The high-profile case surrounding Karen Read has reached a dramatic turning point—after months of testimony and national attention, the jury has delivered its verdict.
Read’s retrial began in April 2025, nearly a year after her first ended in a hung jury. The case reignited intense debate over police misconduct and the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. Prosecutors claimed she struck him with her SUV and left him to die in a snowstorm outside a fellow officer’s home, a charge Read has denied from the start.
With the retrial now concluded and the jury’s decision made, here’s what to know about the case, what happened in court, and what’s next for Read.
Who Is Karen Read?
Read is a 44-year-old woman who was accused of killing her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, in 2022 with her SUV. She has claimed that she is a victim of a cover-up by members of law enforcement.
On the night of January 29, 2022, Read and O’Keefe accompanied some friends to the Waterfall Bar and Grill in Canton, Massachusetts. Prosecutors have claimed that Read had multiple alcoholic beverages in her system when she drove O’Keefe to the home of a now-retired Boston police officer named Brian Albert.
The prosecution also claimed that Read left O’Keefe a voicemail calling him a “f**king loser” and saying, “John, I f**king hate you.” Throughout the night, O’Keefe didn’t come home, according to Read, so she allegedly went out to look for him.
The next morning, O’Keefe was found dead outside of Albert’s home. While talking to officers, Read emotionally repeated, “I hit him,” and was inconsolable, per CBS News.
On February 2, 2022, Read was arrested, and she pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision that caused death. In June of that year, she was indicted on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of personal injury and death.
Over the summer of 2024, a trial for Read began but ended in a hung jury.
Who Was John O’Keefe?
O’Keefe was a 46-year-old Boston police officer and Read’s boyfriend. He was a 16-year police veteran. His cause of death was ruled by the medical examiner as blunt impact injuries to the head, and also hypothermia, according to CBS News.
When Did Karen Read’s Trial Start?
Read’s retrial began on April 22, 2025. The trial began almost a year after her last one ended in a hung jury.
After weeks of testimony, the prosecution rested its case in May, and the defense began presenting its arguments. Closing arguments took place on June 13, 2025.
The retrial was ordered after the original jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Since then, the case has drawn national attention, sparking heated debate over alleged police corruption, accountability, and broader concerns about flaws in the justice system.
How to Watch Karen Read’s Trial
Anyone with cable can watch the trial live on networks such as CBS or NBC Boston. Those without cable can stream it live on platforms such as ABC News Live.
Karen Read Retrial Updates
During the first full day of jury deliberations in June 2025, Read’s defense team filed a motion asking the court to simplify the verdict slip, particularly the section on the OUI manslaughter charge. They argued that the current form—listing one “Not Guilty” option versus multiple “Guilty” choices for lesser offenses—could confuse jurors and bias them toward a guilty verdict, repeating a problem seen in the first trial.
Judge Beverly Cannone denied the motion, ruling that the verdict slip was “consistent with Massachusetts law” and could be fully understood when read along with the judge’s jury instructions.
On June 18, 2025, after several days of deliberations, the jury found Read not guilty on all major charges, including second-degree murder and manslaughter. However, she was found guilty of operating a vehicle under the influence (OUI). Read received a one-year probation sentence for that conviction.
