Why Karen Read may not be off the hook for the death of her cop ex–boyfriend
Read, 45, first stood trial last year for the death of her Boston cop boyfriend, John O'Keefe, but the trial ended in a hung jury.
She was finally acquitted of second–degree murder on June 18, 2025, over three years after O'Keefe's death, in January 2022.
However, Read still has a mountain of court dates ahead of her as she faces a civil suit from O'Keefe's family.
In late August – after Read's first trial, the brother, parents and niece of O'Keefe filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against her.
Their suit mostly echoes the prosecution's case – that Read drunkenly hit O'Keefe with her car, leaving him to die in the snow outside the Canton home of his fellow Boston police officer Brian Albert.
Prosecutors had argued Read was drinking with O'Keefe and a group of his friends when they were invited to an afterparty at Albert's home. Read had even admitted to having several alcoholic drinks beforehand, but said she decided to drop O'Keefe off at the afterparty before she returned to his house.
According to Read's version of events, she woke up at 4am to find that O'Keefe never returned home, leading her to frantically drive out to try and find him.
After finding O'Keefe's body outside the home – which party attendees claimed he never entered – first responders on the scene alleged that Read repeatedly told them she hit him while in a panicked state.
The prosecutors then argued that Read was a scorned lover who chose to leave O'Keefe dying in the snow, after striking him with her SUV.
O'Keefe's family – the plaintiffs – want at least $50,000 for what the lawsuit calls 'conscious pain and suffering, fear of impending death, wrongful death, lost value to next of kin, severe and profound emotional distress manifesting in bodily symptoms, and other compensable damages.'
The O'Keefes also sued the two Canton bars – C.F. McCarthy's and the Waterfall Bar and Grill – that Read and O'Keefe visited before his death, accusing them of overserving Read.
At Read's retrial, the jury convicted her of operating under the influence and she received a year of probation, but both bars have denied overserving her.
Civil suits have a lower legal standard, because the party bringing the lawsuit only needs to show that it is more likely than not (at least 51 percent probable) that their claims are true. For this reason, the outcome of Read's criminal retrial isn't necessarily indicative of how the O'Keefe family's case will turn out.
Read added three new lawyers to bolster her defense this month. The lawyers are Damon Seligson, Charles Waters and Aaron D. Rosenberg – who are all with the Boston–based law firm Sheehan Phinney. They join three other lawyers from the firm Melick & Porter, who were already representing Read in the case.
Her civil attorneys then filed a motion to dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit. The notice of Read's dismissal motion was filed in Plymouth Superior Court on July 9, according to legal filings. The next hearing is scheduled for September.
The O'Keefes also sued the two Canton bars – C.F. McCarthy's and the Waterfall Bar and Grill – that Read and O'Keefe visited before his death, accusing them of overserving Read (Pictured: Surveillance video from McCarthy's when Read arrived and is greeted by O'Keefe)
At Read's retrial, the jury convicted her of operating under the influence and she received a year of probation, but both bars have denied overserving her
Legal experts explained that, even though the O'Keefes only filed for 'at least $50,000' in damages, the family could be awarded a far higher sum.
The question comes down to who can pay it for both the bars and Read.
Although a jury can decide how much each defendant has to pay, if they don't have it, the family could be chasing it for years, especially with Read, who is a private citizen.
Read isn't only the involved party facing the ongoing ramifications of O'Keefe's death.
Michael Proctor – a former Massachusetts state trooper and lead investigator in O'Keefe's death who sent scandalous text messages about Read – was suspended a year ago and fired in March.
Now, the former state trooper is trying to get his job back. He insists his investigation was unbiased, and recently appeared before a state commission that hears appeals from fired public employees.
This appeal is set to continue in the coming weeks.
Another ongoing case revolves around Aidan Kearney, a blogger who also goes by Turtleboy.
Kearney began posting about the case in 2023, but he got too involved, according to prosecutors.
In 2023, a grand jury indicted him for allegedly intimidating and harassing witnesses in the case, including Proctor. Even more counts followed.
Another judge dismissed several of the counts, including the allegations related to Proctor, tut the rest of the case remains active.
