Karen Read is facing second-degree murder charges for allegedly backing over her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, with her car and leaving him to die in the snow. Her acquaintance, Jennifer McCabe, testified that she found O’Keefe in the snow around 6 a.m. on the morning of the incident. The defense argues that O’Keefe was actually killed during a fight at a friend’s home and later brought outside to make Read look guilty.
Throughout the trial, conflicting testimonies have emerged, with McCabe claiming that Read asked her to search for information about how long it takes someone to die in the snow. The defense has tried to argue that McCabe conducted the search hours before finding O’Keefe, but McCabe denies this and insists that she did not delete any search on her phone. McCabe also testified that she heard Read say, “I hit him, I hit him, I hit him,” but Read denies making this statement. Read’s lawyers have suggested that McCabe was involved in a cover-up to frame Read for the murder.
According to the defense, Read dropped O’Keefe off at a party with his cop friends at McCabe’s home after a night of drinking. When O’Keefe did not return by the morning, Read, McCabe, and Kerry Roberts went looking for him and found him unconscious in a snowbank with severe injuries. The prosecution, however, alleges that Read and O’Keefe got into a drunken fight in her car and she intentionally backed over him out of anger. This has led to a federal probe into whether there was a police cover-up in the handling of O’Keefe’s murder.
The trial in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham has revealed the complexities of this case, with both sides presenting conflicting narratives about what happened on the night of O’Keefe’s death. McCabe’s testimony has been crucial in shedding light on the events leading up to the discovery of O’Keefe’s body. The defense’s argument that O’Keefe was killed elsewhere and the scene was staged to incriminate Read raises questions about the true circumstances of O’Keefe’s death and who may be responsible.
As the trial continues, the jury will have to weigh the evidence presented by both the prosecution and the defense to determine whether Karen Read is guilty of second-degree murder. The conflicting testimonies and allegations of a cover-up add layers of complexity to this case, making it a challenging task to uncover the truth about what really happened on the night of O’Keefe’s death. The outcome of this trial will have significant implications for all involved, including Read, McCabe, and the Boston Police Department.
