The second murder trial of Karen Read, a 45-year-old Massachusetts woman accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe in January 2022, is underway at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, with four jurors seated as of April 2, 2025. Read, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death, maintains her innocence, alleging a far-reaching conspiracy by law enforcement to frame her. The trial, which follows a mistrial in July 2024 due to a hung jury, is reigniting tensions in the small town of Canton and drawing national attention for its explosive allegations of police misconduct and cover-up. As jury selection continues, the case remains a lightning rod for controversy, with supporters and detractors clashing over Read’s guilt and the integrity of the investigation.
The trial centers on the events of January 28-29, 2022, when O’Keefe, a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department, is found unresponsive in a snowbank outside the home of retired Boston police sergeant Brian Albert on Fairview Road in Canton. A heavy blizzard blankets the area that night, with 20 inches of snow and temperatures dropping to 12 degrees. O’Keefe, 46 at the time of his death, is pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Hospital at 7:59 AM on January 29, with the medical examiner attributing his death to blunt force trauma to the head and hypothermia. Prosecutors allege that Read, after a night of heavy drinking, strikes O’Keefe with her black Lexus SUV while dropping him off at Albert’s home for an after-party, then flees the scene, leaving him to die in the storm. Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally points to vehicle data showing Read’s SUV traveling backward for 60 feet at 24 mph outside Albert’s home, as well as physical evidence like O’Keefe’s hair and DNA on the SUV’s bumper and broken taillight, and remnants of a cocktail glass he had been holding earlier that night.
Read’s defense, led by attorneys David Yannetti and Alan Jackson, counters with a starkly different narrative, claiming O’Keefe is beaten inside Albert’s home, possibly attacked by a dog, and then dumped outside in a snowbank as part of a cover-up by law enforcement. They argue that O’Keefe never enters the house, as Albert testifies, and that Read, a former equity analyst at Fidelity Investments and adjunct professor at Bentley College, is a “convenient outsider” targeted to protect other suspects. The defense highlights the interconnected relationships among the party attendees, including Albert’s brothers—Chris Albert, a Canton Select Board member, and Kevin Albert, a Canton police detective—as well as Brian Higgins, a federal agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who exchanged flirty texts with Read prior to O’Keefe’s death. The defense also points to the lead investigator, Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, accusing him of bias due to his ties to the Albert family through his sister, who is close friends with Albert’s sister-in-law.
Jury selection, which begins on April 1, 2025, proves challenging due to the case’s high profile. On the first day, 92 potential jurors are brought into the courtroom, with 78 acknowledging they have heard of the case and 40 admitting to having already formed an opinion about Read’s guilt. By the end of the day, two jurors are seated, and as of 12:51 PM PDT on April 2, 2025, that number increases to four, according to court updates. The process is expected to take several weeks, with officials estimating a pool of up to 2,000 potential jurors to be screened to seat a final panel of 12 jurors and at least four alternates. Judge Beverly Cannone, who is overseeing the trial, rules on March 31 that the defense cannot mention potential third-party culprits like Albert’s nephew, Colin Albert, in opening statements but can develop evidence against Brian Albert and Higgins during the trial. The selection process is further complicated by a three-page questionnaire asking jurors about preconceived opinions, as well as any personal connections to drunk driving, domestic violence, or other violent crimes.
The case’s history is fraught with controversy, beginning with Read’s arrest on February 1, 2022, on charges of manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, and leaving the scene of a deadly crash. She pleads not guilty and is released on $80,000 bail. On June 9, 2022, a Norfolk County grand jury indicts her on the more serious charge of second-degree murder, which carries a potential life sentence with the possibility of parole in Massachusetts. Her first trial, starting with jury selection on April 16, 2024, and testimony on April 29, lasts nine weeks and features 74 witnesses and over 600 pieces of evidence. After five days of deliberations, the jury remains “starkly divided,” and Cannone declares a mistrial on July 1, 2024. Post-trial, several jurors come forward, claiming they unanimously voted to acquit Read on the second-degree murder and leaving-the-scene charges but were deadlocked on the manslaughter charge. Read’s attorneys file a motion to dismiss those two charges, arguing that retrying her would constitute double jeopardy, but Cannone denies the motion on August 23, 2024, stating no verdict was announced in open court. Appeals to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and federal courts are also rejected.
The investigation itself becomes a focal point of scrutiny. Proctor, the lead investigator, admits during the first trial to sending derogatory texts about Read, calling her a “whack job” and mocking her medical issues, which he later acknowledges as “unprofessional” but insists did not compromise the investigation. Days after the mistrial, Massachusetts State Police place Proctor on unpaid leave, and on March 19, 2025, he is terminated and dishonorably discharged for his actions during the investigation. Other officers face discipline as well: Canton police officer Kevin Albert and Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik are placed on administrative leave, and Detective Lt. Brian Tully is transferred out of the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office. A federal investigation into the Norfolk DA’s office, launched in January 2024, concludes without charges, but the Massachusetts State Police’s internal probe into Proctor’s conduct exposes significant flaws in the investigation, including unsecured crime scenes and improper evidence collection methods, such as using plastic cups to scoop blood samples into a paper grocery bag.
