# Karen Read

> Charged in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, in Canton, Read was tried twice. In June 2025 a jury acquitted her of murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene and convicted her only of drunken driving. Civil suits over his death and its investigation are pending.

- Case: Commonwealth v. Read · Dedham, Massachusetts · 2022
- Case status: Acquitted. Acquitted June 18, 2025, of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death. Those acquittals are final, and no court has found that she caused John O'Keefe's death. The same jury convicted her of operating under the influence of liquor, a misdemeanor; she was sentenced to one year of probation, which ended June 18, 2026. Her first trial, in 2024, ended in a mistrial. A wrongful-death suit brought by O'Keefe's family, which would be decided under the lower civil standard of proof, is pending in Plymouth Superior Court, and Read has filed her own suits over the investigation. The sources reviewed report no criminal charges against anyone else in his death.
- Last updated: 2026-11-03
- Editorial review: approved 2026-11-03
- Web page: https://criminalbackstories.com/cases/karen-read/
- All defendants are presumed innocent until found guilty by a court of law. Charges and allegations described on this site are not proof of guilt.

## Why she's in the news

*The Trials of Karen Read*, a three-part Netflix documentary series directed by Danielle Johnson and Rob Miller, is scheduled to premiere on Nov. 23, 2026; What's on Netflix reports that it includes interviews with Read, her defense lawyers, O'Keefe's family and friends, and local journalists.[5][6] On Oct. 8, 2026, Amazon's Prime Video ordered an untitled drama series about the case, starring and executive produced by Elizabeth Banks, with David E. Kelley Productions, based on the podcast *Karen*; no release date has been announced.[7] On Sept. 18, 2026, a Plymouth County judge refused to pause a defamation suit that four trial witnesses brought against Read and a blogger while Read appeals an earlier ruling that let the suit go forward.[8] The wrongful-death suit brought by O'Keefe's family, and Read's own suits against investigators, witnesses, the State Police and the town of Canton, remain pending.[12][10][11]

## Case at a glance

- Acquitted: Second-degree murder; manslaughter while operating under the influence; leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death (June 18, 2025)[19][20]
- Convicted: Operating under the influence of liquor, a misdemeanor; one year of probation, which ended June 18, 2026[19][9][10]
- Death: John O'Keefe, 46, a Boston police officer for 16 years, found outside a house in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022, and pronounced dead about two hours later[20][9]
- Cause of death: Impact injuries of the head and hypothermia; the medical examiner testified that she could not determine the manner of death[26]
- First trial: April–July 2024, Norfolk Superior Court; mistrial declared July 1, 2024, after the jury reported a deadlock[2][9]
- Appeals: Double-jeopardy claim rejected by the Supreme Judicial Court (*Read v. Commonwealth*, 495 Mass. 312, Feb. 11, 2025) and the First Circuit (March 27, 2025); U.S. Supreme Court denied review April 28, 2025[1][2][3]
- Judge: Beverly J. Cannone, Norfolk Superior Court, Dedham[9][34]
- Prosecutors: Norfolk County District Attorney's Office; Adam Lally tried the first case, and special prosecutor Hank Brennan the second[18]
- Lead investigator: State Trooper Michael Proctor, fired by the State Police on March 19, 2025; his police certification was suspended by the state POST Commission in December 2025[32][13]

## The backstory

### John O'Keefe

John O'Keefe was born and raised in Braintree, Massachusetts, graduated from Northeastern University and earned a master's degree in criminal justice from the University of Massachusetts, according to the Associated Press.[38] He was a Boston police officer for 16 years.[20] After his sister and her husband died months apart, he became the guardian of their two children, then 6 and 3, and raised them in Canton; his sister-in-law testified that the family had expected she and her husband would take the children, but "Johnny said he was going to do it."[38] He was 46 when he died.[20]

### Read and O'Keefe

Read and O'Keefe first met when she was 24 and he was 28, dated briefly, and reconnected during the pandemic, the *Boston Globe* reported.[39] By the time of his death they had dated for about two years.[20] Prosecutors described the relationship as "toxic" and "crumbling," and a State Police digital-forensics trooper read the jury contentious texts the couple exchanged on Jan. 28, 2022.[21][28]

### The night of Jan. 28–29, 2022

On the night of Jan. 28, 2022, Read and O'Keefe went out drinking in Canton with friends.[20][9] The family's civil complaint names the two bars, C.F. McCarthy's and the Waterfall Bar and Grille.[36] A meteorologist testified at the retrial that the storm that night was "a classic nor'easter."[27] After midnight, Read drove O'Keefe to a gathering at a house in Canton owned by a Boston police officer; other local police and a federal agent were at the gathering.[20][21]

Accident reconstructionist Judson Welcher, a prosecution witness, testified that data from Read's Lexus showed it moving forward 34 feet and then reversing 53 feet, at nearly 24 mph, at about 12:32 a.m. outside the house; he said the data recorded no collision, which he attributed to the weight of the vehicle.[24][25] Prosecutors also relied on health data from O'Keefe's phone, which they said showed he had just gotten out of the car.[22] No cameras captured what happened outside the house, and no witness has said they saw it.[24]

Beginning at 12:33 a.m., Read called O'Keefe 53 times and left eight voicemails, none of which he answered, a State Police digital-forensics trooper testified.[28] In the first, at 12:37 a.m., she says, "John! I (expletive) hate you!"; later messages accuse him of infidelity and say she is home with his niece and nephew.[28]

### The discovery

At about 5 a.m., Read called a friend of O'Keefe's, screaming that he was dead, the friend testified; the two searched for him, and when they reached the house Read said "there he is" and ran to a mound of snow.[31] Read and two others found O'Keefe unresponsive on the lawn around 6 a.m., and he was pronounced dead about two hours later.[20] A voicemail recorded on his phone just after 6 a.m. captured windshield wipers, a 911 call and Read screaming, according to trial testimony.[28]

Two first responders testified at the retrial that Read said she had hit him. A Canton firefighter-paramedic testified that Read repeatedly said "I hit him, I hit him."[30] A paramedic testified that she said it three times; at the first trial he had said twice.[31] The defense said she never made that statement as a confession, and Read has said she phrased it as a question.[31][20]

### The investigation

Canton police searching the scene on the afternoon of Jan. 29 found a shoe along the curb, O'Keefe having been found missing one, and six or seven pieces of broken red and clear taillight, a Canton police lieutenant testified.[27] A retired Canton lieutenant who was in charge at the scene testified that officers collected blood from the snow in plastic cups because of the conditions, and that they did not search inside the house because "nobody could put John O'Keefe in the house including Ms. Read."[27] State Police Trooper Michael Proctor led the investigation.[24][28]

State Medical Examiner Dr. Irini Scordi-Bello testified that the cause of death was "impact injuries of head and hypothermia," with a laceration and skull fractures at the back of the head, a cut above the right eye, two black eyes and abrasions to the nose and right arm; she said the head injury was consistent with a fall backward onto a hard surface and that she found no impact injuries on his legs.[26] She testified that she could not determine the manner of death to a reasonable degree of medical certainty.[26] His blood-alcohol level was between .21 and .28, she said.[26]

A blood sample taken from Read at a hospital just after 9 a.m. on Jan. 29 showed an estimated level of 0.078 to 0.092, and a State Police toxicologist testified that her estimated level at 12:45 a.m. was 0.14 to 0.28.[29] The defense said the hospital sample came from a clinical laboratory, not a forensic one.[29]

### The charges

Read was arraigned in Stoughton District Court on Feb. 2, 2022, and pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene.[9] In June 2022 a Norfolk County grand jury indicted her on three counts: second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death.[9][1] She was released on bail.[9]

### The prosecution's case

Prosecutors argued that Read struck O'Keefe while backing out of the driveway after the couple had argued, then left him in the storm.[20] They did not argue that she intended to kill him; their theory was that she deliberately reversed despite the risk.[20] Welcher testified that the lacerations on O'Keefe's right arm were consistent with shards from her broken taillight.[25][24] He also testified that a separate backing incident on Jan. 29, captured on a home security camera, in which the SUV moved at under 1 mph, did not break the taillight.[24] Prosecutors played clips of interviews Read had given; in one, NBC News reported, she said, "He's roughly where I left him, so yeah, when I found him I was thinking, did I, like, clip him somehow?"[24][31]

