Karen Read Sues State Police and Former Friends, Alleging They Framed Her for Ex‑Boyfriend’s Death

Karen Read, who was acquitted of murder in the death of her former boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, has filed a civil lawsuit accusing Massachusetts State Police investigators and several former friends of framing her for his killing.

Who is named in the suit

The complaint, filed this week in Bristol County Superior Court, names eight individual defendants: former Massachusetts State Police investigator Michael Proctor, Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik, Lt. Brian Tully, Brian and Nicole Albert, Jennifer and Matthew McCabe, and ATF agent Brian Higgins. The filing says additional entities, including the Massachusetts State Police and the Town of Canton, will be added once statutory requirements are met.

Allegations in the complaint

Read alleges she was wrongly accused and persecuted for more than three years because of what she calls "gross misconduct" by state police and others who, she claims, protected the real killers of O’Keefe. According to the lawsuit, O’Keefe was killed in the Alberts’ home on Jan. 29, 2022, following an altercation during a late‑night gathering after heavy drinking.

The complaint asserts the people inside the home — described collectively as the "House Defendants" — immediately devised a plan to move O’Keefe’s body outside and place it on the Alberts’ front lawn "near the road" to make it appear he had been struck by a vehicle. Read alleges the group even searched online for information such as "how long to die in the cold" as part of that effort.

Accusations of investigative failures and bias

The suit accuses investigators of steering the inquiry away from the Alberts and toward Read, in part because the Alberts are described as a prominent Canton family and because the lead investigator, Proctor, was allegedly a close personal friend of the family. The complaint contends investigators ignored evidence inconsistent with a vehicular strike — including bruises, lacerations, a deep gash to the back of O’Keefe’s head, and documented bite wounds and scratches on his arm.

Read’s lawyers say the state police never examined the Alberts’ German Shepherd — which the complaint alleges has a history of attacking people and other dogs — despite the bite wounds. The filing further alleges investigators delayed searching the home for nearly a week, failed to seize or analyze phones promptly, conducted only cursory interviews, and allowed potential witnesses to communicate and coordinate accounts.

Alleged private messages and mishandling of evidence

The complaint cites alleged private messages attributed to Proctor that, Read asserts, show bias and unprofessional conduct. One such message allegedly said Read had "zero chance [of] skating… she’s f***ed" roughly 16 hours after O’Keefe’s body was found. Other messages allegedly show Proctor searching Read’s phone for intimate photos and expressing cruel sentiments.

Read’s suit accuses the named investigators of passing confidential information outside official channels, mishandling evidence, and allowing those inside the Alberts’ home to "direct the investigation away from themselves, and towards Ms. Read." The complaint seeks damages and promises further legal action as additional parties are added.

Read was twice tried on murder charges stemming from O’Keefe’s death; the first trial ended in a hung jury and the second resulted in an acquittal on the murder charge in June. She was convicted only of operating a vehicle under the influence and received one year of probation.

Attorneys for the named defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.