Public sentiment in Canton, a suburb of 24,000 people, remains deeply divided. Read’s supporters, often wearing pink and chanting “Free Karen Read” outside the courthouse, view her as a victim of a corrupt system, while O’Keefe’s family and their supporters, wearing blue, demand justice for the officer, whom they describe as a generous man and the legal caretaker of his teenage niece and nephew after their parents’ deaths. The O’Keefe family, who file a wrongful death lawsuit against Read and two Canton bars on August 23, 2024, alleging the bars overserved her, express their grief in a statement to WBZ-TV on January 29, 2025: “It has been 3 years since Johnny was senselessly taken from us. The void in our lives grows with each passing day… His absence is profound and we will continue to seek justice for him.” Meanwhile, Read tells ABC News in September 2024, “This is no life. I’m not in prison, but this is no life. I’m stressed every day. I’m waiting for the next shoe to drop.”
The trial also spawns a separate legal saga involving Aidan Kearney, a blogger known as “Turtleboy” who runs TB Daily News and has been a vocal supporter of Read. Kearney, charged with witness intimidation in October 2023 for his coverage of the case, pleads not guilty but faces restrictions during the first trial, with Cannone barring him from the courtroom when certain witnesses testify. Outside the courthouse, tensions run high, with crowds booing O’Keefe’s family and other prosecution witnesses during pretrial hearings, prompting prosecutors to request an expanded buffer zone to protect the jury process. Special Lead Prosecutor Hank Brennan, a former defense attorney known for representing Whitey Bulger, emphasizes the need for an impartial jury, stating in court, “The Commonwealth’s primary concern is the sanctity of the jury and the jury process. They should be free from outside influence.”
Breaking news updates as of 12:51 PM PDT on April 2, 2025, confirm that jury selection is ongoing, with the court aiming to seat a total of 20 jurors to ensure enough remain for a verdict after potential dismissals. Read’s defense team adds an unexpected member: Victoria George, an alternate juror from the first trial and a licensed civil attorney in Massachusetts, joins the legal team, a move that raises eyebrows among legal observers. Additionally, the O’Keefe family’s wrongful death lawsuit against Read, represented by the Boston law firm Melick & Porter, LLP, is proceeding in parallel, adding another layer of complexity to the saga.
The case’s broader implications are significant. It exposes deep flaws in police investigations, from biased conduct to sloppy evidence handling, and fuels public distrust in law enforcement, particularly in a state with a history of high-profile police scandals. The trial also highlights the challenges of retrying a case after a hung jury, especially when jurors later claim partial acquittals, raising questions about double jeopardy and the legal system’s handling of such scenarios. For Read, who has lost her jobs, health insurance, car, and life savings while facing over $5 million in deferred legal fees, the stakes are personal as well as legal. She tells Vanity Fair in 2024, “Other than feeling wrongfully persecuted and prosecuted, I feel incredibly violated,” noting that police have visited her home multiple times, seized her phones, and subpoenaed her family’s financial records.
As the trial progresses, the nation watches closely. The prosecution, led by Brennan, aims to refocus on the evidence of Read’s alleged actions, while the defense continues to push its conspiracy narrative, leveraging the fallout from Proctor’s misconduct to cast doubt on the investigation. With testimony expected to last six to eight weeks once the jury is seated, the second trial of Karen Read promises to be as contentious as the first, testing the limits of justice, public perception, and the pursuit of truth in a case that has already left an indelible mark on Massachusetts and beyond.
Sources:
- Video: https://youtu.be/HGEx1G-dbnw
- NBC News, “What to know about Karen Read’s murder retrial in the death of her police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe,” March 31, 2025
- CBS Boston, “A timeline of the Karen Read case and the story behind the high-profile Massachusetts murder trial,” April 15, 2024
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- Wikipedia, “Killing of John O’Keefe,” March 30, 2025
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- People, “Where Is Karen Read Now? Inside Her Life After John O’Keefe’s Murder,” November 5, 2024
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- WCVB, “19 jurors seated for murder trial of Karen Read, process still not over,” April 22, 2024
- WCVB, “‘It doesn’t feel great to be back’: Karen Read’s retrial begins with 2 jurors seated,” April 1, 2025
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- Today, “Karen Read to Stand Trial Again in January 2025 For Police Officer Boyfriend’s Death,” July 25, 2024
