Prosecutors alleged Read hit her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, with her car outside another officer’s home in January 2022 and then left him to die there during a blizzard.
A Massachusetts jury found Karen Read not guilty of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend in 2022, nearly a year after her first prosecution ended in a mistrial.
She was acquitted of the most serious charges, including second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene after an accident resulting in death.
The jury did find her guilty of operating under the influence of liquor. The judge immediately sentenced her to one-year probation, the standard for a first-time offense.
Cheers could be heard from outside the courthouse, where supporters of Read have gathered, while the verdict was being read. Read embraced her legal team and cried following the verdict.
The jury began deliberating the afternoon of June 13 in Norfolk County before reaching a verdict Wednesday afternoon.
Prosecutors alleged Read hit her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, with her car outside the Canton home of fellow police officer Brian Albert after a night of heavy drinking in January 2022 and then left him to die there during a major blizzard.
The defense had argued that Read’s vehicle did not hit O’Keefe and instead said O’Keefe was attacked by a dog and beaten by other people who were in the house before he was thrown out in the snow to die.
Read pleaded not guilty to the charges and has maintained her innocence.
In brief remarks upon leaving the courthouse, she thanked her «amazing supporters» for their financial and emotional support for the past nearly four years.
