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Karen Read case: O’Keefe’s family fights requests to delay wrongful death suit
Read “seeks not only to poison the jury pool ... but also has one foot out of Massachusetts now that her house has sold,” the family's lawyer alleged.
The family of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe is once again pushing back on efforts to delay their wrongful death lawsuit, arguing they have “compelling reasons” to “lock in” testimony from Karen Read, O’Keefe’s alleged killer.
O’Keefe’s family sued Read in Plymouth Superior Court back in August, alleging she was driving drunk and struck O’Keefe — her boyfriend of two years — before leaving him for dead on Jan. 29, 2022. Also named in the lawsuit are C.F. McCarthy’s and the Waterfall Bar & Grille, the two Canton bars that served Read and O’Keefe in the hours before he died.
More on Karen Read:
Both Read and the Waterfall have filed motions to delay the wrongful death lawsuit pending the outcome of Read’s ongoing criminal case, but O’Keefe’s family has opposed both attempts.
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“Not only is Defendant Read using the media to poison the jury pool, but also any delay risks the degradation of evidence, including witnesses’ memories,” Marc Diller, the family’s lawyer, wrote last week in a response to the Waterfall’s motion.
He added: “The O’Keefe family also has compelling reasons to lock in testimony from Karen Read, who seeks not only to poison the jury pool with her regular communications with the media, reporters and/or bloggers, but also has one foot out of Massachusetts now that her house has sold.”
Read listed her Mansfield home for $849,900 in July; Zillow records indicate a sale of the property is pending.
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The Waterfall had argued that staying the civil matter would “preserve the parties’ and witnesses’ resources” and “promote judicial economy.” Read has requested a hearing on her own motion to stay, though it remains unclear when a judge might rule on the request.
In an NBC “Dateline” special that aired last Friday, Read acknowledged she’d had “several” drinks before driving herself and O’Keefe over to an afterparty on Fairview Road shortly after midnight on Jan. 29. However, she denied feeling impaired. Prosecutors allege Read consumed a total of nine drinks that night and was still legally drunk hours later.
The 44-year-old has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence, and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Her lawyers argue she was framed in a law enforcement coverup, and that O’Keefe entered the home on Fairview Road — owned at the time by a fellow Boston police officer — and was severely beaten.
Read’s first trial ended in a mistrial July 1, with a retrial set to begin Jan. 27.
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