BOSTON (WHDH) - Karen Read filed a civil lawsuit against several people involved in the investigation into the death of John O’Keefe.
According to court paperwork, Read filed a lawsuit Monday in Bristol Superior Court against Michael Proctor, Yuri Bukhenik, Brian Tully, Brian Albert, Nicole Albert, Jennifer McCabe, Matthew McCabe and Brian Higgins. Everyone named in the suit were among those at the after party at 34 Fairview Road the night Boston police officer John O’Keefe died.
The lawsuit claims the defendants conspired to frame Read for the murder of O’Keefe in January 2022. Several members of the Massachusetts State Police are also mentioned in the lawsuit.
Read’s civil team released a statement about the suit, saying in part, “Today’s filing speaks for itself. It is a meticulously documented civil action grounded in evidence, law, and the Constitution. For more than three years, Karen Read was dragged through a baseless criminal prosecution engineered by individuals who abused their authority, manipulated the investigative process, and trampled her rights. Our complaint lays out, in stark detail, the malicious prosecution, the conspiracy, the civil-rights violations, and the intentional misconduct that these defendants visited upon an innocent woman.
If these defendants want to answer for that under oath, we welcome it.
What we will not do is legitimize a threat to file some imaginary “defamation” case. That threat is nothing more than a desperate attempt by these defendants to distract the public from the very real legal jeopardy they now face. When people start waving around defamation claims to mask their own legal troubles, it tells you everything you need to know—they don’t want sunlight, they want silence.
Karen Read spent years fighting for her freedom against a corrupted investigation. Now she is fighting for accountability. And unlike the criminal case, this time the defendants don’t get to hide behind badges, back-channel favors, or manufactured narratives. They will have to answer in a court of law for every lie, every omission, every manipulated report, and every constitutional violation they committed.
Karen Read is not backing down. Our team is not backing down.”
Read staunchly denies any involvement in O’Keefe’s death, and instead pinned blamed on those named in this suit. It reads, “Rather than call first responders for help…the House Defendants conducted a Google-search for information about “hos long to die in the cold,” moved Mr. O’Keefe’s body outside, and placed him on the Alberts’ front lawn near the road…”
Read is also going after the State Police detectives who investigated O’Keefe’s death, including former trooper Michael Proctor. Her lawsuit accuses Proctor of “side-stepping” protocol” to shield his friends and those inside the Albert’s house the night O’Keefe died.
In a statement, Read’s civil team, which includes attorney Alan Jackson, said they’re seeking justice for Read and O’Keefe, “…unlike the criminal case, this time the defendants don’t get to hide behind badges, back-channel favors, or manufactured narratives.”
Read’s lawsuit comes after attorneys for the Higgins, Alberts, and McCabes announced their plans to sue Read for defamation. In a statement, they vowed to hold Read accountable, writing in part, “…This lawsuit is nothing more than a continuation of a baseless conspiracy narrative that has caused significant harm to the reputations and lives of innocent people…”
In her retrial, the jury determined Read was not guilty of second-degree murder, not guilty of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated — but guilty of the lesser count of operating under the influence — and not guilty of leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death.
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