The Karen Read trial is in full swing, and testimony continues today, April 24, 2025. Read is accused of murdering her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, who died in a blizzard after a night out. It is alleged that she purposefully backed into him with her SUV outside of a fellow Boston police officer’s home and left him for dead.
The first Karen Read trial ended in a hung jury after the group could not agree on all the charges. Read is facing several charges, including second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while under the influence, and fleeing the scene of a crime. In her first trial, the jury supposedly found her not guilty of all but the manslaughter charge, which they were undecided on. Without knowing how to proceed, Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial.
Day 1: Opening Statements of Karen Read Trial
During opening statements on April 22, Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan stated that in a drunken rage, Karen Read hit John O’Keefe and left him wounded in the cold as snow poured down. However, Read’s attorney, Alan Jackson, told the jury that there had never been a collision. He claims O’Keefe was never hit by the SUV and died inside the fellow police officer’s house before being dragged out into the snow.
The prosecution called three witnesses: Timothy Nuttall, the responding paramedic; O’Keefe’s mother and friend, Peggy O’Keefe; and Kerry Roberts. Nuttall testified to Read panicking and saying, “I hit him, I hit him, I hit him,” while he was attending to O’Keefe in the snow. Kerry Roberts was also present at the time of finding the victim’s body. She testified to going with Read to search and recalled her saying that her taillight was broken.
Day 2: Witness Testimony
Kerry Roberts concluded her emotional testimony on day 2 of the Karen Read trial. She recounted the moments when they first pulled up and after they found him. She testified that Read performed mouth-to-mouth while she and Jenn McCabe did chest compressions. At one point, she recalled Read asking if she thought she hit him, but that seemed far-fetched at the moment.
After testimony concluded on both sides, the prosecution played two clips for the jury to show consciousness of Read’s guilt. The first clip shows Karen Read’s 20/20 interview where she said, “I was presuming they saw my cracked tail light and thinking, did you hit my son. I could sense from her she was looking at me very warily…I think John’s mother thinks I did something to John.”
In the second clip, Read mocks Peggy O’Keefe, John’s mother, leaning over, saying, “John looks like he was hit by a car.” The defense argued the clip was used to make Read look bad and should not be used as permissible evidence.
Day 3: More Testimony from Prosecution Witnesses
Later, another friend, Mike Camerano, testified to Karen Read and John O’Keefe’s relationship. Camerano claimed the two seemed to be a normal, affectionate couple the night of. While they bickered and argued at times, there was nothing abnormal about their interactions. However, he noticed Read was jealous and possessive at times. It was apparent she did not want other women around O’Keefe.
The restaurant manager at C.F. McCarthy’s in Canton, Massachusetts, testified about the surveillance footage acquired by prosecutors. Jean DeMulis testified that Karen Read and O’Keefe were at the restaurant the night before O’Keefe’s untimely death.
Daniel Whitley, a paramedic, returned for cross-examination by Read’s defense attorney, David Yannetti. He was asked about the inconsistencies between his testimony to the grand jury to now in the second Karen Read trial. Whitley previously explained he took Read to the hospital after discovering O’Keefe’s body and ordered a mandatory psychological evaluation. According to Whitley, Read resisted at first, but then agreed later.
Whitley said Read was uncooperative and “didn’t want to give a urine sample.” Before a grand jury, he said Read was unwilling to provide a sample. Now, before the current jury, he said it was certain she did not want to give one.
Watch The Karen Read Trial
There are several options to watch the Karen Read trial if you have not been keeping up thus far. CBS Boston News and CourtTV are live streaming every day. CourtTV has covered the crime since the start of Read’s arraignment and provides daily updates. The Karen Read trial is something you do not want to miss witnessing.
