Wat-Not Staff
In a recent TV interview, Massachusetts resident Karen Read accused of hitting her boyfriend with her SUV and abandoning him for dead during a snowstorm — spoke candidly about discovering her partner’s grave injuries.
Case Insights
Two years ago on a frigid morning, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe was discovered unconscious in the front yard of a suburban home belonging to another officer. Shortly after, he was declared dead, and Karen Read, his girlfriend, was accused of killing him. The 44-year-old Read maintained her innocence and contended that there was a broad plot by police to frame her for the murder.
Read, 44, asserted her innocence and said that there was a broad plot by police personnel to frame her for the murder. The jury remained deadlocked during a nine-week trial and five days of deliberations in a courtroom in Norfolk County, just outside of Boston. On July 1, a judge ruled the case to be a mistrial. A court set a new trial for January 27 after the prosecution promised to try Read again.
Read was accused of second-degree murder, driving while intoxicated, and fleeing the scene of an accident that resulted in death.
Karen Recalls The Dark Night
Read detailed how she and two companions went in search of O’Keefe on that chilly, dark night in an interview with ABC’s “20/20” that will show in its entirety on Friday night.
“I jumped out the passenger side, and I fell into the street. His eyes were shut, and he had spots of blood in different areas on his face, and he was still — not stiff, but still.”
When the jury couldn’t agree on a verdict during Read’s trial, the judge declared a mistrial in July. Read is being retried by prosecutors, and the case is scheduled to recommence in January. Read skipped her initial trial as a witness.
“It was cold. I felt cold, but I didn’t feel dangerously cold and it was just an odd feeling to know that ‘I’m OK. I’m not dying, but he’s here with me, and he’s dying, and I can’t warm him up,’” Read told “20/20,” recalling her state of mind that night.
In the past, the DA has stated that O’Keefe’s death resulted from a disagreement in their tumultuous relationship with Read. Read acknowledges that they had argued, but she is adamant that the government is hiding the real reason for his passing. According to the defense, O’Keefe was beaten to death by a fellow Boston police officer who lived a short distance from the scene of the body’s discovery. Read responded, “Because he’s dead,” when asked why O’Keefe’s death would be covered up.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings