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Three years after John O’Keefe’s death, Karen Read case far from resolved
Read, who reportedly owes her lawyers millions of dollars, has turned to unorthodox fundraising measures as she argues her innocence.
Three years after Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe’s body was found on a snowy lawn in Canton, the murder case against Karen Read — his girlfriend and alleged killer — remains in the spotlight.
Accused of deliberately backing her SUV into O’Keefe in a drunken rage on Jan. 29, 2022, 44-year-old Read faces a second murder trial in the spring following a mistrial last year. The anniversary of O’Keefe’s death comes as Read and her lawyers fight tooth and nail to drop some of the charges against her and keep their experts on the witness list.
More on Karen Read:
Where does Read’s case stand?
Prosecutors allege Read was driving drunk after a night of bar-hopping and struck O’Keefe while dropping him off at an afterparty hosted by a fellow Boston officer. Read’s lawyers contend she was framed in a law enforcement coverup, floating a theory that O’Keefe was attacked by other party guests after entering the home then tossed outside in the snow.
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A key part of that theory rests on the timing of witness Jennifer McCabe’s Jan. 29 Google search for “hos long to die in cold.” Read’s lawyers say the search happened at 2:27 a.m., hours before O’Keefe died, while McCabe insists she made the search at Read’s insistence after the women found O’Keefe’s body around 6 a.m.
Prosecutors have asked Judge Beverly Cannone to keep defense digital expert Richard Green, who testified to the 2:27 a.m. timestamp in Read’s first trial, from making similar assertions during her retrial. Green misinterpreted McCabe’s phone data, they argue, and his opinions are “an attempt to infect the jury with an inadmissible opinion that is not premised on reliable digital forensics.”
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But in a new filing Monday, Read’s lawyers defended Green’s findings and said prosecutors are inching closer to “the danger zone of legal tyranny” by trying to thwart his testimony.
Read’s case is back in court Friday morning.
Win a dinner with Karen Read?
With several legal heavy hitters rounding out Read’s team of attorneys, her defense doesn’t come cheap.
Reportedly owing her lawyers millions of dollars in deferred fees, Read has turned to unorthodox fundraising measures; a recent giveaway offered the chance at a “nice, intimate dinner” with Read and one of her attorneys, Alan Jackson, in exchange for a $50 donation to her defense fund.
In a promotional video, Jackson said the giveaway offers the opportunity “to let you into the sort of behind-the-scenes of what it takes to build a defense like this, what it takes to continue along the track that we’re continuing, to have that no-quit attitude at all times.”
Remembering John O’Keefe
Remembered as a dedicated police officer and an “exemplary” family member, O’Keefe had been raising his young niece and nephew when he died, filling in as guardian after they lost both parents in quick succession. His family marked the anniversary of his death Wednesday in a statement obtained by WBZ.
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“It has been 3 years since Johnny was senselessly taken from us,” the family told WBZ. “The void in our lives grows with each passing day, week, month and year. His absence is profound and we will continue to seek justice for him. He is always in our hearts.”
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