Karen Read Accused of Killing Boyfriend, Boston Police Officer
Karen Read, a 42-year-old resident of Mansfield, was back in court on Wednesday, facing accusations that she killed her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, who was also a Boston Police officer. The court proceedings saw Read’s lawyers and prosecutors go head to head, with the defense arguing that their client has been framed.
Read has been charged with motor vehicle homicide and second-degree murder in connection with O’Keefe’s death in January of last year. She has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors have alleged that Read and O’Keefe had been out drinking with friends on the night O’Keefe died. O’Keefe’s battered body was later found in a snowbank outside a Canton home.
While prosecutors have accused Read of running O’Keefe over in her SUV after dropping him off, the defense has suggested that other people inside the house where O’Keefe was dropped off beat him to death before he was attacked by a dog and dumped outside.
The courtroom in Dedham where Read appeared on Wednesday was packed as representatives for the defense and the prosecution both spoke. Defense attorney Alan Jackson argued that evidence was being destroyed right under their noses, stating, “In the months following John O’Keefe’s death, the dog has been gotten rid of, got rid of the evidence in the basement, got rid of the house, the crime scene itself.”
The prosecution responded by saying that the defense’s theory doesn’t make sense and that Read’s defense team is on a “fishing expedition” in pursuit of a conspiracy theory. Prosecutor Adam Lally questioned the defense’s claim that other people beat O’Keefe to death, stating, “If they’re all in the house and Mr. O’Keefe gets attacked by a dog and then gets dragged out to the bottom of the lawn and left there for dead, then why do they all testify that no one came into the house?”
Defense attorneys are seeking autopsy results and cell phone data that they said in a filing last month undermines the prosecution’s case against Read. The judge in this case made no decision on the defense’s request on Wednesday and has scheduled another hearing for May 25. In the meantime, Read remains free on bail.
The case has garnered significant attention due to the involvement of a Boston Police officer and the allegations of a cover-up. The outcome of the trial will be closely watched by both the law enforcement community and the public at large.