Latest news with #OKeefeFamily
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Yahoo
Mass. author writing book about Karen Read case hopes to ‘find the heart of the story'
A Massachusetts-based author is writing a book about the Karen Read murder case, the people involved, and everything that unfolded in the town of Canton following the death of John O'Keefe. Karen Read after the verdict: Watch Boston 25's hour-long special Dave Wedge, a best-selling author behind the book, shared his thoughts on Read's recent murder acquittal and what he hopes to accomplish with his latest literary work in an interview with the Brockton Enterprise. Wedge, a Brockton native, was at Dedham's Norfolk Superior Court when jurors in Read's second trial found her not guilty of the most serious charges in the 2022 death of O'Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend. 'If ever there was a case that had tremendous reasonable doubt, this is it,' Wedge told the newspaper. 'It's very sad to me that the O'Keefe family doesn't have justice, and they may never know what actually happened that night. It was such a drunken mess.' Wedge, who recently published 'Blood & Hate: The Untold Story of Marvelous Marvin Hagler's Battle for Glory,' says he's aiming to have his latest book finished this year and published in 2026. 'It's not a story about Karen Read,' Wedge told the newspaper. 'I'm just going to try to find the heart of the story, like I do with all my books, and tell that story that's going to make people understand what happened that night and learn the impact that it had on these families, especially the O'Keefe family.' Prosecutors said Read hit O'Keefe with her SUV, leaving him to die in a blizzard outside the home of fellow Boston officer Brian Albert, at 34 Fairview Road in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. Her lawyers successfully defended her, painting a sinister picture of police misconduct and theorizing that O'Keefe was, in fact, killed by colleagues, followed by a vast cover-up. RELATED: John O'Keefe's family speaks out after Karen Read verdict, acquittal celebrations Karen Read attorney Alan Jackson blasts special prosecutor in new statement Juror says Karen Read was 'innocent,' calls investigation into John O'Keefe's death 'sloppy' 'Feel like I'm floating': Karen Read's parents speak out after murder acquittal Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
CBS News
18-06-2025
- CBS News
Karen Read still faces civil lawsuit after being acquitted of murder, manslaughter
Karen Read was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter in the death of her boyfriend John O'Keefe, but she was convicted of operating under the influence of alcohol. A civil case filed by O'Keefe's family is still pending. The O'Keefe family first filed the wrongful death lawsuit last summer after Read's first criminal trial ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. It's a civil lawsuit, meaning the family is seeking money damages and there is a much lower legal standard than you see in a criminal case like the one that played out in Norfolk Superior Court. The suit isn't only against Read, but also the two bars she was out drinking at on January 28, 2022, C.F. McCarthy's and the Waterfall Bar and Grille in Canton. The O'Keefe family claims that the bars are liable for serving Read alcohol that night. They say Read drove her vehicle in a state of intoxication, risking grave injury or death to John O'Keefe. Read not deposed until after criminal trial The court had ruled that Karen Read did not have to be deposed or questioned in this case until her criminal trial ended. The lawsuit, filed in Plymouth Superior Court in Brockton in August 2024, is seeking at least $50,000 in damages. Paul O'Keefe, John's brother, is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit against Read and the two bars. Also listed as plaintiffs are John O'Keefe's parents and his niece, who he was taking care of at the time of his death.
The Independent
18-06-2025
- The Independent
The Latest: Jury finds Karen Read not guilty of second-degree murder in death of police boyfriend
A jury found Karen Read not guilty of second-degree murder Wednesday in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, but guilty of a lesser charge of drunk driving. Here's the latest: Read left in a black SUV with her family and attorneys Surrounded by police, Read walked down the courthouse steps and got into a black SUV, where she rolled down the passenger seat window and thanked her supporters again. 'They pulled us through on their backs,' she said, before leaving. Karen Read speaks to supporters outside the courthouse 'Number one, I could not be standing here without these amazing supporters,' Read said. 'No one has fought harder for justice for John O'Keefe than I have,' she added. Some witnesses say it's 'a devastating miscarriage of justice' Several witnesses in the case said in a statement Wednesday that their 'hearts are with John and the entire O'Keefe family.' The witnesses who signed the statement included Jennifer McCabe, who was with Read and O'Keefe the night of his death, and Brian Albert, who owned the home where the party took place. 'While we may have more to say in the future, today we mourn with John's family and lament the cruel reality that this prosecution was infected by lies and conspiracy theories spread by Karen Read, her defense team, and some in the media. The result is a devastating miscarriage of justice,' the statement said. Shouts of 'Karen Read is free!' Outside the courthouse, a sea of pink-shirted Read supporters started cheering as soon as the verdict was announced and continued for several minutes afterward. After years of chanting 'Free Karen Read,' they switched to shouting 'Karen Read is free!' The noise was loud enough to be heard inside the courtroom. How long did the jury deliberate? The jury handed down its decision after deliberating for at least 22 hours since June 13. Read's pink-clad supporters Dozens of Read supporters, dressed mostly in pink, were camped out waiting for the verdict. They gathered behind barricades and across the courthouse each morning to catch a glimpse of Read. Once she would pass, the crowd would retire to beach chairs where they would swap stories and details about the case. The crowd, some of whom come waving American flags or posters supporting Read or denigrating the prosecution, said they are there because