A U.S. Senate subcommittee chaired by Sen. Ed Markey will hold a field hearing next month in Boston to drill down on how for-profit health care companies affect access to care, and Markey has invited Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre to testif…
Massachusetts
Lead detective in Karen Read murder case under investigation
A trooper who handled key evidence and witnesses in the murder case against Karen Read is now the subject of an internal investigation by Massachusetts State Police.
State police confirmed Wednesday that Michael Proctor is being investigated for a potential violation of department policy but they would not comment on what caused them to probe one of their own.
Proctor was one of the investigators in the case against Read, who is charged with second-degree murder in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, in Canton.
Prosecutors allege that Read hit O’Keefe with her SUV and left him to die, while Read’s defense attorneys have long claimed she is being framed in a wide-ranging coverup.
It wasn’t immediately clear if this internal investigation could have any bearing on the Read case, but it did come to light just one day after a bombshell hearing in Read’s murder trial in which her defense attorney alleged Proctor never fully disclosed his personal relationship with multiple people involved in the case. This includes the Albert family, who lived at the home on the property where O’Keefe’s body was found.
Texts allegedly show the Alberts offered to send Proctor a thank you gift “when this is all over,” and just days prior to O’Keefe’s death, Proctor had allegedly asked the Alberts to babysit his child.
“So now we have the lead investigator from Massachusetts State Police literally discussing the exchange of gifts between the Albert family on one hand, and the Proctor family on the other hand, as a thank you — their words — for helping the Alberts out of a jam,” Alan Jackson, one of Read’s defense attorneys, said in court Tuesday.
We’re told Proctor remains on full duty while this internal investigation unfolds.
The State Police Association of Massachusetts has declined to comment on the investigation into Proctor.
NBC10 Boston reached out to Read’s attorneys Wednesday, but did not immediately hear back.
Read’s trial is set to begin April 16. The start was delayed on Feb. 26 after federal investigators released thousands of pages of new evidence.
Should pregnant women have handicap parking? A Boston city councilor thinks so
There’s a new proposal coming from Boston City Hall that would extend handicap parking placards to a new group — pregnant women.
City Councilor John Fitzgerald, a father of three, issued the proposal.
“When pregnant and having debili…
Fallout growing in Milton over attorney general’s MBTA zoning lawsuit against town
The fallout is growing in Milton, Massachusetts, after its residents voted against implementing a controversial housing law last month, prompting the state’s attorney general to sue the town.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell is looking to get…
Woman airlifted after Medfield crash
An SUV and a truck collided Wednesday afternoon in Medfield, Massachusetts.
The crash happened at the busy intersection of West Street and North Meadows Road, near the Goddard School. It was caught on surveillance camera.
School owner Tshering G…
Salisbury Beach residents seek help from state to combat erosion
Residents of Salisbury, Massachusetts, are calling for help to protect their beachfront homes.
Coastal erosion has taken its toll on Salisbury Beach. Residents spent $600,000 out of pocket and trucked in 15,000 tons of sand for protective dunes last week, only for half of the sand to wash away in Sunday’s storm.
A meeting was scheduled Wednesday afternoon. At the last minute, the in-person meeting moved online — a move State Sen. Bruce Tarr said was made to accommodate a spike in interest.
The Republican lawmaker said these meetings usually have about 10 people, while more than 150 joined Wednesday — some from as far away as Portugal.
Residents said at the meeting that they want help from the state, and that they can’t afford to continue spending thousands of dollars each time there’s a storm.
The state says it is continuing to work with Salisbury residents.
“As homeowners, I mean, we are kind of spitting into the wind here,” Joe Rossitto, who lives on Salisbury Beach, told NBC10 Boston Tuesday.
“If we didn’t build this, these dunes, our properties would have gotten damaged,” added resident Tom Saab.
Saab and Rossitto say it isn’t as easy as moving, either. In both cases, their oceanfront homes have been in their families for generations.
“You just don’t walk away from that, you know what I mean?” Rossitto said.
“Sacrificial sand buys time, but it does not buy permanence,” Tarr said Tuesday. “Obviously, this has been a very difficult year, we haven’t been able to stay ahead of it, but we need to continue to work together and use the tools that are available.”
