What Happened to John O'Keefe?

Karen Read told authorities that she and Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, her fellow of astir 2 years, were retired drinking with friends astatine C.F. McCarthy’s barroom successful Canton, Mass., connected the nighttime of Jan. 28, 2022, aft which they spent astir an hr astatine Waterfall Bar & Grille crossed the street. Read said that she dropped O’Keefe disconnected astatine the Canton location of Boston Police Det. Brian Albert shortly aft midnight and went backmost to O’Keefe’s house.

Prosecutors, however, alleged astatine Read’s Feb. 2, 2022, arraignment connected manslaughter charges that determination was grounds indicated she deed O’Keefe with her car earlier driving disconnected and near him lying determination successful frigid upwind conditions.

Read, a fiscal expert surviving successful adjacent Mansfield, has maintained that she returned to Albert’s location the pursuing greeting aft O’Keefe failed to travel location and she couldn’t scope him connected his phone. She called a mates of radical who were with her, Read said, erstwhile they recovered him lying successful the snowfall extracurricular the Albert residence astatine 6 a.m.

The 46-year-old bull had bloody cuts connected his close arm, his eyes were swollen unopen and his apparel were covered with humor and vomit, according to prosecutors. He was transported to Boston’s Good Samaritan Hospital, wherever helium was pronounced dormant aboriginal that morning.

A consequent autopsy recovered that O’Keefe had suffered aggregate skull fractures, arsenic good arsenic cuts to the backmost of his caput and nose. The coroner yet attributed his decease to hypothermia and blunt unit trauma. 

Karen Read Arrested for Manslaughter successful Death of John O'Keefe

Read was arrested Feb. 1, 2022, and charged with manslaughter, leaving the country of a centrifugal conveyance causing decease and centrifugal conveyance homicide.

Investigators located her 2021 achromatic Lexus SUV parked astatine her parents’ house, prosecutors said, and it had a shattered rear taillight and scratches connected the rear bumper.

Read pleaded not blameworthy Feb. 2 and was released from custody aft posting $50,000 bail.

Her lawyer David Yannetti said during her arraignment that a manslaughter complaint was “a tremendous reach” and denied immoderate transgression intent connected his client’s part. “This was not immoderate random stranger,” helium said, per NBC Boston. “This was my client’s boyfriend, idiosyncratic whom she loved.”

In a connection calling O’Keefe “a benignant person” who was “dedicated to his family,” the Boston Police Department said that “the idiosyncratic liable for John’s death” had been arrested.

What Did Karen Read Say After Finding John O’Keefe Dead?

Prosecutors said astatine her arraignment that 1 of the friends who went looking for O’Keefe with Read told constabulary that her pal had called her astatine 5 a.m. and said, “John’s dead. I wonderment if he’s dead. It’s snowing, helium got deed by a plow.”

Canton firefighter Lt. Anthony Flematti later testified during Read’s proceedings that she told him astatine the scene, “'I deed him, I deed him. Oh my God, I deed him.’”

Firefighter Katie McLaughlin testified that Read “seemed precise upset” and was “just visibly distraught,” and that she besides heard Read say, much than once, “I deed him.”

Read maintained astatine trial, however, that what she screamed astatine Flematti was, “Did I deed him? Could I person deed him?”

Another firefighter, Matthew Kelly, testified that helium lone remembered Read saying, “He’s dead, he’s [expletive] dead.”

Karen Read Is Charged With John O'Keefe's Murder

A expansive assemblage indicted Read connected a complaint of second-degree execution connected June 9, 2022.

Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally alleged during Read’s June 10 arraignment that she and O’Keefe “had been arguing for rather immoderate time” earlier helium died and, weeks earlier the nighttime successful question, helium had tried to interruption up with the defendant, and she refused to permission his location erstwhile asked. Lally said Read drunkenly backed into O’Keefe with her Lexus and near him to dice successful the snow.

Read posted an further $100,000 bail and aboriginal pleaded not blameworthy to murder.

Yannetti protested during the June 10 proceeding that Read had performed CPR connected O’Keefe successful an effort to revive him. Moreover, the lawyer alleged, the officer’s injuries were inconsistent with being deed by a car.

“He’s got scratch marks each up and down his limb that are wholly unexplained,” Yannetti said successful court. “He’s got 2 achromatic eyes, appears to person a breached nose. There’s thing other going connected here.”

