Karen Read, the woman acquitted of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend, is poised to break her silence in a revealing new podcast series. The 45-year-old, who endured years of trials before being cleared in June, will detail her ordeal alongside her defence attorney, Alan Jackson.
The Case and the Controversy
Karen Read was accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, on January 29, 2022. Prosecutors alleged she had drunkenly backed her SUV into him, leaving him to die in blizzard conditions on the snowy lawn of a fellow officer's home in Canton, Massachusetts. She faced charges of murder and leaving the scene resulting in death.
Throughout two trials, her defence team presented a starkly different narrative. They argued that O'Keefe was actually beaten inside the home, bitten by a dog, and then left outside as part of a conspiracy orchestrated by police to frame Read, whom they described as a "convenient outsider." This theory pointed the finger at law enforcement, suggesting investigators avoided considering officers as suspects.
The prosecution painted Read as a scorned lover, while she maintained she had simply dropped O'Keefe at an afterparty following drinks at a bar. She claimed to have woken at 4am, found him missing, and frantically driven to search for him, only to discover his body.
A Flawed Investigation and Eventual Acquittal
A mistrial was declared in 2024 after jurors deadlocked. The case was plagued by questions over the investigation's integrity, particularly concerning State Trooper Michael Proctor. Proctor was later fired for sending vulgar texts about Read, calling her a 'whack job' and joking about searching her phone for nude photos.
In June, a jury acquitted Read of the major charges. Multiple jurors cited the "sloppy investigation" as creating too much reasonable doubt. However, she was found guilty of the lesser charge of Operating Under the Influence and sentenced to probation.
O'Keefe's cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma and hypothermia. The couple had been dating for two years at the time of his death.
Life After the Trial and a Mission for Truth
Now, Read and Jackson are launching "The Read Files" podcast. Jackson promises it will offer "no spin, no slogan, just the truth" and take listeners inside "the cases, the corruption, the court room battles."
In a recent interview, Read described the profound personal toll. She now lives with her parents, plans to leave Massachusetts because she feels unsafe, and is financially depleted after using her house to pay for her defence. She still faces a $50,000 wrongful death civil lawsuit from O'Keefe's family.
Read told podcaster Stephanie Soo that she is only now processing the "horrible thing" that happened, having had to suppress her emotions during the legal battle. She spoke movingly of her loss, stating, "John was in my life so much so thickly, and then he wasn't anymore."
Looking ahead, Read and Jackson also plan to write a book. Read declares she wants it to be "a story about corruption" and to highlight the dangers of a one-party political system, which she believes contributed to her ordeal. She hopes her story will impact public perception and help other women in similar positions.
