Latest news with #JohnOKeefe
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Karen Read Asks Judge to Order Return of Lexus and Phones After Acquittal in Officer's Death
More than a month after her acquittal in the death of John O'Keefe, Read is asking a judge to force prosecutors to return her SUV and cell phones still held in TO KNOW Karen Read is asking a judge to order the return of her seized Lexus and phones Her attorneys say prosecutors ignored earlier requests to give them back The property was taken during the investigation into John O'Keefe's 2022 deathKaren Read is asking a judge to order prosecutors to return her 2021 Lexus SUV and cell phones, more than a month after she was acquitted of murder in the 2022 death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe. In a motion filed in Norfolk County Superior Court this week and obtained by PEOPLE, Read's defense team says they contacted Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally in late June to request the return of the seized property. After receiving no response, they are now asking the court to intervene. "Counsel attempted to negotiate the return of the listed property with ADA Adam Lally in late June, as property is in the possession, custody and control of the Massachusetts State Police and has not heard back," reads the motion. Read's attorney, Steve Boozang, told Boston 25 News the delay in returning the property is 'bewildering,' noting that her team had hoped to avoid further court action but felt they had no choice.'They returned no bill, meaning there was no evidence whatsoever that Karen Read or Aidan Kearney had committed any crimes,' Boozang told the outlet. 'When I didn't hear back after a month, it was time to... file a motion and let a judge order the items to be returned.' The Lexus LX 570 — valued at around $60,000 — was taken as part of the investigation after O'Keefe was found unresponsive in a snowbank outside the Canton, Mass., home of a fellow officer in January 2022. Prosecutors had alleged Read backed into O'Keefe with the SUV while intoxicated and left him to die. In June, a jury acquitted Read of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal crash. She was convicted only of operating under the influence and sentenced to one year of probation. The high-profile case drew national attention and sparked protests from Read's supporters, who accused law enforcement of framing her and mishandling the investigation. A hearing on the motion has not yet been scheduled. The Norfolk County District Attorney's office has not publicly responded to the filing. Read the original article on People
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Now the murder trial of her boyfriend is over, Karen Read wants her car back
Karen Read, recently acquitted of killing her boyfriend John O'Keefe, is seeking the return of her Lexus SUV and cellphone from prosecutors. Both items were seized by investigators during the murder inquiry and were central to the prosecution's case against her. Prosecutors alleged Read struck O'Keefe with her Lexus, using forensic evidence from the vehicle and digital data to support their theory. Read was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter charges last month, though she was convicted of a lesser charge of operating under the influence. Her defence team claims they attempted to negotiate the return of the property after her acquittal but received no response, prompting the motion filed in court.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Karen Read was acquitted of murder charges in June. What she's asking the state to return
Following her acquittal on murder and other charges, Karen Read is asking a judge to force prosecutors to return her Lexus SUV and cellphone. Steven C. Boozang, an attorney for Read, filed the motion Monday in Norfolk Superior Court seeking return of the 2021 Lexus LX 570 and her personal cellphone. The Massachusetts State Police have possession of the property, Boozang said. Read, 45, on June 18, was acquitted by a jury of killing her boyfriend, Braintree native and Boston police officer John O'Keefe, by backing into him with her SUV outside a Canton home in January 2022 and leaving him to die in a snowstorm following a night of drinking. The jury found her guilty of operating under the influence. She was sentenced to a year of probation and a class. Read's defense team argued that the police and other parties colluded to frame Read for his murder. Boozang wrote in the filing that Read's lawyers 'attempted to negotiate the return of the listed property with ADA Adam Lally in late June" and they have not heard back from him. This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Karen Read is asking for the return of her Lexus SUV and cellphone
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Why Karen Read may not be off the hook for the death of her cop ex–boyfriend
Karen Read may have escaped murder charges over her boyfriend's highly publicized death, but her legal saga is far from over, as her legal team fights a civil suit filed by the family of the deceased. 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.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Yahoo
Karen Read grand juror to plead guilty to leaking details about federal investigation
Karen Read grand juror to plead guilty to leaking details about federal investigation A Massachusetts woman who served as a grand juror in the federal investigation into the Karen Read murder case is expected to plead guilty to criminal contempt on Tuesday. Jessica Leslie, 34, of Dracut, admitted to leaking information presented to a federal grand jury to unauthorized individuals, including the names of various witnesses, when she was charged in federal court in Boston earlier this month. Federal prosecutors alleged that the leaks occurred between August 2022 and March 2024. Leslie's attorneys were able to reach a plea agreement with federal prosecutors that will result in two years of supervised release. Read, who was under investigation in connection with the murder of her Boston police officer boyfriend, faced no federal charges. Last month, a Norfolk Superior Court jury acquitted her of murder and manslaughter in the death of John O'Keefe. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
