3 years after John O'Keefe's death, Karen Read murder trial still center stage
CANTON - It's now been three years since Boston police officer John O'Keefe's body was found in a snowy front yard at 34 Fairview Road in Canton, Massachusetts. His girlfriend at the time, Karen Read, will face her second trial in the case later this year.
Read is accused of running over O'Keefe with her SUV on January 29, 2022.
O'Keefe, 46, is remembered as a generous man, loved by all, according to his family and friends.
"It has been 3 years since Johnny was senselessly taken from us," the O'Keefe family said in a statement to WBZ-TV. "The void in our lives grows with each passing day, week, month and year. His absence is profound and we will continue to seek justice for him. He is always in our hearts."
O'Keefe was the legal caretaker of his teenage niece and nephew, who lost both of their parents when O'Keefe's sister, Kristen, died in 2013 from brain cancer, and her husband died shortly after from a heart attack.
What happened the night John O'Keefe died?
It's uncontested that O'Keefe was out drinking with some friends at C.F. McCarthy's in Canton on the night of January 28, 2022. Read met up with him there.
The couple later joined other friends at the Waterfall Bar & Grille in Canton. Shortly after midnight, the group left to attend an after party at 34 Fairview Road, the home of fellow Boston police officer Brian Albert. O'Keefe was in the passenger seat of Read's Lexus as she drove to the house.
What follows has been hotly debated among lawyers, police, and the community for three years.
According to prosecutors with the Norfolk County District Attorney's office, O'Keefe and Read fought. O'Keefe got out of the car, but never made it into the house, as they allege Read drunkenly and angrily put her car in reverse, drove backwards 62 feet at 24 miles per hour, and hit O'Keefe.
Read's legal team says O'Keefe went into the house, was attacked by a number of men at the after party, and his body was later dumped on the front lawn - the first step in an elaborate cover up to frame Read, they allege. Read's criminal trial exposed inappropriate text messages from a state trooper, as well as flaws in the investigation into O'Keefe's death.
Karen Read and two witnesses in the case discovered O'Keefe's body on the front lawn at Fairview Road shortly after 6 a.m. on January 29, 2022. The medical examiner testified that he died from a combination of blunt force trauma to the head and hypothermia.
What's the latest in the John O'Keefe case?
Karen Read's first trial - in which she was tried for murder, among other things - ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury on July 1. The trial lasted ten weeks, and had more than seventy witnesses.
Read is scheduled to be retried on April 1, 2025.
Read's team has moved to dismiss two of her charges, due to post-trial interviews with jurors who confirmed that the jury unanimously agreed to acquit Read on two charges, but never reported the vote to the judge. That issue is currently being decided by the highest court in Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court.
In addition, Read is facing a civil wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of John O'Keefe. Hearings on the suit have been delayed until after her criminal trial ends.
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San Francisco Chronicle
10 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Karen Read found not guilty of second-degree murder, guilty of drunken driving in boyfriend's death
DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — A jury found Karen Read not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges Wednesday in the 2022 death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, a case that attracted legions of true crime followers who erupted in cheers when word of the acquittal spread outside court. The same jury also found her guilty of a lesser charge of drunken driving after deliberating for at least 22 hours since June 13. Cheers from the crowd outside could be heard in the courtroom as the verdict was read. With gleeful supporters, Read departed the courthouse with her attorneys and family. It was a huge victory for Read's lawyers, who have long asserted that she was framed by police after dropping John O'Keefe off at a party at the home of a fellow officer. Prosecutors argued that the 45-year-old Read hit O'Keefe, 46, with her SUV before driving away, but the defense maintained that he was killed inside the home and later dragged outside. 'No one has fought harder for justice for John O'Keefe than I have,' Read said. Members of O'Keefe's family left the courtroom with bowed heads. Prosecutors did not speak to reporters outside. The verdict came nearly a year after a separate jury deadlocked over Read's involvement in the January 2022 death of John O'Keefe and resulted in a mistrial. Read faced charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene outside Boston. A second-degree murder conviction would have carried a life sentence. She will face a year of probation for the drunken driving conviction. Read's father, Bill Read, told reporters outside the courthouse that he felt relief and gave 'tremendous thanks' to God when the verdict was read. 'We need to get our life back together, and we will,' he said. Asked why he thought the second trial's outcome was different, he said, 'Another year of information circulating in the public, and people are aware of what's happened.' Some witnesses see miscarriage of justice Several witnesses in the case said in a statement Wednesday that their 'hearts are with John and the entire O'Keefe family.' Those who signed the statement included Jennifer McCabe, who was with Read and O'Keefe the night of his death, and Brian Albert, who owned the home where the party took place. 