DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - A Massachusetts State Police sergeant returned to the stand Monday to testify in the Karen Read murder retrial.
Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik is one of the State Police homicide detectives who investigated the death of Boston police officer John O’Keefe in January 2022.
Read is accused of killing O’Keefe, her boyfriend, by hitting him with her SUV after a night of drinking and leaving him to die in the snow. Her defense claims she is being framed in a cover-up by some of O’Keefe’s fellow officers.
Her first trial ended in a mistrial.
On Monday, the defense questioned him on a group chat between several state troopers, including now-fired Trooper Michael Proctor.
At one point, a photo was sent of Read’s defense attorney David Yannetti, to which Proctor responded that he had gone through Read’s phone and found “no nudes so far.”
“He did not tell me he was going through the naked pictures, for naked pictures on the phone,” Bukhenik said on the stand.
“He wrote, ‘No nudes so far,’ right? What did you think he was looking for when he wrote that phrase?” asked Read’s attorney Alan Jackson.
“I don’t know what he was looking for,” Bukhenik said.
“What would be a reasonable interpretation of what Michael Proctor was looking for when he wrote, ‘No nudes so far?'” Jackson asked.
“I don’t know,” Bukhenik replied.
“You took no action to stop him from potentially looking for naked pictures of my client, correct?” Jackson asked.
“That’s correct,” Bukhenik said.
“Do you stand by your testimony that Michael Proctor conducted himself during the course of this investigation with integrity?” Jackson asked.
“Yes, I do,” Bukhenik replied.
Additionally, the jury saw video of a federal FTA agent who was at home on Fairview the night O’Keefe died.
“Do you recognize the person in this video,” Jackson asked.
“It appears to be Mr. Brian Higgins,” Bukhenik replied.
Just before 1:30 a.m. on January 29, 2022, roughly an hour after Read said she dropped O’Keefe off at a Canton party, Higgins showed up at the Canton police station in his Jeep Wrangler.
He walked into the station and left minutes after, with a phone up by his right cheek.
Read’s team is mounting a third party culprit defense. It questions why Higgins wouldn’t just go straight home after a night of drinking, why go to work?
Higgins, who hasn’t testified in this trial, explained in the first proceeding he wanted to move his work car to allow a plow to clear the lot. In doing so at that time, he wouldn’t have to get up early in the morning to move them.
In the video, Higgins moves a car, then over the next several minutes appears to be checking different trucks. After several trips to these vehicles to retrieve items, he leaves in the Jeep at 1:45 a.m. The jury also discovered the video of Read’s SUV in the Canton police department sally port was originally in an “inverted” fashion, so officers congregating near the right rear tail light appear to be on the other side of the car.
Bukhenik began his testimony last week. He acted as lead investigator and Proctor’s supervisor throughout the investigation. Massachusetts State Police later found Bukhenik failed to properly supervise a subordinate.
Proctor was fired for sending inappropriate text messages about the investigation, including some he read on the stand during the last trial.
The jury saw an inverted video of Read’s SUV inside the sally port of the Canton Police Department after O’Keefe’s death. The defense revealed in the last trial that the video was, in fact, mirrored, after Bukhenik testified that it was a true and accurate video.
The defense tried to suggest that Proctor, who is seen by the passenger tail light in that video, may have been able to tamper with that tail light and plant the evidence on Fairview Road.
It wasn’t until late that afternoon that State Police investigators found the broken tail light pieces at the scene.
Bukhenik denied that anyone could have tampered with the tail light. He also said the inverted surveillance video was not an anomaly.
Read’s defense team last week also asked Bukhenik about flirtatious text messages between Read and ATF agent Brian Higgins.
Bukhenik completed his testimony on Monday after three full days at the stand.
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