Karen Read, whose criminal defense has been the subject of widespread anticipation and speculation, stands trial this week on charges of running down her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, with an SUV and leaving him to die in a snow bank on the side of the road. The twist:
O’Keefe was a cop.
The case has, predictably, attracted attention across the nation, both because of the high-profile nature of the victim and because the defendant has said that law enforcement officials from both state and local agencies framed her for the crime, and have intentionally allowed the real killer to go free.
Karen Read is a forty-four year-old resident of Mansfield, Massachusetts. John O’Keefe was a forty-six year old Boston police officer, having been in law enforcement for sixteen years at the time of his death. He was found in a snow bank outside the home of a fellow member of the Boston police department.
Prosecutors allege that Read and O’Keefe had spent the night drinking at several local bars, and that Read then dropped O’Keefe at the house of a fellow officer just after midnight, where a party was in process. As she was leaving, she conducted a three-point turn and, in the process, fatally struck O’Keefe with her vehicle before departing the scene. Several hours later, she returned to the scene and found him unresponsive in the snow bank.
Prosecutors further argue that Read’s actions, on all counts, were intentional, and are introducing evidence that the couple’s rocky relationship had soured in the lead-up to O’Keefe’s death.
The Defense, on the other hand, argues that the investigation into O’Keefe’s death targeted Read from the beginning because she was the only party near the scene who was not part of the law enforcement community. They argue that another party caused O’Keefe’s death, and plan to build a case that he was involved in an altercation at the party where he was beaten, and then dragged outside to die.
The trial is ongoing at this time.