### The defense's case

The defense argued that there was no collision.[21] Its theory was that O'Keefe went into the house, was assaulted there, was bitten by the homeowner's family dog and was later left on the lawn, and that investigators protected people at the house and framed Read.[24][22] Read's lawyers pointed to people at the gathering, including the federal agent, who had exchanged flirtatious messages with Read; the homeowner and the federal agent have denied involvement through their lawyers, and no court has found that any of them harmed O'Keefe.[24][21] Before the retrial, Judge Cannone barred the defense from naming third-party culprits in its opening statement.[31]

The defense also argued that the taillight was damaged when Read backed into O'Keefe's own car, not by striking him, and that Proctor planted taillight evidence.[21][22] It pointed to a phone search, "hos long to die in cold," made by a friend of O'Keefe's who had been at the house; the defense said it was time-stamped 2:27 a.m., before he was found, while prosecution experts testified that it was made around 6:24 a.m. in a browser first opened at 2:27 a.m.[20]

Dr. Daniel Wolfe, an accident reconstructionist with the firm ARCCA, testified for the defense that damage to the taillight and to O'Keefe's clothing was inconsistent with a strike to his arm or body.[23] Wolfe had first been hired by federal prosecutors for an investigation into how law enforcement handled the case, and he testified at the first trial before being paid by the defense.[23] Under cross-examination he said he had not studied impacts on hard ground such as a frozen lawn.[23] Other defense experts testified that O'Keefe's arm injuries were consistent with dog bites; the judge ruled that one former chief medical examiner was not qualified to testify about dog bites.[20][23]

### The lead investigator

At the first trial, Proctor admitted sending texts about Read that he called "unprofessional and regrettable."[32] The State Police relieved him of duty on July 1, 2024, and suspended him without pay a week later.[9] On March 19, 2025, the department fired him after a trial board sustained three charges of unsatisfactory performance, based on "derogatory, defamatory, disparaging, and/or otherwise inappropriate text messages about a suspect," on sharing confidential case information with people outside law enforcement and on appearing biased, and one alcohol charge, for drinking on duty on July 19, 2022, and then driving his cruiser.[32] He did not testify at the second trial.[20] He dropped his appeal of the firing in October 2025, and on Dec. 18, 2025, the state's Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission suspended his certification, finding by a preponderance of the evidence that suspension was in the public's interest.[9][13]

The prosecution acknowledged the texts but argued that they did not change the physical and scientific evidence.[21] *No court has found that Proctor or anyone else planted or altered evidence in the case.*

### The federal investigation

A federal grand jury heard from witnesses in the case in 2023, and experts hired by federal prosecutors testified at the first trial.[33][23] The U.S. Attorney's Office never publicly confirmed the investigation; in February 2025 news outlets reported, citing unnamed sources, that it had ended without charges, and special prosecutor Hank Brennan confirmed in March 2025 that it was over.[33][9]

### The first trial and the double-jeopardy appeals

The first trial began April 16, 2024, in Norfolk Superior Court and lasted 37 days, with about 28 hours of deliberation.[2] The jury sent three notes reporting that it could not reach a unanimous verdict, the second saying it was "deeply divided" and the third that further deliberation "would be futile"; Judge Cannone declared a mistrial on July 1, 2024.[2] Afterward, people identifying themselves as jurors told both sides that the jury had agreed Read was not guilty of murder and of leaving the scene, and had deadlocked only on the lesser offenses within the manslaughter count.[2]

Read argued that retrying her on those two counts would violate the bar on double jeopardy. On Feb. 11, 2025, the Supreme Judicial Court disagreed, in an opinion by Justice Serge Georges Jr.: "The jury chose to report a deadlock, not a verdict," he wrote, and posttrial disclosures could not "retroactively alter the trial's outcome."[34][1] The First Circuit affirmed the denial of her federal habeas petition on March 27, 2025, quoting the state court's holding that "a criminal verdict is effective only when affirmed by jurors in open court," and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case on April 28, 2025.[2][3]

