Following a mistrial in July 2024, Karen Read is set to face trial again starting Tuesday for the alleged murder of her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, in January 2022. Prosecutors claim that Read, 45, fatally struck John O’Keefe with her SUV in a drunken state, while the defense argues she was framed and O’Keefe may have been injured by a dog before his body was placed to stage an accident. Read faces charges of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a collision causing injury and death.
After the first trial ended in a mistrial, the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office swiftly moved to retry Read on the same charges, with Judge Beverly Cannone overseeing jury selection starting on April 1. If convicted of motor vehicle homicide, Read could face life imprisonment.
The case centers on the events following Read dropping O’Keefe at a colleague’s home after a night of drinking, leading to O’Keefe being found dead the next morning with signs of hypothermia and trauma. Arrested shortly after, Read pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations. Prosecutors argue that Read deliberately ran over O’Keefe, citing vehicle data, physical evidence, and witness testimonies. Conversely, Read’s defense presents a narrative of O’Keefe being assaulted inside the house, potentially by the homeowner’s dog, and staged to appear as if he was hit by Read’s car.
The upcoming trial is anticipated with public interest, given the conflicting accounts and the gravity of the charges against Read.
During a recent Investigation Discovery docuseries on HBO, Amanda Read, the defendant in a high-profile case, spoke out across five episodes. In a pretrial hearing on March 25, prosecutors requested all video and audio recordings related to the documentary series. They alleged extensive communication between Read and local blogger Aidan Kearney, also known as “Turtleboy,” who strongly supported Read in her initial trial. Judge Cannone has approved the use of Kearney’s cellphone data as evidence in the upcoming trial, claiming it shows Read’s “consciousness of guilt” and collusion with Kearney, who faces accusations of witness intimidation in the case.
In a separate incident, Kearney faced witness intimidation charges last year after his arraignment at Stoughton District Court. While Read’s testimony in the retrial remains uncertain, she expressed readiness to take the stand in an interview with Boston 25 News. Read’s legal team, led by attorneys David Yannetti and Alan Jackson, has been joined by litigator Robert Alessi and attorney Victoria George, who previously served as an alternate juror. The defense plans to present previously unseen footage from the Canton Police Department’s sallyport as evidence to support their claim that law enforcement is framing Read for the victim’s murder.
Hank Brennan has been appointed as the new special prosecutor for the retrial by the Norfolk district attorney’s office, and Read’s father and brother have been added to the list of possible witnesses for the prosecution. State Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator in the case, faced an internal investigation for making inappropriate comments about Read to colleagues, leading to his suspension and subsequent termination for unsatisfactory performance and alcohol-related charges. Proctor intends to appeal his termination.
The first trial ended in a mistrial due to the jury’s inability to reach a unanimous verdict after a week of deliberation. The jurors cited deeply held convictions that prevented consensus in a letter to Judge Cannone, ultimately leading to the declaration of a mistrial.
“In the time following the initial trial, Read’s legal team has asserted in court documents that several jurors have reached out to them, stating that they were in unanimous agreement that Read was not guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of personal injury or death. The only charge they could not come to a consensus on was manslaughter. Despite their efforts, Read’s attorneys have been unable to have the two charges dismissed before the upcoming retrial.”