Defense Makes Allegation That Karen Read Was Framed by Police successful John O'Keefe Murder

During a Sept. 22, 2022, tribunal appearance, Yannetti alleged that O’Keefe had been severely beaten astatine Albert’s location and the detective utilized his connections wrong the Canton Police Department and Massachusetts State Police to effort to cover up the information by framing his client.

Yannetti emphasized that Brian Albert’s member Kevin Albert was besides a detective with the Canton PD, and that Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, who headed up the Read investigation, was a adjacent household friend. (Brian, who retired from the unit with an wounded successful 2023, according to a household spokesman, denied that determination was immoderate carnal altercation involving O’Keefe astatine his location and his member and Proctor person denied immoderate wrongdoing regarding the investigation.)

Defense lawyer Alan Jackson said connected NBC’s Dateline in July 2023 that helium had “an guiltless client, period.”

O’Keefe “walked into an constituent of hostility successful that house,” Jackson said. “John O’Keefe got retired of a car, walked into the house, was sucker punched, fell, wounded himself, and past yet his assemblage was moved.”

Jackson, a erstwhile L.A. prosecutor, and Read co-counsel Elizabeth Little, some partners astatine Werksman Jackson & Quinn LLP, antecedently represented Kevin Spacey in a 2016 intersexual battle lawsuit connected Nantucket. The charges against the histrion were yet dropped.

District Attorney Michael Morrissey Fires Back Against Karen Read Defense Allegations

In a lengthy Aug. 25, 2023, video statement, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey denied that immoderate combat occurred wrong the Albert location connected the nighttime O’Keefe died. Eleven radical had fixed statements saying they did not spot the serviceman participate the house, helium said, and “zero people” said they saw spell inside. Data from O’Keefe’s telephone that was recovered nether his body, Morrissey said, “shows that his telephone did not participate that home.”

Accusing immoderate of the witnesses of execution was “outrageous,” the authoritative added. Moreover, helium said, Proctor had nary accidental to works grounds nor motive to bash so. (Read has said that she cracked her taillight pulling retired of the store to spell look for O’Keefe, but alleged it was smashed lone aft her conveyance was successful constabulary custody.) Proctor didn’t person a “close idiosyncratic relationship” with anyone progressive successful the investigation, Morrissey said, and “every proposition to the contrary is simply a lie.”

Prosecutor Lally argued against a defence question to get records of texts, calls and societal media connection betwixt Proctor’s woman and Brian Albert’s sister-in-law Jennifer McCabe, 1 of the radical with Read erstwhile O’Keefe’s assemblage was found. Lally said during a January 2024 tribunal hearing, “As the Commonwealth understands it, Trooper Proctor has a sister, who has a friend, who has a sister, who has a husband, who has a brother, who has a wife, who has a sister who is Jennifer McCabe.” 

Prosecutors, Defense Clash Over Google Search Timing successful Karen Read Trial

On April 12, 2023, defence lawyers Yannetti and Jackson stated that recently recovered compartment telephone information from McCabe’s telephone had provided grounds that “unequivocally exonerates Karen” due to the fact that it established that different radical “were alert that John was dying successful the snowfall earlier Karen adjacent knew helium was missing.”

McCabe Googled “Hos [sic] agelong to dice successful cold” astatine astir 2:30 a.m., the defence alleged successful an April 12 tribunal motion, per NBC Boston.

Prosecutors said successful a connection astatine the clip that it was yet to beryllium determined whether the defence had “interpreted the earthy information correctly,” noting that they had “repeatedly” asked the defence to supply “any really exculpatory grounds to enactment their claims.”

McCabe testified during Read’s execution proceedings that the suspect asked her to Google however agelong it took to dice successful the acold after they recovered O’Keefe. She said that she had researched thing other astatine 2:27 a.m., past utilized the aforesaid unfastened tab to punch successful the different search, and she denied deleting immoderate hunt past oregon numbers from her telephone log. “I ne'er would person near John O'Keefe retired successful the acold to die,” she said, “because helium was my person that I loved."

The prosecution called their ain integer forensics adept to the basal to backmost up their assertion that McCabe’s hunt was made astatine 6:23 a.m.

In a January 2025 tribunal filing, prosecutors looked to person the defense’s information adept barred from testifying again astatine the retrial, penning that his “opinions” had been “debunked." (The question was denied, clearing the adept to testify.)

Prosecutors Share DNA Evidence From Karen Read's Car

On Feb. 22, 2024, prosecutors filed a memorandum detailing transgression country probe results, including that O’Keefe’s DNA had been recovered from Read’s breached taillight and a tiny hairsbreadth of his was stuck to the rear rider broadside of her Lexus.

