Karen Read, a Bentley University professor from Massachusetts, went before a hearing at the Norfolk Superior Court in May 2023 to face charges of motor vehicle manslaughter, leaving the scene of a collision, and second-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.
While Read maintained her innocence at the hearing, both phone records and witness testimony allege that friction existed between Read and O’Keefe the night of Jan. 29, 2022, before the events that took his life occurred the next morning.
The investigation began when Read drove O’Keefe to a party at Albert’s house in Canton after drinking, and it was not until the next morning that authorities found O’Keefe outside the residence with lacerations and fractured skull.
According to hospital records and Read’s attorney, one voicemail left after dropping O’Keefe off at the party revealed she “screamed at the victim that she hated him”.
On April 12, Read’s legal counsel filed a motion in Norfolk County that implicated Albert and McCabe in O’Keefe’s death. The motion stated that at 2:27am that morning, McCabe had attempted to search for “how long it takes to die in cold”, and had “taken calculated steps to purge her phone of this inculpatory search.” Read expressed outrage that no one else seemed to be interested in finding out what actually happened.
The Boston Police Department released a statement in February 2022 that characterized O’Keefe as a kind person who was devoted to his family. However, his death tragically remains shrouded in mystery and Read’s defense plans to carry on its fight for the truth with new witnesses.