'While we may have more to say in the future, today we mourn with John's family and lament the cruel reality that this prosecution was infected by lies and conspiracy theories spread by Karen Read, her defense team, and some in the media. The result is a devastating miscarriage of justice,' the statement said. Jubilation among Read's supporters Outside the court, Read supporters celebrated in an atmosphere similar to sports fans reveling in a team's championship, complete with pink confetti. T.D. Floras of Nashua, New Hampshire, stood next to the barrier facing the courthouse holding Lucy, her chorkie, a cross between a Chihuahua and a Yorkie. The dog wore a sign around its neck that read 'Free Karen.' Floras said she was 'beyond thrilled and excited' about the outcome. 'I would do that OUI probation for her myself,' she said. 'It's been a long time coming, so let's put this behind her now so she can have some peace in her life.' The trial Much like during the first trial, attorneys spent months presenting their case, featuring hundreds of pieces of evidence and dozens of witnesses. Read's defense said O'Keefe was beaten, bitten by a dog and left outside a home in the Boston suburb of Canton, in a conspiracy orchestrated by police that included planting evidence. Prosecutors have described Read as a scorned lover who chose to leave O'Keefe dying in the snow after striking him with her SUV. Shira Diner, a lecturer at the Boston University Law School, said the verdict 'gives us an opportunity to reflect how this case would have been different if Karen Read was not a white woman of privilege and means.' 'The criminal legal system is full of inequities, and the fact the defendant in this case was able to post bail and wasn't held in custody while the case was pending made a huge difference,' Diner said. 'She was able to work directly with her lawyers in a way that people can't from behind bars. She was able to give interviews and craft a public narrative that a person without means would be unable to do. All of that work helped contribute to the verdict, and that is a privilege that most people charged with second-degree murder do not have.' Daniel Medwed, a law professor at Northeastern University, said it was a mercy or compromise verdict, in which jurors opt for acquittal on the most serious charges but convict on lesser offense when they have doubts about the case but want to hold the person accountable. 'Here the evidence — including the defendant's own admissions — made it clear that she drove while intoxicated, and therefore OUI was a natural place for the jury to land,' Medwed said. Blogger and Read champion 'overcome with emotion' A blogger who has championed Read's innocence and has been charged with witness intimidation in connection with her case, told AP he was 'overcome with emotion' after the verdict. 'Two and a half years of this. It's finally over. Karen Read's free,' Aidan Kearney said. 'Everything I did was worth it, and we finally have justice. We finally put this nightmare behind us.' The state's case was led by special prosecutor Hank Brennan, who called fewer witnesses than prosecutor Adam Lally, who ran the first trial against Read. Describing O'Keefe as a 'good man' who 'helped people,' Brennan told jurors during closing arguments that O'Keefe needed help that night and the only person who could provide it was Read. 'She was drunk. She hit him and she left him to die,' he said. The defense rejected the idea that there was ever a collision at all and called expert witnesses who agreed. 'There is no evidence that John was hit by a car. None. This case should be over right now, done, because there was no collision,' attorney Alan Jackson said during closing.
Boston Globe
11 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Jury acquits Karen Read on all major charges in John O'Keefe's death, finds her guilty of OUI
Read and her attorneys emerged from the Norfolk Superior Courthouse where they met by throngs of her cheering supporters. Read thanked the pink-clad crowd for backing her 'for almost four years.' 'And the second thing I want to say, is no one has fought harder for justice for John O'Keefe than I have,' Read said. 'Than I have and my team. Thank you.' Advertisement The Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey's office said it had no comment on the Read verdict. O'Keefe's family could not immediately be reached for comment. Sean Coyle, a retired Boston firefighter and friend of O'Keefe, said he felt heartbroken for O'Keefe's mother, Peggy, and 'all she's been through.' 'Three and a half years later and I just miss my friend,' Coyle said in a text message after the verdict came out. 'He was the best guy I ever knew and this life just is not the same without him.' Advertisement Outside the courthouse after the verdict, Read attorney Alan Jackson told reporters that he felt 'like a million dollars' and said Read's acquittal marked 'the greatest moment I've ever had as a professional.' 'I feel like an innocent woman was just exonerated and vindicated,' he said. Read's brother, Nathan Read, told reporters that his family is also thinking of the O'Keefe family and that they are 'sorry for their loss.' 'We've always felt that way,' he said. 'John was a good man. I knew John and we cared about him very much.' A civil lawsuit brought by O'Keefe's family against Read and the two Canton bars they visited in the hours before his death is pending in Plymouth County. It was the second time Read, 45, faced trial on charges that she killed O'Keefe after dropping him off at the Fairview Road home of a fellow Boston police officer early on Jan. 29, 2022. Her first trial ended with a hung jury last year, and the district attorney's office vowed to try her again. While prosecutors alleged that Read backed her SUV into O'Keefe and left him to die in the snow, her defense attorney's presented a different account. They alleged that O'Keefe went into the home, owned at the time by Brian Albert, a now-retired Boston police officer, who was hosting an after-party following a night of drinking with friends at two local bars in Canton. Read's defense argued that O'Keefe was fatally beaten inside the home and possibly mauled by the family's German Shepherd before his body was placed on the front lawn. Advertisement Among those who were with Read, O'Keefe, and the others at the bar and was later at the Fairview Road after-party was ATF agent Brian Higgins, who the defense said had a romantic interest in Read and may have wanted to harm O'Keefe. One piece of evidence that raised some suspicions about the law enforcement account of O'Keefe's death came from a Google search by Jennifer McCabe, Albert's sister-in-law who was at the after-party and later joined Read in her search for O'Keefe, who they eventually found outside the house. Data on McCabe's phone showed a search for 'hos [sic] to die in cold' with a timestamp of 2:27 a.m., several hours before O'Keefe's body was found. She testified that she did the search on an old tab at 6:20 a.m. at Read's request. After the verdict Wednesday, McCabe, Albert, and several other key witnesses who testified at one or both of Read's trial said her acquittal was 'a devastating miscarriage of justice.' 