"Through hint investigation and forensic testing, the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory discovered the victim's DNA contiguous connected the breached taillight and microscopic pieces of reddish and wide evident integrative located successful the victim's clothing," prosecutors wrote successful the filing, per NBC Boston. "Comparison investigating was conducted, and the results show that the microscopic pieces of reddish and wide integrative are accordant with the breached pieces of integrative from the defendant's rear taillight."

At trial, the defence contended that the DNA grounds was planted, successful keeping with their wide statement that Read was framed, but that it besides could've gotten connected the conveyance different mode speech from it hitting O'Keefe.

"It was planted connected the vehicle. I mean, it was," Yannetti said extracurricular tribunal connected June 14 aft the prosecution's DNA experts testified, per CBS Boston. "You cognize the question is however did that magic hairsbreadth past a 30-mile thrust done a blizzard?" 

Prosecutors and instrumentality enforcement denied each accusations of planting oregon mishandling evidence.

Federal Prosecutors Investigate the Investigators successful Karen Read Murder Case

Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone postponed the commencement of Read’s proceedings from March 12 to April 16, 2024, aft national prosecutors—who were investigating however the O’Keefe enquiry was conducted successful airy of the defense’s cover-up accusation—released 3,000 pages of documents pertaining to the case.

The defence argued successful tribunal Feb. 26 that the papers dump contained exculpatory evidence, portion the prosecution countered that astir of the findings were accordant with anterior testimony. (The national probe concluded without immoderate charges being filed against instrumentality enforcement, peculiar authoritative Hank Brennan said during a March 4, 2025, motions hearing.)

In a abstracted question to person the lawsuit dismissed, the defence argued astatine a March 13, 2024, proceeding that the prosecution deceived the expansive assemblage that indicted Read due to the fact that the sheet had nary cognition of the idiosyncratic ties among the investigators and witnesses.

“A bulk of the witnesses who testified earlier the expansive jury” were called due to the fact that they allegedly saw what happened to O’Keefe, the defence stated successful tribunal documents unsealed weeks later, per NBC Boston. Rather, the filing continued, they were called to attest to “remote and irrelevant ‘bad character’” to prejudice the sheet against Read, “misleading the expansive jury, confusing the issues and wasting time.”

Assistant District Attorney Lally fired backmost during the proceeding that the defence was trying to play “three-card monte,” arsenic in, “’Look astatine this relationship, look astatine that relationship.’ The defence is obfuscating from the extended evidence. They don’t privation you to look astatine that. They privation you to look astatine who texted who when.”

Cannone denied the defense’s question March 26, paving the mode for the proceedings to statesman arsenic scheduled.

Karen Read Goes connected Trial for Murder of John O'Keefe

In his April 29, 2024, opening statement, Yannetti maintained that O’Keefe suffered fatal injuries from a beating and his lawsuit had been framed.

"You volition larn that astatine that address, lived a well-known and well-connected instrumentality enforcement household successful Canton—the Alberts,” Yannetti said. “Because the Alberts were involved, and due to the fact that they had adjacent connections to the investigators successful this case, Karen Read was framed for a execution she did not commit."

The prosecution countered that Read was a pistillate scorned and, aft drinking excessively much, she backed her car into O’Keefe and drove off, leaving him to die.

The lawsuit ended with a hung assemblage and Cannone declared a mistrial connected July 1.

Karen Read’s Defense Argues She Was Acquitted of John O'Keefe's Murder successful Bid to Dismiss Charge

In a July 2024 question to person the execution lawsuit against Read dismissed, reviewed by E! News, the defence argued that treble jeopardy applied due to the fact that 3 jurors from the archetypal proceedings had indicated to them “in nary uncertain terms”—through “unsolicited communications”—that they unanimously agreed she was not blameworthy of execution and leaving the country oregon a idiosyncratic wounded oregon death, and truthful the justice could person asked for a partial verdict successful the case.

The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled successful February 2025, however, that “posttrial accounts of jurors’ backstage deliberations” that were “inconsistent with their nationalist communications successful court” could not negate the mistrial ruling oregon represent an acquittal.

Karen Read Speaks Out About Her Murder Case

Though she felt “incredibly violated,” she was “not backing down now,” Read, who did not instrumentality the basal during her trial, told Vanity Fair last August.

“As scary arsenic a imaginable condemnation is,” she said, “I volition spell to jailhouse for thing I didn’t bash earlier I plea out. I volition ne'er springiness them that win.”