Read could have been one of them. The tight-knit group of mostly women argues the Read case woke them up to a corrupt justice system, and they hope their movement can reform it. Some of them have been out here long before the first trial started. Jury finds Karen Read not guilty of second-degree murder, guilty of drunken driving in boyfriend death A jury found Karen Read not guilty of second-degree murder Wednesday in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend but guilty of a lesser charge of drunken driving. The jury handed down its decision after deliberating for at least 22 hours since June 13. Prosecutors argue Read chose to leave O'Keefe to die Prosecutor Hank Brennan opened his closing argument Friday by saying Read callously decided to leave O'Keefe dying in the snow, fully aware that he was gravely injured. He argued that she made the 'choice to let' O'Keefe die, going further than prosecutors in the first trial in spelling out a motive. Brennan said Read's blood-alcohol level was two to three times the legal limit, after the couple downed multiple drinks at two Canton bars. The couple, whose 'toxic' relationship was 'crumbling,' had an argument on the way to the house party that increased tensions and ultimately led to O'Keefe's death, the prosecutor said. 'She was drunk, she hit him, and she left him to die,' Brennan said. The defense argues Read was framed Defense attorney Alan Jackson began his closing argument Friday by repeating three times: 'There was no collision.' He told the jury that Read is an innocent woman victimized by a police cover-up in which law enforcement officers sought to protect their own and obscure the real killer. He repeatedly attacked the lead investigator in the case, former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, who was fired after sharing offensive and sexist texts about Read with friends, family and co-workers. He said Proctor's 'blatant bias' tainted every aspect of the corrupt and flawed investigation and noted how prosecutors refused to put him on the stand, as they did during the first trial.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Yahoo
Karen Read acquitted of second-degree murder charge in death of police officer boyfriend
A Massachusetts jury found Karen Read not guilty of the most serious charges and guilty on a lesser charge related to the 2022 death of her Boston police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe, ending a weekslong trial that has drawn intense attention from true-crime fans across the country. The jury convicted Read of operating a vehicle under of the influence but not on charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death. Read was sentenced to one year probation. Prosecutors accused Read of backing into O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV in a drunken rage and leaving him to die in the snow after a night out drinking with friends in January 2022. Her defense team claimed she was framed for O'Keefe's death by cops who beat O'Keefe, let a dog attack him, threw him in the snow and then purposefully botched the investigation. As the verdict was announced, Read smiled and embraced her defense team. Outside, her supporters could be heard cheering and chanting "Karen is free." O'Keefe's family called the jury's decision "a devastating miscarriage of justice," in a statement released to USA TODAY. "Today, our hearts are with John and the entire O'Keefe family. They have suffered through so much and deserved better from our justice system," Jennifer McCabe, Matthew McCabe, Chris Albert, Julie Albert, Colin Albert, Nicole Albert, Brian Albert, Kerry Roberts, and Curt Roberts said in a statement. "While we may have more to say in the future, today we mourn with John's family and lament the cruel reality that this prosecution was infected by lies and conspiracy theories spread by Karen Read, her defense team, and some in the media." More: Who is Karen Read and why is she on trial again? Catch up on the murder case The verdict comes nearly a year after Read's first trial ended in a hung jury. Interest in the case has swept the country since then, spurring an array of true crime podcasts, movies and television shows. By not convicting Read of second-degree murder, the jury appeared to find that Read did not intentionally kill O'Keefe out of anger, as prosecutors suggested. Because she was convicted on the lesser charged of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence, Read will serve one year probation. Through more than seven weeks of testimony, jurors heard from a myriad of witnesses and experts who testified about the events leading up to O'Keefe death, evidence found at the crime scene and irregularities in the investigation. One of the biggest bombshells came near the beginning of the trial, when a friend of O'Keefe's alleged that Read said, 'I hit him, I hit him, I hit him,' shortly after finding his body beneath a pile of snow. Prosecutors paired the testimony with video clips of Read where she talked about being inebriated behind the wheel and questioned whether she could have 'clipped' O'Keefe. Forensic scientists presented jurors with analysis of phone and vehicle data showing Read's SUV moving 87 feet in reverse at about the same time O'Keefe's phone locked for the last time. They showed pictures of tiny red bits of plastic stuck in the fabric of O'Keefe's sweatshirt, and pieces of Read's taillight near where his body was found. Text messages between Read and O'Keefe in the days and hours before his death revealed their privately fraying relationship, despite public shows of affection. '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?' Read's defense team at every turn sought to sow doubt in the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses and the integrity of the investigation into O'Keefe's death. They alleged that the lead detective in O'Keefe's case, former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, was biased against Read, citing crude text messages he sent to friends, and questioned whether he planted the pieces of taillight at the crime scene. One defense expert suggested that O'Keefe's injuries were caused by a dog, backing up the defense's theory that O'Keefe was beaten inside the home of a fellow cop, attacked by his dog and discarded outside during a blizzard. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Karen Read found not guilty of second-degree murder charge
