At a Glance
- Court
- Norfolk Superior Court
- Case Type
- Criminal Indictment
- Parties
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Karen Read
- Jurisdiction
- Norfolk County, Massachusetts
- Date
- 2024-06-25
- Status
- Trial Underway
Karen Read entered deliberations at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts on June 25, 2024, as jurors weighed whether she killed Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, 2022. Read is accused of hitting and killing O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die in the snow during a blizzard in January 2022. According to Axios Boston, the defense contended that O'Keefe entered a fellow officer's home where he may have been attacked, with counsel pointing to dog bite evidence as support for that theory [1].
A Norfolk County grand jury indicted Read on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. [1][2] Deliberations began at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham after defense attorneys argued during closing statements that Read is the victim of an elaborate coverup, while the prosecution urged jurors to follow the evidence and Read's own words. [3]
Both sides were given one hour to present their final arguments. Once the judge gave instructions, the jury received the case for deliberations around 1 p.m. after nearly two months of testimony. [3] Special prosecutor Hank Brennan attempted to show during his closing argument that Read and O'Keefe were arguing after a night of heavy drinking, she hit him and then drove off. [3] During the afterparty, the defense alleged, O'Keefe appeared to have been ambushed, beaten, bitten by a dog, and left outside. The Alberts kept a German shepherd at the residence, according to NBC News [4].
Defense attorney Alan Jackson told the jury three times at the start of his closing argument that "there was no collision," and the defense argued that O'Keefe was killed during a fight, then dragged outside and left in the yard of 34 Fairview Road. [3] Read's attorneys said that her words had been twisted into a confession and that she was the victim of law enforcement misconduct and a tunnel-vision investigation. [4] The defense also pointed to the lead investigator, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, alleging his conduct compromised the integrity of the case from its outset, according to Axios Boston [1].
Jurors left for the day just before 4:30 p.m. with no verdict reached after about three hours of deliberations. [3] O'Keefe, an officer of the Boston Police Department, was found unconscious on the front lawn of fellow Boston police officer Brian Albert in Canton, Massachusetts. Read had dropped him off at a party at the Albert household shortly after midnight and returned early that morning to find his body after he failed to return home. [5] The case drew sustained national attention, with large crowds gathering outside the courthouse during testimony and closing arguments.
References
[1] Axios Boston. (2024, June 25). Karen Read case: Decision looms as jurors deliberate. https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2024/06/25/karen-read-closing-arguments
[2] CBS Boston. (2024, June 26). A timeline of the Karen Read case and the story behind the high-profile Massachusetts murder trial. https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/karen-read-trial-timeline-john-okeefe/
[3] CBS Boston. (2024, June 26). Karen Read murder trial jury begins deliberations after attorneys present vastly different closing arguments. https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/watch-karen-read-murder-trial-closing-arguments-live-stream/
[4] NBC News. (2024). What to know about the Karen Read murder case and her first murder trial. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/karen-read-trial-john-okeefe-death-what-know-rcna155905
[5] Wikipedia. (2025). Death of John O'Keefe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_John_O%27Keefe