The latest on the Karen Read murder case
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Karen Read murder trial: Brian Higgins looms large over Sgt. Bukhenik’s final day of testimony
Bukhenik denied seeing any hint of jealousy in the flirty messages Higgins sent Read during her relationship with John O'Keefe.
On the stand Monday:
4 p.m. update: Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik says he and Michael Proctor were still at police station when first taillight shard found on Fairview Road
Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik chuckled incredulously Monday as he denied inverting surveillance footage of Karen Read’s SUV sitting inside the Canton Police Department’s sallyport garage on Jan. 29, 2022.
Wrapping his cross-examination of Bukhenik, defense attorney Alan Jackson showed jurors footage of Read’s SUV that had inexplicably been inverted. He pointed to Bukhenik’s testimony during Read’s first trial that neither he nor ex-Trooper Michael Proctor neared, touched, or manipulated the SUV’s right taillight.
“But in point of fact, this video is backward, correct?” Jackson asked.
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Bukhenik confirmed it was a mirrored image and agreed the video does show Proctor going toward the back of the SUV. Jackson then replayed the same clip, this time flipped to the correct orientation.
Bukhenik maintained a mirrored video “is still documenting the activity that’s taking place,” just with an inverted image. Jackson contended the sallyport video “unequivocally shows” Proctor walking to the right rear taillight area. He pointed out the video was captured shortly after 5:30 p.m. on the 29th — before State Police investigators found the first shard of broken taillight at the scene outside 34 Fairview Road.
As he stepped up for redirect examination, special prosecutor Hank Brennan asked Bukhenik whether he’d inverted the sallyport footage himself. The sergeant scoffed as he denied doing so.
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Bukhenik confirmed he obtained surveillance footage from several different camera angles and said subsequent investigation revealed multiple town-owned cameras in Canton recorded inverted footage.
He testified he and Proctor followed Read’s SUV as it was towed from her parents’ home in Dighton to the Canton Police Department on the 29th. The two troopers didn’t take any detours along the way, nor did they stop by Fairview Road, according to Bukhenik.
He also denied visiting 34 Fairview Road while the State Police Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) searched for evidence at the scene, further testifying that neither he nor Proctor exchanged items with anyone at the police station.
Bukhenik told jurors he arrived in the Canton Police Department driveway at about 5:30 p.m. He was adamant he and Proctor were still at the police station when SERT investigators found their first piece of taillight in the snow at 5:45 p.m.
Brennan asked Bukhenik whether he saw Proctor place a piece of taillight or any item into his folder while they were at the police station.
“No, that would be absurd,” Bukhenik replied. He also denied seeing anyone remove a piece of broken taillight from Read’s SUV.
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Later in his questioning, Brennan sought to highlight Bukhenik’s lack of personal ties or prior relationships with witnesses in the case. Bukhenik also testified he had no information pointing to any animosity between Read’s boyfriend, John O’Keefe, and witnesses Brian Albert and Brian Higgins. Read’s lawyers have sought to implicate Albert and Higgins in their third-party culprit defense.
Asked to describe Read’s demeanor during her initial interview with Bukhenik and Proctor, Bukhenik said the defendant was “calm, stoic,” and “poised” as she spoke with the troopers at her parents’ home. At that time, he alleged, neither Read nor her parents suggested the possibility O’Keefe had entered 34 Fairview Road before he died.
Brennan dedicated several minutes to rehashing the evidence that helped shape the State Police investigation, from Read’s alleged “I hit him, I hit him, I hit him” statements to the data from her SUV. At Brennan’s prompting, Bukhenik confirmed several troopers worked on the case aside from him and Proctor.
Brennan had Bukhenik display several items of evidence for the jury, including the pair of jeans O’Keefe was wearing when he was found unresponsive in the snow. Brennan directed Bukhenik’s attention to the seat of the pants, and the sergeant noted apparent grass stains.
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“It suggested that Mr. O’Keefe impacted the grass area with his left glute, transferring green staining onto his pants,” he added. Answering a question from Brennan, Bukhenik said there was “very little” snow on the ground at about 12:32 a.m. on Jan. 29.
