TRUE CRIME FRIDAY: KAREN READ

Ninetoes talks about the polarizing case of Karen Read and the mysterious death of John O’Keefe.

Hey there, true crime lovers! It is your old pal, Ninetoes, coming at you with True Crime Friday. Today, we are looking at the Karen Read Case. I have coffee in my system and my thinking cap on, so let’s get to it!

John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer, died on the night of January 29, 2022. He and his girlfriend, Karen Read, went out with friends to the Waterfall Barn and Grill in Canton, MA. After a while, one of the friends mentioned moving the party to their house. When O’Keefe and Read (who was driving) arrived, O’Keefe told Read to wait in the car while he went to check out if this was the correct house. Read waited ten minutes, got fed up, and went home, where she waited to hear from him.

She never did.

While waiting, she called him several times, and each call got angrier and angrier. Between 4-5:00 a.m. Read and Jennifer McCabe (O’Keefe’s niece) and another woman went to look for him. Prosecutors say that at this time, Read said to the other women she had a crack in her taillight and wondered if she accidentally hit O’Keefe.

Around 6:00 a.m. Read and the other women found O’Keefe in the snow outside Brian Albert’s house, where the party supposedly was continuing. An emergency responder claimed Read was hysterical and inconsolable, yelling, “I hit him! I hit him! I hit him!”

A broken cocktail glass and shards of a broken tail light would be found in the snow, but later on, after leaf blowers were used to remove the snow.

A forensic toxicologist estimated Read’s Blood Alcohol Content to be .13-.29, well over the legal limit.

On January 31, 2022, the autopsy was completed. The medical examiner ruled O’Keefe’s cause of death was blunt impact injuries to the head and hypothermia. The medical examiner reported he did not find any obvious signs of an altercation or a fight.

Karen Read was arrested on February 2, 2022. She was charged with manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision causing death. She pleaded not guilty.

On June 10, 2022, a Norfolk County grand jury indicted Karen Read on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. She was arraigned on the new charges and pleaded not guilty. She was ordered held on $100,000 bail. She made bail and was released.

Her case would not go to her FIRST trial until April 16, 2024. This trial would last around two months. Each day, Karen Reads supporters and detractors showed up outside the courthouse. It was a zoo. Her supporters would berate the victim’s family as they went into the courthouse, spurred on by an internet celebrity, Aiden “Turtleboy” Kearney.

Inside the courtroom was no different. Both sides battled. The burden of proof was on the prosecution. All the defense needed to do was sow the seeds of reasonable doubt. The defense went on to argue that everyone in the house (who were either in the Massachusetts State Police or were related to a member of the State Police) was involved in some form or another, and it was Karen Read going up against the Thin Blue Line. One of the bigger pieces of evidence was found on Jen McCabe’s phone. Around 2 a.m., she Googled “Hos long to die in the snow.” She was in the house, along with other party guests.

In the end, the jury was split right down the middle, and a mistrial was declared.

A second trial happened in 2025. Some new rules, especially those concerning outside supporters and detractors, were in place. Much of the same evidence from the first trial was presented. Some new evidence and experts for both sides were added.

After several days, the jury returned with its verdict: Karen Read was acquitted of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. BUT, she was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol. Judge Cannone sentenced Read to one year’s probation.

For more information on Karen Read’s first trial, I encourage you to watch “A Body in the Snow” on HBO/Max.

For more information on Karen Read’s second trial, I encourage you to watch the Dateline Special titled “The Center of the Storm,” which aired on 06/19/2025.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.