### The verdict

The second trial began with jury selection on April 1, 2025, with Brennan as special prosecutor, and included 31 days of testimony from 49 witnesses.[9][20] On June 18, 2025, after deliberations that began June 13, the jury found Read not guilty of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene, and guilty of operating under the influence of liquor.[21][19][20] Judge Cannone sentenced her to one year of probation, the standard sentence for a first offense.[20] Its terms included a 16-week impaired-driving program and the loss of her license for 45 to 90 days or until she finished the program, the *Boston Globe* reported.[15]

Outside the courthouse, Read said, "No one has fought harder for justice for John O'Keefe than I have, than me and my team."[19] Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said only, "The jury has spoken."[18] Brennan said he was "disappointed in the verdict and the fact that we could not achieve justice for John O'Keefe and his family" and condemned what he called a "campaign of intimidation and abuse" against witnesses.[17]

### The civil cases

In August 2024, O'Keefe's estate, brother, parents and niece sued Read and the two bars in Plymouth County Superior Court for wrongful death and emotional distress, alleging that she struck him while intoxicated and left him in the snow, and that the bars served her while she was intoxicated.[37][36] In October 2025 a judge dismissed the niece's claim of negligent infliction of emotional distress but let her intentional and reckless infliction claims, and the rest of the suit, proceed.[14] Depositions were under way in 2026.[12]

In November 2025, Read sued Proctor, two other State Police investigators and several people who testified against her, alleging civil-rights violations and malicious prosecution; the case is now in federal court in Boston, where the witnesses have moved to dismiss it as retaliation for their statements to police.[9][4] In June 2026 she sued the State Police and the town of Canton, alleging negligent hiring, training and supervision.[11] That complaint cited messages attributed to Proctor and to a former Canton police sergeant; the State Police superintendent called Proctor's messages "racist, sexist and abhorrent," while Proctor's lawyer said the focus on anything but Read's own conduct was "telling and predictable."[11] Four witnesses have sued Read and a blogger for defamation in state court; the judge has let that case proceed.[9][8] None of these civil claims has been decided at trial.

## Personal backstory

### Early life and education

Read grew up in Blacksburg, Virginia, and in Taunton, Massachusetts, the *Boston Globe* reported.[39] She is the eldest daughter of a former dean of business at Bentley University, who put up her bail and attended her hearings.[39] She graduated in 1998 from Coyle & Cassidy, a Catholic high school in Taunton, where she took Advanced Placement classes and was in the National Honor Society.[39] She finished a finance degree at Bentley in three years and earned a master's in finance in 2004.[39]

### Career

Read worked for a time in Dublin, Ireland, and then at Fidelity Investments in Boston, according to the *Globe*.[39] She worked as an equity analyst and taught finance as an adjunct professor at Bentley from the late 2000s until she was charged.[20][39] Her lawyers say she had no criminal record before O'Keefe's death.[39] Of O'Keefe's decision to raise his niece and nephew, she told the *Globe*: "I admired that. I thought that was amazing."[39]

*No mental-health testimony or court findings about her appear in the sources reviewed.*

### During and after the trials

Read posted bail after her indictment and has never been jailed in the case, according to the Associated Press.[9][22] She spoke often with reporters and took part in documentaries, including *A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read*, which aired on Investigation Discovery in March 2025.[24][35] In one documentary interview she said, "I didn't think I hit him," while acknowledging that she could have "clipped him," the Associated Press reported.[21] Her probation ended June 18, 2026.[9] She is now the plaintiff in two lawsuits over the investigation and a defendant in two civil suits, and in October 2026 Prime Video ordered a drama series about her case.[9][11][7]

*No statement from O'Keefe's niece or nephew appears in the sources reviewed.*

## Where the parties stand

- Prosecution: Prosecutors argued that Read, drunk and angry after an argument, reversed her SUV into O'Keefe after dropping him off at a gathering and left him in the snow; they did not argue that she meant to kill him.[20][22] They relied on data from her Lexus, his phone's health data, taillight pieces found at the scene, her voicemails and first responders' testimony that she said "I hit him."[22][21] "She was drunk, she hit him, and she left him to die," special prosecutor Hank Brennan told the jury.[22] After the verdict he said, "I concluded that the evidence led to one person, and only one person."[17]
- Defense: Read did not testify at either trial.[20] Her lawyers argued that "there was no collision": that O'Keefe's injuries came from an assault and a fall, not a car, that his arm wounds were dog bites, and that a biased investigation led by Proctor framed her, including by planting taillight evidence.[21][22] They said her words at the scene were "confusion," not a confession.[21] After the acquittal, defense lawyer Alan Jackson said the case "was corrupted from the start."[20]
- O'Keefe's family: O'Keefe's estate, brother, parents and niece are suing Read and two bars, alleging that she struck him with her SUV while intoxicated and left him in the snow.[36][37] Before the first trial his brother said, "No one planted anything in our heads."[39] After the acquittal a cousin said the family could have found peace only in "a guilty verdict."[16]