Switching gears, Brennan asked whether Bukhenik looked for any signs of animus between Higgins and O’Keefe as part of his investigation, and Bukhenik confirmed he did. Last week, Bukhenik walked jurors through the flirty text messages Higgins and Read exchanged in the last few weeks of her relationship with O’Keefe.
He testified Monday that he also looked through Higgins’s text messages with O’Keefe for any sign that Higgins had a motive to harm O’Keefe. However, Bukhenik told jurors he didn’t find any evidence that pointed to a motive.
As Jackson returned for additional questioning, he pointed out Higgins had his lawyer present when he first spoke with investigators, even though he wasn’t in police custody or under arrest. Jackson questioned whether Higgins might have been jealous of O’Keefe, given Higgins’s flirtatious messages with Read.
“Did you see in those text messages, in your mind, a motive that might lead to jealousy on the part of Brian Higgins?” Jackson asked. However, Bukhenik said he didn’t interpret Higgins’s texts as jealous.
Jackson referred back to surveillance footage from the Waterfall Bar & Grille in Canton, where Read and O’Keefe drank with Higgins and others the night before O’Keefe died. Jackson specifically called attention to a gesture Higgins made at one point toward the bar, where O’Keefe was standing.
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Jackson asked, “Did that seem to you as a reasonable interpretation, ‘Hey, come outside!’ or ‘Come here!’”
“Very reasonable,” Bukhenik agreed. “Since they’d been invited to 34 Fairview.”
Jackson returned to the stains on O’Keefe’s jeans, asking Bukhenik whether someone could stain the back of their pants if they were dragged across the ground.
“I’ve never dragged anybody, so from my experience, I can’t tell you,” Bukhenik replied.
“I didn’t ask if you’ve ever dragged anybody,” Jackson fired back. “You’ve never murdered anybody either, but you’re a homicide investigator, right?”
Bukhenik maintained the stain on O’Keefe’s jeans appeared to be from grass or dirt, not a drag mark.
Jackson later asked Bukhenik whether he’s heard of “beer guts” or “beer muscles” — that is, “having the guts to walk up to someone you might not otherwise walk up to in a bar, because you’ve had too much to drink.”
Bukhenik said he’s heard the effect described as “liquid courage.”
“You had evidence that Brian Higgins had been drinking most of … that evening and night, at the time that John O’Keefe and Karen Read walked into the Waterfall, correct?” Jackson asked. Bukhenik confirmed he knew Higgins had gone to at least one bar, the Waterfall.
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Bukhenik finished his testimony soon after, and Judge Beverly Cannone dismissed jurors for the day shortly after 4 p.m.
12:45 p.m. update: Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik testifies about Michael Proctor’s ‘vile’ text, footage of Brian Higgins at Canton police station
Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik confirmed he praised ex-Trooper Michael Proctor for his “utmost professionalism and competence” in a fall 2022 performance evaluation, even as he agreed Proctor used “vile” language just months prior while describing murder defendant Karen Read.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson pointed out Bukhenik’s comments in the review noted Proctor faced “pressure from external sources during the first day of the investigation.” He further asked Bukhenik whether Proctor showed “integrity” as an investigator when he sent State Police colleagues an Aug. 17, 2022, text calling Read “retarded” and commenting about looking for nude photos on her cellphone.
“I believe that as a U.S. citizen, he has the right to comment,” Bukhenik testified. “That’s his First Amendment right. We uphold the Constitution. And it’s unfortunate, unprofessional, what he said in the private text message communication. He might have been voicing his frustrations; I cannot speak for Michael Proctor. It is unprofessional and unfortunate he said that.”
Jackson appeared skeptical at Bukhenik’s description of the text chain as “private,” noting Proctor sent the message to several of his State Police colleagues and superiors, Bukhenik included. He raised his voice as he asked whether Bukhenik justified “that vile statement.”
Bukhenik maintained he does not justify Proctor’s words, though Jackson pointed out Bukhenik replied to the original message with a thumbs up emoji.
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“The fact is, sergeant, he put it in writing and you ‘liked’ it, correct?” Jackson asked.
“I acknowledged the text message,” Bukhenik testified. “I never saw the vile term.”
Questions swirl about Ford Edge, Ring footage, and O’Keefe’s arm injuries
Earlier in Monday’s cross-examination, Jackson asked Bukhenik whether he became aware at some point in his investigation that a snowplow driver reported seeing a Ford Edge outside 34 Fairview Road hours before Read’s boyfriend, John O’Keefe, was found unresponsive on the home’s front lawn.
