A jury found Karen Read, 45, not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, 46. The jury deliberated for 22 hours since starting on June 13.
Read’s crowd of supporters erupted with cheers outside the courthouse. Hundreds of people, many of them donning pink, gathered around the courthouse for days since the jury headed in for deliberations. Police officers blocked off the roads and put up barriers between the crowd and the courthouse.
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“Free Karen Read, Free Karen Read!” her supporters could be heard chanting.
Nationwide support and fundraising efforts
Read’s supporters created a nationwide presence with merchandise, events, billboards and online platforms. They helped her raise money for her defense after she sold her home and tapped into her retirement to fight the charges. Read’s supporters were adamant that she was a wrongly accused woman caught in a corrupt system.
Read thanked them first when she walked out of the courtroom as a free woman.
“I could not be standing here without these amazing supporters who have supported me and my team financially and, more importantly, emotionally for almost four years,” Read said outside the courthouse. “No one has fought harder for justice for John O’Keefe than I have.”
Second trial ends in acquittal
The verdict comes nearly one year after Read’s first trial, when a judge declared a mistrial after a hung jury.
Read was accused of striking her off-duty police officer boyfriend, O’Keefe, during a snowstorm in January 2022. The two were out drinking that night. Prosecutors alleged she intentionally hit him with her SUV while dropping him off at the house of another Boston police officer for a party. The state claimed she left him outside in a snowstorm, which led to his death.
Defense claimed cover-up by police
Read’s defense team argued that Read dropped O’Keefe off safely at the house and that O’Keefe was attacked or killed inside the house during or after the party. They said he was then dragged outside and staged to make it look like a hit-and-run. Read’s lawyers said the investigators covered up what really happened to protect the other police officers and then framed Read for his death.
According to the Associated Press, O’Keefe’s family bowed their heads after the verdict was read, and prosecutors did not comment on the case.
Verdict and sentencing
The jury acquitted Read of the most serious charges. However, she was found guilty of drunk driving and received one year of probation. She will not serve jail time.
Investigation Discovery produced a docuseries titled “A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read,” which was released on March 17, 2025.