## Timeline

- Jan. 29, 2022: O'Keefe is found unresponsive in the snow outside a house in Canton, where Read had dropped him off after midnight, and is pronounced dead.[20][9]
- Feb. 2, 2022: Read is arraigned in Stoughton District Court and pleads not guilty to manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene.[9]
- June 2022: A Norfolk County grand jury indicts her on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene; she is released on bail.[9][1]
- April 16, 2024: Jury selection begins in her first trial, in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham.[2][9]
- July 1, 2024: Judge Beverly Cannone declares a mistrial after the jury reports it is at an impasse; Proctor is relieved of duty the same day.[2][9]
- Aug. 26, 2024: O'Keefe's family files a wrongful-death suit against Read and two bars in Plymouth County Superior Court.[37][36]
- Feb. 11, 2025: The Supreme Judicial Court rejects her claim that a retrial on two charges would be double jeopardy.[34][1]
- March 19, 2025: The State Police fire Proctor after a trial board sustains misconduct charges.[32]
- April 28, 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear her double-jeopardy appeal.[3]
- June 18, 2025: After a second trial, the jury acquits her of murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene and convicts her of drunken driving; she is sentenced to a year of probation.[19][20]
- Nov. 17, 2025: Read sues Proctor, two other State Police investigators and several trial witnesses; the case is later moved to federal court.[9][4]
- Dec. 18, 2025: The POST Commission suspends Proctor's law-enforcement certification.[13]
- June 4, 2026: Read sues the State Police and the town of Canton in Bristol County Superior Court.[11]
- Sept. 18, 2026: A judge refuses to pause the witnesses' defamation suit against Read while she appeals.[8]
- Oct. 8, 2026: Prime Video orders a drama series about the case.[7]
- Nov. 23, 2026: Netflix's three-part series *The Trials of Karen Read* is scheduled to premiere.[5]

## What happens next

The criminal case has ended: she was acquitted of the homicide charges, and her probation for the drunken-driving conviction ended June 18, 2026.[20][9] The family's wrongful-death suit is in pretrial discovery in Plymouth Superior Court; the sources reviewed report no trial date.[12] In Read's federal suit against investigators and witnesses, the judge heard motions to dismiss on July 14, 2026, and no ruling was reported in the sources reviewed.[10] The witnesses' defamation suit against her is proceeding while she appeals the denial of her motion to dismiss it.[8] Proctor may challenge his POST suspension at a hearing, and the commission will decide whether to revoke his certification permanently.[13] *No later development in the POST proceeding appears in the sources reviewed.*

