Karen Read found not guilty of murder in retrial – Washington Examiner
A jury found Karen Read not guilty of murdering her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer, during a retrial that followed a hung jury in July 2024. Read was accused of striking O’Keefe with her vehicle and leaving him to die in the snow after a party. While she was convicted of drunk driving and sentenced to one year of probation,the murder charges were dismissed due to lack of evidence. Read’s defense argued that authorities had framed her, highlighting questionable conduct from the lead investigator, who made derogatory remarks about her. Text messages and forensic evidence presented during the trial suggested that O’Keefe had been hit by a car rather than beaten. Testimony from friends and communications between Read and O’Keefe revealed tensions in their relationship before his death.
Karen Read found not guilty of murdering her police officer boyfriend in retrial
A jury on Wednesday found Karen Read not guilty of murdering her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, in 2022. Her high-profile trial, which has prompted a TV show, first resulted in a hung jury in July 2024.
The 45-year-old was acquitted of charges stemming from her being accused of leaving her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, in the snow after hitting him with her car outside a party, and of leaving the scene of an accident, causing death.
Read was convicted of drunk driving, landing her a one-year probation sentence.
Prosecutors had accused Read of backing into O’Keefe with her vehicle during a drunken rage, leaving him to die. Her defense team argued that authorities crafted the story after beating him, letting a dog attack him, and leaving him themselves to frame Read.
In the retrial, the jury was presented with text messages from the lead investigator in Read’s case, since-fired Massachusetts State Police trooper Michael Proctor.
Proctor called Read a “whack job c*nt” in a group chat. He also called her a “babe,” but with a weird “Fall River accent though. No a**,” less than 24 hours into the investigation.
The defense worked to show the jury that the texts were important for helping jurors understand Proctor’s state of mind, and to help prove their point that authorities framed her.
Nevertheless, Read’s and O’Keefe’s relationship had fractured in the days before the latter’s death.
“Tell me if you’re interested in someone else, can’t think of any other reason you are like this,” Read wrote at one point. O’Keefe replied, “Things haven’t been great between us for a while. Ever consider that?”
TRUMP’S SPRAWLING BUSINESS EMPIRE POSES FRESH ETHICS TEST
Some evidence pointed to the fact that O’Keefe had been hit by a car, not beaten. Forensic scientists showed the jury tiny red bits of plastic stuck in the fabric of O’Keefe’s sweatshirt, and pieces of Read’s taillight near where the body was found.
A friend of O’Keefe’s testified, alleging that Read said, “I hit him, I hit him, I hit him,” shortly after finding his body beneath a pile of snow. Prosecutors showed videos of Read questioning whether she could have “clipped” her boyfriend.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
