On June 18, 2025, a Massachusetts jury acquitted Karen Read of second-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, closing one of the most divisive true-crime sagas in recent American history — while convicting her only of driving under the influence.
O'Keefe's body was found in the early hours of January 29, 2022, partially buried in snow outside the Canton home of a fellow Boston police officer, after a night of heavy drinking during a blizzard. Prosecutors alleged that Read, in a drunken rage after dropping O'Keefe off at an afterparty, struck him with her Lexus SUV and left him to die in the cold. They pointed to a broken taillight, glass fragments, and a strand of O'Keefe's hair on her bumper.
Read's defense told a radically different story: that O'Keefe was beaten inside the house and attacked by the homeowner's dog, and that she was being framed by the very officers under investigation — a theory that electrified a devoted 'Free Karen Read' movement, which packed the Dedham courthouse daily in pink and turned the case into a national obsession. The defense hammered the integrity of the investigation, and their efforts were boosted when lead investigator Trooper Michael Proctor was fired for misconduct over vulgar, biased text messages about Read.
The first trial, in the summer of 2024, ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked. The retrial began with jury selection on April 1, 2025, featuring 49 witnesses and weeks of forensic testimony. On the fourth day of deliberations, the jury acquitted Read of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a fatal crash — but convicted her of operating under the influence, for which she received one year of probation. Read wept as the verdicts were read; supporters outside erupted in cheers.
The outcome satisfied almost no one completely. O'Keefe's family and the officers' families called it 'a devastating miscarriage of justice,' blaming 'lies and conspiracy theories spread by Karen Read, her defense team, and some in the media.' Read's camp declared vindication, with her attorney Alan Jackson framing the case as a referendum on corrupt policing. The truth about what happened to John O'Keefe that snowy night remains officially unexplained — which is precisely why the case, like all great American true-crime obsessions, will be argued about for years. Legal analysts say the case will be studied for years as an example of how livestreamed proceedings, social media, and organized public support can reshape the dynamics of a criminal trial.