DEDHAM, Mass. — Karen Read’s second murder trial opened Tuesday amid chaos outside the courthouse, with one person arrested during a protest as supporters of the woman accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend crowded the perimeter of the building.
Read, 45, is accused of fatally striking Officer John O’Keefe with her SUV after a night of heavy drinking in January 2022, then leaving him to die in the snow outside a colleague’s home in Canton, Massachusetts. She faces charges of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while under the influence, and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
The high-profile retrial follows a mistrial declared last year after a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Read maintains her innocence and has alleged that she is the target of a law enforcement cover-up.
As the retrial commenced, dozens of demonstrators—many waving signs with messages like “Framed” and “Karen is Innocent”—gathered outside Norfolk Superior Court. Read was photographed smiling as she entered the courthouse, passing through a newly expanded police-established “buffer zone” separating demonstrators from trial participants.
Amid the protest, a man was detained and placed in handcuffs just outside the courthouse. The arrest was captured during a livestream broadcast by Court TV. Authorities have not released details about the nature of the arrest.
Inside the courtroom, Judge Beverly Cannone addressed the heightened attention surrounding the retrial. She issued a stern warning to the jury to avoid any media coverage or public commentary related to the case and expanded the buffer zone to reduce the risk of outside influence during deliberations.
Prosecutor Hank Brennan began the trial’s opening statements by vividly recounting the discovery of O’Keefe’s body on a snowy lawn. He then sharply criticized Read’s post-mistrial media campaign, playing a clip from her October 2024 Dateline NBC interview in which Read admitted she had been intoxicated and had a foggy memory of the night in question.
“You’re going to hear from her own lips in many of her statements—her admissions,” Brennan told the jury.
Brennan asserted that Read, in a fit of rage and intoxication, deliberately backed her Lexus SUV into O’Keefe outside the home of fellow officer Brian Albert.
Defense attorney Alan Jackson countered with a forceful opening, asserting that the evidence will show O’Keefe was not struck by Read’s vehicle. Instead, Jackson alleged a “botched and biased” investigation designed to shield fellow officers and blame Read.
“This wasn’t about the truth,” Jackson said. “It was about preserving loyalty.”
Jackson targeted Michael Proctor, the former lead Massachusetts State Police investigator in the case, who was dismissed after vulgar and unprofessional texts about Read surfaced during the first trial. The defense has long pointed to those messages as evidence of bias and misconduct.
“There was no collision,” Jackson told jurors. “By the end of this trial, you’ll conclude that Karen Read is not guilty of hitting John O’Keefe with her SUV.”
The prosecution’s first witness, paramedic Timothy Nuttall, recalled arriving at the scene on the morning of January 29, 2022. He testified that Read was distraught and repeatedly said, “I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.”
That statement, prosecutors argue, is a key piece of evidence pointing to her guilt. However, the defense is expected to challenge the context and reliability of those remarks, arguing that Read was in shock and that the investigation into O’Keefe’s death overlooked key forensic and witness evidence.
The retrial of Karen Read has drawn national attention, particularly among those who believe the case exposes flaws in the criminal justice system and potential corruption within law enforcement. The proceedings are expected to stretch over several weeks, with both sides preparing to call expert witnesses, law enforcement officials, and forensic specialists.
Read has pleaded not guilty to all charges.