Bukhenik confirmed he did learn of the purported sighting. Answering a subsequent question, he testified he learned at some point that the Albert family — who owned the home at the time — had a Ford Edge.
Jackson then asked Bukhenik about Ring surveillance footage from O’Keefe’s home in Canton, pressing the trooper about whether any evidence pointed to Read accessing the account associated with O’Keefe’s Ring camera.
“No evidence could be provided by Ring documenting that activity,” Bukhenik testified. Earlier, he told jurors about notable gaps in the Ring footage, particularly the lack of video showing Read’s arrival at the home after midnight on Jan. 29, 2022.
Jackson asked Bukhenik if he was aware State Police opened the Ring app on O’Keefe’s phone after recovering the device. Bukhenik confirmed he was aware, though he said he wasn’t entirely sure who had done so. Jackson furnished a report from Proctor that mentioned investigators accessing the app.
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Under another line of questioning about wounds to O’Keefe’s right arm, Bukhenik clarified his earlier testimony about seeing a “series of cuts and bruises.” He said his remark about bruises actually referred to bruising on the back of O’Keefe’s right hand.
Jackson also grilled Bukhenik about Proctor’s initial 5:30 p.m. timestamp for the State Police seizure of Read’s SUV on Jan. 29, 2022. He noted investigators actually seized the vehicle more than an hour earlier, at 4:12 p.m.
“There’s a discrepancy in time,” Bukhenik acknowledged. He said investigators learned the correct timestamp after receiving surveillance footage from Read’s defense. Bukhenik also confirmed he did not know the footage existed when he first reviewed Proctor’s work.
‘That text message does not show honor’
Jurors’ heads snapped back and forth between Jackson and Bukhenik during a tense line of questioning over Proctor’s “no nudes” text.
“You certainly did nothing, you took no action to stop him from potentially looking for naked pictures of my client, correct?” Jackson asked.
“That’s correct,” Bukhenik replied.
Jackson asked if he stood by his testimony last week that Proctor investigated O’Keefe’s death with integrity. Bukhenik said he did, though he also told jurors he didn’t recall Proctor using the word “retarded” in the text message.
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“And you’ll agree that that is one of the most vile, and insensitive and incendiary terms one could use in modern society, ‘retarded.’ Correct?” Jackson asked.
“That is correct,” Bukhenik confirmed.
“Did you encourage that statement by Michael Proctor by ‘liking’ it with a thumbs up?” Jackson pressed.
“I don’t know if it encouraged him, so I cannot speak to that,” Bukhenik replied. He confirmed he took no remedial action against Proctor, his subordinate.
Judge Beverly Cannone sustained a series of objections from prosecutors as Jackson attempted to ask Bukhenik whether he believed Proctor’s text showed a misuse of power and authority by a State Police trooper.
“Let me ask it differently. Do you think his text was appropriate?” Jackson fired back.
Bukhenik initially said he didn’t remember reading Proctor’s text, ultimately conceding the message wasn’t appropriate or professional.
“Do you think it shows integrity?” Jackson prompted.
“That text message does not show integrity,” Bukhenik testified.
“Do you think it shows honor, a word I expect you hold dear?” Jackson asked.
“That text message does not show honor,” Bukhenik replied.
Higgins identified in Canton PD footage
Jurors also viewed surveillance footage from the Canton Police Department, and Jackson flagged video of a Jeep arriving in the station parking lot in the early hours of Jan. 29, 2022. He pointed out clips of an individual exiting the vehicle, crossing the parking lot, and walking through a hallway inside the station, and Bukhenik identified the man as witness Brian Higgins.
Higgins drank with Read, O’Keefe, and others the evening of Jan. 28 and attended the afterparty at 34 Fairview Road. A federal agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, he had a satellite office at the Canton police station and told jurors in Read’s first trial he stopped by after midnight on the 29th to move his work vehicles so snowplows could maneuver around them.
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Bukhenik testified that a 1:34 a.m. clip from the police station appeared to show Higgins holding something up to his face, adding, “It’s consistent with a cellular device, possibly a phone or a tablet.”
