Karen Read not guilty of murder of Boston police officer boyfriend

Karen Read speaks after not guilty murder verdict

Karen Read, the Massacusetts woman accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend, spoke outside the courthouse after being found not guilty on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. The same jury found her guilty of a lesser charge of drunken driving.

Karen Read was found not guilty of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe after a jury deliberated for several days following a trial that lasted for more than a month. 

Supporters of Read cheered loudly outside the courthouse as the verdict was read. This was Read’s second trial for murder, after the first one ended in a hung jury last summer. Her polarizing case has been highly watched following her mistrial last year. 

Karen Read walks into Norfolk County Superior Court for opening statements in her retrial on April 22, 2025. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Karen Read not guilty

Read had been charged with the following, and was acquitted on all charges except for operating under the influence:

• Second-degree murder
• Involuntary manslaughter
• Motor vehicle homicide
• Operating under the influence
• Leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death

The jury caused some confusion before the verdict was read in court Wednesday. According to WBZ, during lunch break, the jury knocked and said they had a verdict, but then retracted and said a verdict had not been reached. They came back shortly after and said they had a verdict. 

What they're saying:

"I just want to say two things. Number one is I could not be standing here without these amazing supporters who have supported me and my team financially, and more importantly, emotionally for almost four years," Read said on the steps of the courthouse. "And the second thing I want to say is no one has fought harder for justice for John O'Keefe than I have."

READ MORE: Karen Read trial: 4 things to know about her retrial

Karen Read trial

The backstory:

Read was charged with killing her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe. This was her second murder trial after her first trial ended on July 1, 2024, in a mistrial due to a hung jury. 

WATCH moment Karen Read given 'not guilty' verdict

Karen Read was given a not guilty verdict by the jury on Wednesday in the killing of her former partner and police officer, she was found guilty on an operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

Big picture view:

Read, 45, was accused of hitting O’Keefe, 46, with her car while intoxicated outside a suburban Boston house party and leaving him to die in the snow in January 2022. 

The other side:

The defense had argued that there was no collision and Read was framed. 

BREAKING: Karen Read found "not guilty" on second-degree murder charge

A jury found Karen Read "not guilty" of second-degree murder. Read was also found "not guilty" of manslaughter while operating under the influence. Read was found "guilty" of operating under the influence. Read, 45, was accused of fatally striking her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, 46, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside a house party where other local police and a federal agent were closing out a night of drinking in 2022.

Dig deeper:

They argued O’Keefe was beaten by someone at the party, bitten by a dog, then left outside in a conspiracy orchestrated by the tight-knit Boston police that included planting evidence against Read.

Local police and a federal agent were there drinking at the house party.