## Sources

1. [Read v. Superior Court of Massachusetts, Norfolk County, No. 24-1048, Petition for a Writ of Certiorari](https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-1048/354548/20250401151332095_No.%2024-__%20Cert%20Petition_Final.pdf). Supreme Court of the United States (petitioner's filing), April 1, 2025. (court or official record)
2. [Read v. Norfolk County Superior Court, No. 25-1257 (opinion)](https://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/opnfiles/25-1257P-01A.pdf). U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, March 27, 2025. (court or official record)
3. [Docket No. 24-1048, Karen Read v. Superior Court of Massachusetts, Norfolk County, et al.](https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24-1048.html). Supreme Court of the United States. (court or official record)
4. [Read v. Proctor, No. 1:25-cv-13588-DJC, memorandum in support of witness defendants' motion to dismiss](https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.292286/gov.uscourts.mad.292286.37.0.pdf). U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts (via CourtListener). (court or official record)
5. [New Documentaries Coming to Netflix in November 2026](https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/coming-soon/netflix-documentaries-list-november-2026/). What's on Netflix, November 2026. (news report)
6. [Karen Read case to be subject of new Netflix documentary series](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/boston/news/karen-read-netflix-documentary-series). CBS Boston, July 19, 2024. (news report)
7. [Hollywood star with Mass. ties officially tapped to play Karen Read in Amazon series](https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/hollywood-star-with-mass-ties-officially-tapped-play-karen-read-amazon-series/ZNGITC37GVDDXHJDOZKVGVGJLE/). Boston 25 News, Oct. 8, 2026. (news report)
8. [Judge: No delay in lawsuit against Karen Read and 'Turtleboy'](https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/judge-no-delay-lawsuit-against-karen-read-turtleboy/E6VPP324EJCOHMSL4ZQFEBYOD4/). Boston 25 News, Sept. 18, 2026. (news report)
9. [A timeline of the Karen Read case and the story behind the high-profile Massachusetts murder trial](https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/karen-read-trial-timeline-john-okeefe/). CBS News Boston (updated July 14, 2026). (news report)
10. [Karen Read, Turtleboy defamation lawsuit motion to dismiss (title from URL)](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2026/07/14/karen-read-turtleboy-defamation-lawsuit-motion-dismiss/). Boston.com, July 14, 2026. (news report)
11. [Karen Read sues US police for alleged misconduct, negligence over boyfriend John O'Keefe's death](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-06/karen-read-sues-us-police-over-john-okeefe-death/106767986). Associated Press (via ABC News Australia), June 6, 2026. (news report)
12. [Court update on Karen Read, O'Keefe family wrongful death lawsuit](https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/whats-the-status-of-the-wrongful-death-lawsuit-against-karen-read-heres-what-we-know/3930640/). NBC10 Boston, April 9, 2026. (news report)
13. [POST Commission suspends Michael Proctor's certification](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/22/metro/post-commission-suspends-michael-proctor-karen-read). Boston Globe, Dec. 22, 2025. (news report)
14. [Karen Read case: Judge drops one claim from wrongful death suit](https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2025/10/06/karen-read-case-judge-drops-claim-wrongful-death-lawsuit-allows-rest/). Boston.com, Oct. 6, 2025. (news report)
15. [Karen Read probation terms](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/26/metro/karen-read-probation-terms/). Boston Globe, June 26, 2025. (news report)
16. [Family of slain Boston cop John O'Keefe fumes as ex-girlfriend Karen Read walks free](https://www.foxnews.com/us/family-slain-boston-cop-john-okeefe-fumes-ex-girlfriend-karen-read-walks-free-sickening.print). Fox News, June 26, 2025. (news report)
17. [Special prosecutor in Karen Read's retrial, Hank Brennan, issues statement following verdict](https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/special-prosecutor-karen-reads-retrial-hank-brennan-issues-statement-following-verdict/BRVZ4NTJXNCGDADESE6RKJ37MU). Boston 25 News, June 23, 2025. (news report)
18. [Norfolk DA Michael Morrissey gives statement on Karen Read verdict](https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/norfolk-da-michael-morrissey-gives-statement-karen-read-verdict/6N6N23YM25AQPMEXRLR6HAOTOM/). Boston 25 News, June 20, 2025. (news report)
19. [Jury verdict reached in Karen Read murder case](https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/jury-verdict-reached-karen-read-murder-case-video/3589124/). NBC Connecticut, June 18, 2025. (news report)
