Massachusetts State Police announced Tuesday that they were investigating three troopers, two of whom testified at the Karen Read murder trial.
Det. Lt. Brian Tully, Lt. John Fanning and Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik "are each the subject of an active internal affairs investigation," the department told NBC10 Boston Tuesday. Tully and Bukhenik were both called to the stand last month during the lengthy trial.
All three troopers remain on active duty, state police said. Just a short time later, the department said that the allegations against Fanning were determined to be "unfounded" and that the investigation into him was "closed."
State police declined to give further information about the investigation Tuesday.
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Read was charged with murder in the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, in January of 2022. He was found outside the Canton home of Brian Albert, another Boston police officer. Prosecutors argued Read hit him with her SUV and left him for dead, while the defense claimed she was framed in a wide-ranging coverup.
Before the trial began, state police confirmed Trooper Michael Proctor was also the subject of an internal investigation. After a mistrial was declared — and after his testimony revealed the texts he sent while investigating Read for O'Keefe's death — he was ultimately suspended without pay.
In what became a flashpoint in the trial, Proctor acknowledged sending family members, friends and fellow members of the state police, including supervisors, what he said were "unprofessional and regrettable" texts about Read.
Reading out loud on the witness stand, he admitted calling Read "a whack job … c***" while he was investigating her.
When a friend said they were "sure the owner of the house will receive some s***," Proctor replied, "Nope, homeowner is a Boston cop, too."
Proctor texted his sister, referring to Read, "Hopefully she kills herself."
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In one of the more damning texts, Proctor said while going through Read's phone, he had found "no nudes so far." Proctor said in court that Fanning and Bukhenik were among the troopers in that conversation.
"Trooper Fanning and Trooper Bukhenik are your supervisors?" defense attorney Alan Jackson asked Proctor, to which he replied, "Yes."
Shortly after announcing the internal investigation, state police gave an update that allegations against Fanning could not be proven or disproven.
"The Department's internal affairs investigation determined that there was insufficient evidence to prove or disprove the allegation that Lieutenant Fanning violated rules and regulations by failing to uphold the responsibilities of a supervisory member," the department wrote. "This allegation has been classified as unfounded."
NBC10 Boston legal analyst Michael Coyne said he was surprised state police didn't announce investigations of other troopers around the same time Proctor was put on leave. He added that this could lead to the revelation of other texts and emails that were not admitted as evidence at trial.
"You've got supervisors, at that point, involved and hearing this exchange and not reprimanding him whatsoever with respect to it," Coyne said.
The testimony of Bukhenik, who investigated the case with Proctor, also raised questions under cross-examination about inverted video of Read's SUV at the Canton Police Department's sallyport.
Tully defended investigators' decision not to search Albert's home when he testified.
"I have evidence that he was outside, but I don't have anything putting him inside the residence," he said on the stand.
Security expert Todd McGhee, a former trooper with the Massachusetts State Police, says this is not a good look for the department.
"They're going to take a hard look at this and make some very, very specific actions to make a statement and to, again, restore that public trust," McGhee said.
As the state plans to retry Read in January, the development could have an impact.
"I significantly see a change on behalf of the prosecution," McGhee said. "All of this all of this fallout is going to minimize their case and strengthen the defense's case."
"When it's a handful of people potentially facing disciplinary action by the time the next trial comes up, that makes a challenging case perhaps even impossible for the commonwealth to succeed in proving all the charges beyond a reasonable doubt," Coyne said.
