After a lengthy and high-profile second trial, Karen Read was found not guilty of killing her boyfriend John O’Keefe, but was found guilty of operating under the influence.
On the fourth day of deliberations, the jury in Dedham, Mass., found Read not guilty of second-degree murder, the most serious charge. They also found her not guilty of manslaughter while operating under the influence, involuntary manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
On Monday, June 16, Read’s attorneys filed a motion asking to revise the verdict slips to make them less confusing, which they said was an issue with jurors in the first trial, Boston.com reports.
Arrested in 2022, Read pleaded not guilty to all charges and staunchly maintained her innocence, saying she was the target of a law enforcement cover-up.
The verdict came as a shock to the considering how divided the community and others watching the case from across the nation had become over the sensational case.
Read exited the court to her supporters cheering her on and chanting, “Karen is free!”
In the early hours of Jan. 29, 2022, O’Keefe, 46, was found unresponsive in the snow outside a gathering at the home of then-Boston police officer Brian Albert in Canton, Mass.
Read, 45, who worked in equity research at Fidelity and was also a former adjunct finance professor at Bentley University, was accused of drunkenly backing into O’Keefe with her vehicle during a winter storm. He died from blunt force trauma and hypothermia, an autopsy revealed.
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O’Keefe was found at about 6 a.m. in Albert’s front yard with two black eyes and deep cuts on the back of his head and right arm. Prosecutors claim that Read dropped O’Keefe off outside Albert’s house, backed into him with her Lexus SUV while driving intoxicated and drove off.
Read’s defense attorneys argued that O’Keefe, who allegedly had a long-standing disagreement with someone at the party, was severely injured during an argument at the party and may have been attacked by a dog given the deep wounds on his arm.
The defense has also claimed that Read is the victim of a cover-up by police.
Read’s attorneys also alleged that authorities planted evidence to protect one of their own.
In July 2024, Read’s first trial was declared a mistrial after the jury remained deadlocked after five days of deliberations.