'Today, our hearts are with John and the entire O'Keefe family,' said the statement, attributed to Jennifer McCabe, Matt McCabe, Chris Albert, Julie Albert, Nicole Albert, Brian Albert, Kerry Roberts and Curt Roberts. 'They have suffered through so much and deserved better from our justice system,' the witnesses said. 'While we may have more to say in the future, today we mourn with John's family and lament the cruel reality that this prosecution was infected by lies and conspiracy theories spread by Karen Read, her defense team, and some in the media.' A former financial analyst and adjunct professor, Read was Advertisement Read hired Massachusetts defense attorney David Yanetti to represent her, and later in September 2022 Alan Jackson, a high-profile attorney from California who had represented the actor Kevin Spacey, Meanwhile, Read also found support from a Massachusetts blogger, Aidan Kearney, known widely as Turtleboy, who gained wide notoriety for writing extensive coverage of her case on his website and social media, championing her innocence. Kearney has since faced multiple criminal charges relating to his activity on the Read case, including accusations of intimidating witnesses. Some of those charges have been dismissed while others remain pending. He was recently found Read's first trial ended with a deadlocked jury last summer. But in the weeks after Judge Beverly J. Cannone declared a mistrial, some jurors came forward to Read's attorneys and the media to say they had agreed to acquit her on the murder and leaving the scene charges but were divided on the manslaughter charge. In the months between the end of Read's first trial and the beginning of her second, she participated in several media interviews, many of which were shown during the second trial. Jurors in the second trial heard much of the same testimony that the jury in the first trial had, but they did not hear from the State Police investigator who led the initial probe into O'Keefe's death. Advertisement That investigator, Trooper Michael Proctor, was forced during the first trial to read aloud a series of crude and misogynistic text messages he sent to friends and colleagues about Read, including some messages that Read's defense argued were clear evidence that the investigation was biased against her. Proctor was later fired by the State Police and was not called to testify in the second trial. As the case gained wider public attention, it also proved to be widely divisive, with many followers staking their side on whether they believed Read was guilty or innocent. The division was especially felt locally in the town of Canton, where Chris Albert formerly served on the select board and faced months of verbal attacks from Read supporters during public meetings. In a statement after the verdict was announced Wednesday, Canton Select Board Chair John McCourt said the Canton community 'has been deeply affected' by case that brought 'intense public interest, scrutiny and speculation for three years.' 'Today's outcome may bring a sense of relief to some and continue to raise questions for others,' McCourt said. 'We encourage members of the community to move forward together, treating one another with respect through civil, constructive dialogue.' Outside the courthouse, Read's supporters cheered and blew air horns and shot confetti in the air as some cried and embraced each other. Ron Cecchini, 57 of Milton, said he was driving with his son to the courthouse when he heard the crowds cheering from down the street. 'I was banging the steering wheel while driving,' he said. Caitlin McReynolds 40, wore silver cowboy boots and spun a pink American flag on the steps of the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, across the street from the courthouse. Advertisement 'Freedom rang today,' she said. 'A little bit too late, but it's here.' Travis Andersen can be reached at
New York Post
11 hours ago
- New York Post
What's that hand signal Karen Read supporters kept flashing at court?
Karen Read's throngs of well-wishers have adopted a special, silent hand gesture to show their support for the Massachusetts woman who had been charged with the murder of her Boston cop boyfriend. And it's got a pretty simple explanation. The gesture is just the American Sign Language sign for 'I love you,' which Read's attorneys begged her pink-clad supporters to use instead of cheers and chants as they welcomed her in and out of the courthouse. 3 Karen Read flashes the 'I love you' sign near her legal team outside the courthouse. David McGlynn 3 Read's supporters (pictured) took to wearing pink and using the 'I love you' sign in place of cheers. David McGlynn 3 Woman holding a sign with 'I love you' hand gesture from American Sign Language. AP Read was acquitted on Wednesday of her second-degree murder charge after she was accused of leaving sweetheart John O'Keefe to die in a 2022 snowstorm after hitting him with her car outside a suburban Boston house party. She left the courtroom with a mere dunk driving conviction – much to the delight of the crowd, who celebrated with the 'I love you' sign. Read and her attorneys, who had begged her rowdy supporters to mind their Ps and Qs while the court was in session, flashed 'I love you' right back. Read's father William Read discussed his daughter's massive following, which she garnered as the twisty New England crime drama unfolded.'All of these folks here, hundreds and hundreds of supporters. It's all about fighting back. It's about the corruption that has put us in this position,' CBS quoted William Read as saying.