Kearney is set to appear in court next month. He has pleaded not guilty.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
My boy was promised a new bike, then kidnapped – he was abused & thrown in the river by monster neighbour
WATCHING his son Jeffrey practicing his push-ups, Robert Curley couldn't help but smile. While Robert had split with Barbara, the mum of his three boys he lived just round the corner meaning he could see them every day. 8 8 8 'We were amicable and both focused on doing the best for our kids,' Robert, now 68, says. 'After we'd broken up, I'd moved just around the corner, so I was able to see them every day and keep a protective eye over them too.' But even with both of his parents furiously protective of their 10-year-old boy, nothing could be done to save Jeffrey from his appalling fate. On October 1st 1997, Jeffrey had been washing his grandmother's dog in Cambridge, Massachusetts when he was kidnapped by neighbours Salvatore Sicari and Charles Jaynes. The pair had lured the schoolboy into the car with the promise of a new bike before suffocating him, abusing him and then tossing his body into a nearby river. 'Although it's been 28 years since Jeffrey walked out of home and into the clutches of his killers, losing him never gets any easier,' his dad says. 'What our son went through in his last moments will haunt me forever.' Robert says that he had his suspicions of Sicari but could never have imagined what he was capable of. 'I noticed Salvatore, who I knew was a troublemaker and an oddball, hanging around a lot and I became worried,' he says. 'The last thing I wanted was for him to befriend my boys.' Lag chillingly said 'that's for Sarah Payne' after knifing her evil killer in bloodbath 'revenge attack' in prison cell Robert asked his other son Bob whether he and Sicari were friends. 'He told me they weren't but explained that he and his friends had noticed Salvatore staring at them,' Robert says. 'It struck me as weird but I felt Bob had got the measure of him, so that eased my concerns slightly.' Then one afternoon, a couple of days later, Barbara rang Robert in a panic. Jeffrey was missing. 'It wasn't like Jeffrey to go somewhere without telling us and I instantly got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach,' Robert recalls. Barbara had called the police and by the time Robert reached her home detectives had arrived to take down details. Jeffrey had been visiting his grandmother nearby and had been washing her dog outside when he had disappeared. 8 8 8 Robert says: 'I picked up the phone and called every hospital nearby, just in case he'd been hurt and someone had taken him there. But no luck.' As night fell, there was still no sign of Jeffrey and the next morning family, friends and neighbours set a search party to help look for the 10-year-old. 'Among them was Sal, who approached me and said that he wanted to help,' Robert says. 'I was still wary of him and then he said something so odd it knocked me for six. 'He told me that people thought he and his best friend Charles were gay but that he liked girls. 'I couldn't figure out why he was bringing up his sexuality at a time like this 'However, I had bigger things to worry about as the search came to nothing.' Days passed with no news. Then a week after his disappearance the police arrived at Barbara's with a devastating blow. Officers informed the parents that Jeffrey had been found dead. His body had been found by police divers in a cement-filled container in the river. His little 10-year-old frame had no chance against the 17 stone brute Robert Curley They explained that the 10-year-old had been kidnapped by Salvatore Sicari and Charles Jaynes and they were being investigated on suspicion of murder. Robert says: 'I thought about Sal saying he wanted to help with the search just days earlier and felt completely sickened. 'Barbara couldn't bear to go, but I needed to see our boy one last time. 'As I looked down at him in the casket, I broke down. 'If he had any injuries, they were covered up, and he looked perfect. 'I vowed to make sure that his killers paid for what they had done to my boy. 'For the next year, we tried our best to get on with our lives, but it was like being in a nightmare.' In time, Salvatore Sicari, 21, appeared in court and denied kidnapping and murdering Jeffrey. During his trial, the court heard that after befriending the schoolboy, he and Charles Jaynes, 22, had then lured him into their car with the promise of a new bike. They then drove in the direction of the bike shop so as not to raise his suspicions. But after parking at the back of the shop Jaynes got into the back seat with Jeffrey, put his arm around him and held a petrol-soaked rag to his face until he suffocated. 'His little 10-year-old frame had no chance against the 17 stone brute,' Robert says. 'The vile duo had then put Jeffrey's body in the boot and driven him back to Jaynes' flat in Manchester, NH, where Sicari had abused him. 'After that, they'd put his body in the storage container and dumped it in the river.' Sicari's lawyer placed the blame with Jaynes, saying Sicari witnessed the killing and helped cover up the crime, but that didn't make him a killer. But on November 13 1998 he was found guilty and jailed for life without parole for first-degree murder, with a concurrent sentence of 19 to 20 years for kidnapping. 'We wept with relief,' remembers Robert. 'But months later, we had to go through it all again at Jaynes' trial.' Who are the UK's worst serial killers? THE UK's most prolific serial killer was actually a doctor. Here's a rundown of the worst offenders in the UK. British GP Harold Shipman is one of the most prolific serial killers in recorded history. He was found guilty of murdering 15 patients in 2000, but the Shipman Inquiry examined his crimes and identified 218 victims, 80 per cent of whom were elderly women. After his death Jonathan Balls was accused of poisoning at least 22 people between 1824 and 1845. Mary Ann Cotton is suspected of murdering up to 21 people, including husbands, lovers and children. She is Britain's most prolific female serial killer. Her crimes were committed between 1852 and 1872, and she was hanged in March 1873. Amelia Sach and Annie Walters became known as the Finchley Baby Farmers after killing at least 20 babies between 1900 and 1902. The pair became the first women to be hanged at Holloway Prison on February 3, 1903. William Burke and William Hare killed 16 people and sold their bodies. Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe was found guilty in 1981 of murdering 13 women and attempting to kill seven others between 1975 and 1980. Dennis Nilsen was caged for life in 1983 after murdering up to 15 men when he picked them up from the streets. He was found guilty of six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to life in jail. Fred West was found guilty of killing 12 but it's believed he was responsible for many more deaths. Janynes too denied murder and kidnapping, blaming Sicari. His lawyer claimed he was at most an accessory to murder, despite the police finding the football shirt Jeffrey had been wearing the day he disappeared in Jaynes' flat, along with a receipt for a storage container and concrete. On December 11 1998 the jury found Jaynes guilty of second-degree murder and kidnapping and he was jailed for life, with parole. 'We got 'em, I thought, remembering my vow to Jeffrey,' Robert says. 'But while I was glad justice had been done, our hearts were broken. 'While we tried to get on with our lives, Jeffrey was never far from our thoughts and the ache of loss never dimmed.' Then, 23 years after Jeffrey's murder, aged 44 Jaynes applied for parole and admitted publicly for the first time that he had kidnapped and murdered Jeffrey Curley to a parole board. 'He claimed Sicari had put him up to the idea of having sex with Jeffrey and then killing him,' Robert says. 'Together, they'd groomed Jeffrey. 'It broke my heart to hear Jaynes say that when our little boy had got into their car he'd told these monsters, 'You guys are my best friends.'' In his parole hearing Jaynes claimed he'd gone through with the murder to impress Sicari. He also added, 'I wanted to see if I could get away with it like on TV and the movies.' He told the parole board he had kept Jeffrey's shirt 'as something to remember him by'. 'Barbara and I went to the hearing to demand he be kept behind bars,' Robert says. 'His admissions didn't make what he'd done any less despicable and I told the board, 'The real Charles Jaynes is the devil. That's the devil right there.' 'Thankfully, his parole was denied.' Now, five years on, Jaynes has made another parole application, and Barbara and Robert are gearing up to oppose it once more. 'While I still have breath in my body, I will fight to keep the monster who took him from us behind bars,' says Robert. 'That's the promise I made my funny, cheeky, beautiful little boy, and I'm determined to keep it.' 8 8
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Massachusetts mayoral candidate goes viral over unfortunate name: 'I am proud of it'
A Massachusetts mayoral candidate who shares an incredibly similar name to notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein says he doesn't plan on changing it. Geoff Epstein, 77, is a father of two who is hoping to secure the votes of 73,000 residents in Framingham, 22 miles outside of Boston. Despite the slight spelling variation, he is candid about his name's unfortunate similarity to the other Epstein, a disgraced financier and sex offender who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. But Australian-born Geoff - who was also born on September 11 - insists that he won't change his name or when he celebrates his birthday. 'No way,' he told HuffPost. 'I like my name and I am proud of my family. 'That other one is a dead American and I am a [living] Aussie.' He insists he could not be further from his namesake and has spent his time in Framingham trying to make it a better place. 'I have lived my life trying to be straight up and improving things,' he told the outlet. Geoff Epstein, 77, is a father of two who is hoping to become mayor of Framingham, located 22 miles outside Boston He unfortunately shares a namesake in Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender who died in jail in 2019 And another Epstein, who is also a politician, encouraged Geoff to stay proud of roots. NYC councilman candidate Harvey Epstein - who shares a first name with predator Harvey Weinstein - told Politico: 'My advice to Geoffrey would be to lead with your values and who you are as a candidate. 'People will support you if you do the work and follow through.' Geoff was drawn into public service while living in Newton, Massachusetts, where his son was attending primary school and he noticed he was struggling with math. He later ran for the school committee on a science and math platform and won. He was a member from January 2008 to December 2013, his LinkedIn showed. 'I learned that if you go out to the community and tell them the facts and what you're about that really works,' he said in an interview posted to his YouTube. Epstein moved to Framingham in 2014 and joined the school committee in January 2018, despite his two children being grown. He left in December of 2021. Despite the awkward similarity, Geoff (left) - who was also born on September 11 - has no intention of changing his name or when he celebrates his birthday The father-of-two is hoping to upset incumbent Charlie Sisitsky (pictured) The senior then shifted his focus to the city of Framingham, which led to his campaign this year. He is running on a platform promoting education, bettering the infrastructure, protecting the environment, and better manage the city's finances. 'Either I leave or I stay and fight and I decided I would stay and fight,' he said. The father-of-two is hoping to upset incumbent Charlie Sisitsky. As for whether or not his name is helping or harming his campaign, he is unsure. 'No one locally cares about that at all,' the former theoretical physics professor told Politico. Daily Mail has reached out to Geoff for comment.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Shannon Sharpe makes first public appearance since ESPN firing as he presents brother with Hall of Fame jacket
Shannon Sharpe made his first public appearance since his ESPN firing on Friday night, as he helped induct his brother into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sharpe was axed by ESPN on Wednesday just weeks after he reached a settlement with his ex-girlfriend, who had accused him of raping her in a $50million lawsuit. Despite the settlement, ESPN relieved Sharpe, 57, of his duties almost two years since prizing him away from rivals Fox Sports. Sharpe later broke his silence and accused the network of ignoring his request to delay the announcement until next week - with the Hall of Fame induction looming. Though they did not honor his request, Sharpe appeared in good spirits as he was seen on stage with his brother Sterling on Friday evening. The axed ESPN analyst was seen putting the prestigious gold jacket on his brother Sterling as the duo became the first set of brothers to be in the Hall of Fame. More to follow...
