Karen Read

Written: September 10th, 2025/September 12th, 2025

On January 29th, 2022, John O'Keefe was found dead, lying in the snow outside the home of Boston police officer Brian Albert. 4 days later, Karen Read was placed into custody.

7 hours prior (sometime around 11 p.m.) to the discovery of O'Keefe's body, O'Keefe was seen drinking in a bar with his girlfriend, Karen Read, as well as some other friends. During their time at the bar, both Read and O'Keefe consumed several alcoholic beverages and were reported as being noticeably intoxicated. Shortly after midnight, the couple was seen leaving the bar, with Read at the wheel. Read then supposedly drove O'Keefe to the home of Boston police officer Brian Albert around 12:30 a.m. After dropping off O'Keefe, Read supposedly drove home and stayed there until 4:30 a.m. What happened in the time between when Read dropped off O'Keefe and 4:30 a.m. is unknown, but according to Brian Albert, O'Keefe never entered his home that night.

At 4:30 a.m. Read began frantically calling friends and family, panicking as she realized O'Keefe had not returned home that night and was not answering his cellphone. At 5:07 a.m. Read and two other women went searching for O'Keefe. They first went to his home, and Read claims to have accidentally hit his car when pulling into the driveway. After not finding him at home, the women drove to the last place Read had seen O'Keefe, the home of Brian Albert. At 6 a.m. Read and the two women found the body of John O'Keefe lying in front of Brian Albert's home.

Karen Read quickly became the one and only suspect. She was arrested and charged with counts of second-degree murder, manslaughter, leaving the scene of a death, and drunk driving. On February 2nd of 2022, Karen Read pleaded not guilty; this would be the beginning of an almost 3-year-long trial.

The prosecution argued that while under the influence, Karen Read hit John O'Keefe with her car after dropping him off at the home of Brian Albert. They say that after hitting him, she left him to die in the snow due to several arguments that supposedly took place throughout the night. Their main piece of evidence was broken taillight pieces that seemed to match the broken piece of Read's car. The prosecution called multiple witnesses to the stand, all of whom claimed Read had admitted to committing the crime after finding the body.

The defense confidently claimed that O'Keefe had been killed in a fight that took place inside the Alberts' home. They brought attention to the injuries found on O'Keefe's body, noting their inconsistency with those of being hit by a car. The defense also found that there were many inconsistencies within the police's investigation and suggested official misconduct.

The first trial lasted a full year but ended in a hung jury, meaning the entire process would have to start over from the beginning. During the period between the first and second trials, an investigation was conducted into the law enforcement agencies involved in this case. That investigation resulted in the immediate termination of 3 officers who had been in charge of the Karen Read Case. Those 3 terminations and an ongoing investigation on another officer would be a major benefit for Read's defence. By the time the second trial began, the defence had a perfect case to prove Read's innocence.

Finally, on June 22nd of 2025, nearly 3 years after the incident occurred, the jury found Karen Read not guilty of second-degree murder, manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a death. She was, however, found guilty of driving while under the influence and sentenced to one year of probation.

The person behind the death of John O'Keefe is still unknown.