He later confirmed investigators did not seek access to Higgins’s phone, nor did Higgins volunteer to hand over the device. Answering a question from Jackson, Bukhenik said he has no personal knowledge of the phone’s status today.
Proctor and the Alberts
Jackson dug into Proctor’s personal ties with the Alberts elsewhere in his questioning, and Bukhenik recalled Proctor discussing his relationship with Chris and Julie Albert, the brother and sister-in-law of 34 Fairview Road homeowner Brian Albert.
Bukhenik testified that shortly before he and Proctor interviewed Chris and Julie Albert, Proctor disclosed he knew the family “from around town” and was friendly with them. Bukhenik said he questioned Proctor about the extent of the relationship, and Proctor told him he didn’t “hang out” with the Alberts and just happened to know them through mutual acquaintances.
Cannone sent jurors out of the courtroom shortly after 12:30 p.m., allowing Jackson to grill Bukhenik about what he knew of Proctor’s relationship with the Alberts, and when he knew it.
Jackson highlighted texts in which Proctor discussed having Julie Albert babysit for him 10 days before O’Keefe was killed. Jackson also noted Proctor’s sister texted the ex-trooper a few days after O’Keefe’s death to tell him Julie Albert wanted to give Proctor a thank-you gift “when all this is over.”
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Bukhenik said he wasn’t aware of the texts in question. He said Proctor indicated he felt comfortable interviewing Chris and Julie Albert, and they conducted the interview “without issue.”
After that initial conversation, Bukhenik confirmed he took no further steps to investigate Proctor’s relationship with the Alberts. Once Proctor indicated he was comfortable conducting the interview, Bukhenik said, “we moved on.”
Cannone ultimately decided against allowing Jackson to pursue that line of questioning in front of jurors.
Livestream via NBC10 Boston.
Karen Read’s murder retrial enters its fourth week of testimony Monday with Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik still on the stand.
Jurors heard two full days of testimony last week from Bukhenik, who defended the State Police investigation into the death of Read’s boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.
“The investigation was done with honor, integrity, and all the evidence pointed in one direction and one direction only,” Bukhenik maintained, even as defense attorney Alan Jackson hammered him with questions about former Trooper Michael Proctor, whose vulgar texts about Read cast a pall over the case.
More on Karen Read:
Read, 45, is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence, and leaving the scene of a fatal collision. Prosecutors say she rammed O’Keefe with her SUV in a drunken rage while dropping him off at a house party in Canton after midnight on Jan. 29, 2022.
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However, Read’s lawyers allege she was framed in a vast law enforcement conspiracy to protect the family and friends of homeowner Brian Albert, a fellow Boston police officer. They contend O’Keefe was attacked inside the house, alleging Proctor helped orchestrate a coverup.
Bukhenik testified Thursday Read’s SUV was missing a large piece of red plastic from one of its taillights as he and Proctor first laid eyes on it outside her parents’ home in Dighton just hours after O’Keefe died. He also told jurors he never saw Proctor touch the SUV after it arrived in the Canton Police Department’s sallyport garage that evening.
Returning to the stand Friday, Bukhenik read through Read’s flirty texts with another man, witness Brian Higgins. In the weeks leading up to O’Keefe’s death, Read and Higgins texted about sharing a kiss and expressed mutual attraction.
“My opinion is that it’s an angry girlfriend trying to set up a hookup to hurt John,” Bukhenik said of Read’s intentions. He suggested Read was “trying to get revenge” on O’Keefe following an incident weeks prior when Read accused her boyfriend of cheating on her during a trip to Aruba.
Read’s lawyers have sought to implicate Higgins in their third-party culprit defense, suggesting his flirtation with Read may have given him motive to harm O’Keefe. Noting the lack of messages between Read and Higgins from Jan. 23 to Jan. 28, 2022, Jackson asked Bukhenik Friday, “Would you describe Ms. Read’s side of the conversation as having ‘ghosted’ Mr. Higgins?”
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“One could read into that in that manner, yeah,” Bukhenik acknowledged.
Jackson also grilled Bukhenik about the documentation and chain of custody for evidence found outside Albert’s home at 34 Fairview Road. He noted some reports in Read’s case hadn’t been recorded until hundreds of days after the events they were intended to memorialize.
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