know if there was a cover-up or not. I know that’s the big conspiracy about it but I don’t really know. All I know is there was a lot of holes in their investigation,” the juror said.

Another juror, Paula Prado, told local news stations her mind changed about the case over the course of the last three weeks. At first, she thought Read was guilty of manslaughter, but her opinion changed as the case progressed.

“As the weeks passed by, I just realized there was too many holes that we couldn’t fill. And there’s nothing that put her on the scene in our opinion, besides just dropping John O’Keefe off,” Prado told media.

Massachusetts State Police said in a statement that it extends its “sincerest condolences to the loved ones of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.” The statement said the events of the last three years have “challenged” the department to review its actions and improve accountability and oversight.

“Under my direction as colonel, the state police has, and will continue to, improve in these regards. Our focus remains on delivering excellent police services that reflect the value of professionalism and maintain public trust,” Colonel Geoffrey Noble said in the statement.

The jurors, state police and Proctor are not the first to speak out about the verdict. Upon leaving court, Read told a crowd of reporters and onlookers: “No one has fought harder for justice for John O’Keefe than I have.”

Her father, Bill Read, said on Wednesday that he was “thankful that it’s over.” He added: “We always knew Karen was innocent. I’m glad she is free of this mess. Just a weight off our shoulders. The power of the state is immense, and we were able to fight it.”

Some of the key witnesses in the trial also released a joint statement Wednesday in which they called the not guilty ruling a “devastating miscarriage of justice.”

The joint statement was issued by several people including Brian Albert, who owned the home where the party took place, and Jennifer McCabe, Albert’s sister-in-law, who was with Read and O’Keefe on the night of O’Keefe’s death.

Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey said only: “The jury has spoken.”