Live updates: Opening statements set to begin in Karen Read retrial

Associated Press

22-04-2025

Opening statements are set to begin Tuesday in Karen Read's second murder trial over the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend.
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Supporters of Read are outside the courthouse
Content: A few dozen supporters of Karen Read — many holding American flags, some holding signs of support for her — stood in front of the courthouse before moving a block away to comply with a court-ordered buffer zone.
The crowd was much smaller than during the first trial, when dozens created a circus-like atmosphere outside the courthouse.
Ashlyn Wade, a Read supporter from Canton, where O'Keefe was killed, said, 'I'm here for justice. The murderer going to jail and Karen being exonerated — that would be justice.'
The vibe among supporters was like a reunion, with people hugging one another and calling out their names.
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Lead investigator who sent sexist and crude texts about Read was fired in March
Content: The lead investigator in the case was fired in March after a disciplinary board found that he had sent sexist and crude texts about her to his family and colleagues.
After Read's trial ended in a mistrial, Massachusetts State Police launched an internal affairs investigation into State Trooper Michael Proctor. The department then suspended him without pay. That investigation culminated with Superintendent Col. Geoffrey Noble accepting the trial board's recommendation.
The State Police Trial Board found Proctor guilty of sending 'derogatory, defamatory and disparaging and/or inappropriate text messages' about Read while leading the investigation into her. He was also found guilty of providing sensitive and confidential information about the case to people outside of law enforcement and consuming alcohol while on duty.
It recommended that he be fired.
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The second trial will likely look similar to the first
Content: It will be held in the same courthouse before the same judge, and dozens of Read's passionate supporters are again expected to rally outside. The charges, primary defense lawyers and many of the nearly 200 witnesses will also be the same.
The biggest difference will be the lead prosecutor, Hank Brennan. A former prosecutor and defense attorney who was brought in as a special prosecutor after the mistrial, Brennan has represented several prominent clients, including notorious Boston gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger, and experts think he might be more forceful than Lally was in arguing the case.
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The defense's double jeopardy argument failed
Content: Soon after the mistrial, Read's lawyers set out to get the main charges dropped.
They argued Judge Cannone declared a mistrial without polling the jurors to confirm their conclusions. Defense attorney Martin Weinberg said five jurors indicated after the trial that they were only deadlocked on the manslaughter count and had unanimously agreed that she wasn't guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene, but that they hadn't told the judge.
The defense said that because jurors had agreed Read wasn't guilty of murder and leaving the scene, retrying her on those counts would amount to double jeopardy. But Cannone rejected that argument, as did the state's highest court, a federal court judge, and an appeals court.
Prosecutors had urged Cannone to dismiss the double jeopardy claim, saying it amounted to 'hearsay, conjecture and legally inappropriate reliance as to the substance of jury deliberations.' Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally argued that the jurors never indicated they had reached a verdict on any of the charges, were given clear instructions on how to reach a verdict, and that the defense had ample opportunity to object to the mistrial declaration.
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A rocky relationship turns deadly
Content: Read, who worked as a financial analyst and as a Bentley College adjunct professor before she was charged, faces second-degree murder and other charges.
After a night out drinking, prosecutors say Read, who is 45, dropped off O'Keefe at the house party just after midnight. As she made a three-point turn, prosecutors say, she struck O'Keefe before driving away. She returned hours later to find him in a snowbank.
As they did at the first trial, prosecutors will try to convince jurors that Read's actions were intentional. They are expected to call witnesses who will describe how the couple's relationship had begun to sour before O'Keefe's death. Among them will be his brother, who testified during the first trial that the couple regularly argued over such matters as what Read fed O'Keefe's children, and that he witnessed a 2021 fight the couple had in Cape Cod over how his brother treated her. The brother's wife testified that Read told her the couple had argued in Aruba after she caught O'Keefe kissing another woman.
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What to know about this trial
Content: The retrial of Karen Read over the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend starts Tuesday, after the jury was selected last week.
Read is accused of striking John O'Keefe with her SUV in 2022 and leaving him to die alone in the snow outside of a house party in the town of Canton, a suburb about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Boston. She has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene.
After the trial, several jurors came forward to say the group was unanimous in finding Read not guilty of the most serious charge, second-degree murder, and a lesser charge. Despite attempts by Read's lawyers to get those charges dismissed, she will face the same counts as she did at her first trial. They also failed to have the entire case tossed, arguing governmental misconduct.
Read's attorneys had filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court for a delay in the trial, contending that trying her again on second-degree murder and leaving the scene would amount to double jeopardy. The high court denied the delay and is expected to consider her appeal April 25.
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