While she fell for O’Keefe rapidly aft helium reached retired to her connected Facebook successful the pandemic-plagued outpouring of 2020—16 years aft they archetypal met and dated for a fewer months—problems started to harvest up, Read said. During a New Year’s travel to Aruba with different couples, she said she saw caught him kissing different woman. (The pistillate successful question denied this connected the basal during Read’s trial.) And Read said she had exchanged flirty texts with a national cause O’Keefe knew, to assistance “emotionally validate” her astatine the time.

But, Read said, arsenic of January 2022 they were committed to caring for his orphaned niece and nephew unneurotic (O’Keefe was the superior guardian of his precocious sister’s kids, according to his family) and didn’t privation to interruption up their dynamic.

When she and O’Keefe went to the Alberts’ location aboriginal connected Jan. 29, 2022, aft being invited determination for much drinks, O’Keefe said he’d cheque retired the ambiance wrong earlier they decided to enactment oregon not, Read told Vanity Fair. When helium stopped responding to her texts, Read said, she “got pissed” and assumed helium was “screwing around” with an aged paramour who lived nearby. “I didn’t deliberation helium was physically incapacitated,” she said. Read said she waited astir 10 minutes earlier driving off, aft which she sent him much texts and near aggravated voicemails.

Still, Read wondered if she did hit O’Keefe with her car, she told VF, and recalled telling her parents she would “pay [her] dues” if she had done “anything successful immoderate way.”

O’Keefe’s household told the mag astatine the clip that they inactive believed she was liable for his death.

“Unlike astir radical accused of execution and sued for wrongful death, Karen Read has embraced her personage successful outsized ways,” said the family, whose civilian suit against Read has been stayed until her transgression lawsuit is resolved. “This intensive media run to power imaginable jurors compounds the O’Keefe family’s unspeakable nonaccomplishment portion delaying and denying her accountability.”

Lead Investigator successful Karen Read’s Case Is Fired

Massachusetts State Police Trooper Proctor admitted connected the witnesser basal during Read’s archetypal proceedings to utilizing misogynistic connection and making different disparaging remarks about Read successful substance messages to friends, household members and chap cops, immoderate of which the justice had him work aloud successful court. And successful effect to a substance asking whether the proprietor of the location O’Keefe was recovered would besides “receive immoderate s--t,” helium replied, “Nope. Homeowner’s a Boston bull too.”

Proctor apologized connected the stand, saying “emotions got the champion of me.” But, helium said, though his words were “unprofessional and regrettable,” they did not impact however helium conducted the investigation.

He was fired little than 2 weeks earlier Read’s retrial was acceptable to begin, according to a March 19, 2025, authorities constabulary unit bid reviewed by E! News.

He had been suspended past July, with the State Police Association President clarifying that Proctor was being disciplined for the connection successful his idiosyncratic texts, and not successful transportation with “salacious allegations of cover-ups, collusion oregon conspiracies offered by the defense.”

In effect to his termination, Proctor’s household told NBC News successful a connection that the proceedings board’s determination “lacks precedent, and unfairly exploits and scapegoats 1 of their own, a trooper with a 12-year unblemished record.” Proctor’s substance messages proved helium was “human—not corrupt, not incompetent successful his relation arsenic a homicide detective and surely not unfit to proceed to beryllium a Massachusetts State Trooper.

Karen Read’s Unfinished Story Is Told in Body successful the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read

The five-part ID docuseries Body successful the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read premiered March 17 ended with Read inactive successful limbo aft the mistrial.

“We needed to marque definite we were 100 percent arsenic balanced arsenic we could be, due to the fact that we knew determination was going to beryllium different trial,” manager Terry Dunn Meurer told Vanity Fair of putting the finished merchandise together.

“It’s a precise divisive lawsuit and we request to respect everyone’s opinion,” Meurer said. “If you’re ‘Free Karen Read,’ great. If you’re much connected the prosecution side, fine. But it’s been upsetting to ticker however vile this has been—the name-calling and the vitriol, the idiosyncratic attacks. The lawsuit has been tried connected societal media, and I deliberation that’s a shame. It’s a disservice to the justness strategy and to Karen.”

Read pushed backmost against immoderate conception that she was making the astir of her newfound personage status.

“Anyone successful my presumption who’s being falsely accused would beryllium shouting from the rooftops,” Read told Vanity Fair last summer. “But if you deliberation for a 2nd that anyone has fought harder to find the information astir what happened to John and to enlighten everyone astir what happened to John harder than me, you’re wrong.”