Karen Read made a bold claim about her ex-boyfriend, Boston cop John O’Keefe, minutes after being acquitted of murdering him.
“No one has fought harder for justice for John O’Keefe than I have,” said Read, thronged by screaming supporters on the steps of a Massachusetts courthouse.
“I could not be standing here without these amazing supporters who supported me and my team financially and more importantly emotionally for almost four years,” she added.
Read, 45, was found guilty of drunk driving on Wednesday, but was let off on the more serious charges—second degree murder and manslaughter.
The verdict marked the end of a case that had gripped the Boston area—and garnered national attention—since O’Keefe was found dead in a driveway after a snowstorm in Jan. 2022.
After learning her fate—a year on probation for drunk driving—Read was quick to celebrate.
The financial analyst, accompanied by her father and lawyers, headed to Mastro’s Ocean Club, a high-end Boston steakhouse where a ribeye goes for $82, according to TMZ.
She was met outside the restaurant by a gaggle of reporters, one of whom asked how she was feeling. “Happy. I’m happy, thank you,” Read said, breaking into a smile.
The McCabe and Albert families, friends of O’Keefe’s who testified against Read, were feeling less pleased.
“Today, our hearts are with John and the entire O’Keefe family,” they said in a statement. “They have suffered through so much and deserved better from our justice system.”
They called the outcome a “cruel reality” and a “devastating miscarriage of justice.”
The trial that ended Wednesday was a two-month-long retrial after a different jury had failed to agree on a verdict in July 2024, resulting in a mistrial.
During the trials, the prosecution alleged that Read had intentionally struck O’Keefe, 46, with her car before leaving him to die. The defense maintained that Read played no part in his death.
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