Jury deliberations continued on Wednesday in the murder trial of Karen Read, a Massachusetts woman accused of running down her police officer boyfriend in an SUV, mortally wounding him before leaving him to die outside in a blizzard.
Boston cop John O’Keefe was found dead on Jan. 29, 2022, the morning after an evening of drinking with Read at the Waterfall Bar and Grille. Prosecutors said Read later dropped off her boyfriend at the Canton home of Brian Albert — a recently retired Boston officer who was hosting a party at the time — and then struck him with her vehicle as she attempted to leave the property.
Read was later charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, with her months-long trial coming to a close on Tuesday.
The jury has since been tasked with deciding whether Read committed an act of deadly domestic violence or if she was framed by law enforcement, as her defense team argued throughout the legal proceedings.
They suggested O’Keefe was brutally beat during a fight inside the residence and then dumped outside in the snow, contending the case against Read is nothing more than a coverup.
“Just look the other way, that is what they want. That is what they are counting on,” defense lawyer Alan Jackson said during closing arguments.
“The incontrovertible fact is that you have been lied to in this courtroom,” he continued. “You are the only thing standing between Karen Read and the tyranny of injustice.”
But Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally told the court there was no conspiracy. He asked jurors to consider how the broken taillight from Read’s SUV was found on the scene. He also cited testimony from witnesses, who heard Read react after they discovered O’Keefe’s body in the snow outside Albert’s home.
“The defendant repeatedly said, ‘I hit him. I hit him. Oh my God. I hit him,’” he said. “Those were the words that came from the defendant’s mouth on Jan. 29 as John O’Keefe lay dying on the front lawn of 34 Fairview Road, where the defendant had left him after striking him with her motor vehicle several hours before.”
If Read is found guilty of second-degree murder, she faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. The manslaughter charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years behind bars, and the other charge has a maximum penalty of 10 years.
With News Wire Services