20. [Karen Read's second murder trial ends with an acquittal](https://www.opb.org/article/2025/06/18/karen-read-acquitted-in-2nd-murder-trial/). NPR (via OPB), June 18, 2025. (news report)
21. [Closing arguments: Is Karen Read's murder trial a tale of love gone wrong or a police coverup?](https://www.wsls.com/news/national/2025/06/13/closing-arguments-is-karen-reads-murder-trial-a-tale-of-love-gone-wrong-or-a-police-coverup/). Associated Press (via WSLS), June 13, 2025. (news report)
22. [Karen Read closing arguments](https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/06/13/karen-read-closing-arguments). Associated Press (via WBUR), June 13, 2025. (news report)
23. [Karen Read's retrial: Final 3 witnesses expected this week before defense rests case](https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/karen-reads-retrial-final-3-witnesses-expected-this-week-before-defense-rests-case/DQ5BOO3V6NGVFDOSFHXOJSY6YU). Boston 25 News, June 9, 2025. (news report)
24. [Karen Read murder trial (prosecution rests; title from URL)](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/karen-read-murder-trial-john-okeefe-rcna209869). NBC News, May 2025. (news report)
25. [Crash expert analyzes experiments he conducted with SUV similar to Karen Read's](https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/crash-expert-analyzes-experiments-he-conducted-with-suv-similar-karen-reads/CA6QDTZ7DBASRBIPKTCBQUNWOY/). Boston 25 News, May 27, 2025. (news report)
26. [Medical examiner outlines findings from John O'Keefe autopsy on the stand in Karen Read murder retrial](https://whdh.com/news/medical-examiner-outlines-findings-from-john-okeefe-autopsy-on-the-stand-in-karen-read-murder-retrial/). WHDH 7News Boston, May 15, 2025. (news report)
27. [Things to know about the retrial of Karen Read in the killing of her police officer boyfriend](https://www.nashuatelegraph.com/archive/2025/05/07/things-to-know-about-the-retrial-of-karen-read-in-the-killing-of-her-police-officer-boyfriend-4/). Associated Press (via Nashua Telegraph), May 7, 2025. (news report)
28. ['I [expletive] hate you': Karen Read voicemails recovered from John O'Keefe's phone played in court](https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/i-expletive-hate-you-karen-read-voicemails-recovered-john-okeefes-phone-played-court/XU5GNBLAU5GFJKEEURBJJOC2NA). Boston 25 News, May 6, 2025. (news report)
29. [Live court video, updates: Day 9 of witness testimony in Karen Read's retrial](https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/state-police-toxicologist-return-stand-day-9-witness-testimony-karen-read-retrial/2JWUCFTOLJEUBGYDCFZLSN4MWE). Boston 25 News, May 5, 2025. (news report)
30. ['I hit him, I hit him': Canton firefighter-paramedic recalls Karen Read's words when John O'Keefe was found](https://whdh.com/news/i-hit-him-i-hit-him-canton-firefighter-paramedic-recalls-karen-reads-words-when-john-okeefe-was-found/). WHDH 7News Boston, May 5, 2025. (news report)
31. [Karen Read's second murder trial revives debate over who killed her Boston police officer boyfriend](https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/04/22/retrial-karen-read-opening-statements). Associated Press (via WBUR), April 22, 2025. (news report)
32. [Mass. State Police announce Trooper Michael Proctor has been terminated](https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/mass-state-police-announce-trooper-michael-proctor-has-been-terminated/3662557/?amp=1). NBC10 Boston, March 19, 2025. (news report)
33. [Federal investigation into death of John O'Keefe in Massachusetts is over, no charges being filed, source says](https://cbsnews.com/boston/news/karen-read-case-federal-investigation-over). CBS News Boston, Feb. 24, 2025. (news report)
34. [Read's dismissal appeal denied by state's highest court](https://thecantoncitizen.com/?p=131072). The Canton Citizen, Feb. 14, 2025. (news report)
35. [Docuseries on Karen Read to air on true crime network just days before start of 2nd murder trial](https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/docuseries-karen-read-air-true-crime-network-just-days-before-start-2nd-murder-trial/XRB7YE24SJHFHOCIPBH6HCYQ3Y). Boston 25 News, Feb. 3, 2025. (news report)
36. [Karen Read sued by family of boyfriend she's accused of killing](https://abc7.com/karen-read-sued-by-family-of-boyfriend-shes-accused-of-killing/15232392/). ABC News, Aug. 27, 2024. (news report)
37. [A mistrial was declared for Karen Read, who was accused of killing her police officer boyfriend. Now his family is suing her](https://keyt.com/?p=1127187). CNN (via KEYT), Aug. 26, 2024. (news report)
38. [Boston officer John O'Keefe was called a 'patron saint' by the girlfriend accused of killing him](https://nbcboston.com/news/local/john-okeefe-karen-read/3412857). Associated Press and NBC10 Boston, June 28, 2024. (news report)
39. [Who is Karen Read? A look at the woman at the center of a media firestorm](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/04/13/metro/who-is-karen-read/). Boston Globe, April 2024. (news report)