In the trial of Karen Read, the prosecution asserts she was under the influence during a fatal crash, while the defense claims a broad police conspiracy conceals the truth.
That's the predicament Presented to a Massachusetts jury during closing arguments of a trial that's held their attention throughout the state since early this year.
The case centers around the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, whose bruised and battered body was found in the snow on January 29, 2022, outside the house of a fellow Boston police officer in Canton.
The prosecution has claimed Read and O’Keefe, who were dating, had an argument that night, and that she drunkenly drove a vehicle into him and fled, leaving him to die in the cold.
"The facts unequivocally prove that the defendant drove her vehicle in reverse at 24.2 miles per hour for 62.5 feet, striking Mr. O’Keefe, causing his fatal injuries, leaving him incapacitated and exposed to the cold," said prosecutor Adam Lally during closing arguments.
But her defense asserts that off-duty police inside that Canton home fatally beat O’Keefe, put his body on the lawn, and then conspired through fabricated evidence and false testimony to blame Read.
"There was a cover-up in this case, without a doubt," defense attorney Alan Jackson said. "You'll inevitably question, 'Do I want to believe it? Do I want to believe it could happen in our community?,' but over these past few weeks, you've seen it unfold in court."
Read, 45, has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and leaving the scene of a collision.
Jury deliberations began following closing arguments Tuesday afternoon. The trial has captivated both local and national audiences, with claims of witness tampering, a federal investigation into the investigation, and supporters rallying with pink signs advocating for Read's freedom.
The prosecution's case has been tainted by a series of missteps and questionable investigative practices. A lead investigator, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, admitted to sending sexist and offensive texts about Read in a private group chat, disparaging her, mocking her medical issues, and commenting that he had found no explicit photos during a search of her phone. While Proctor apologized for his comments under oath, these texts have been widely criticized for their unprofessional and hurtful nature.
"It's completely unprofessional," Gov. Maura Healey stated about the texts. "It undermines the dignity and integrity of the work done by men and women across the state police and law enforcement. As a former attorney general and governor, I am appalled by this."
During the closing arguments, the prosecution denounced the texts as "unprofessional, inexcusable, and indefensible" but insisted they had no impact on the integrity of the investigation. The defense, however, argued that these texts revealed the poor quality of the investigation.
The trial has been dominated by the accounts of what occurred on a cold night in Canton over two years ago.
On the night of January 28, 2022, Read and O’Keefe went out drinking with friends at two bars. Shortly after midnight, the couple drove to the house of O’Keefe’s colleague for an after-party, court documents show.
The prosecution alleges that the couple had an argument that led O’Keefe to get out of the vehicle, and that a drunken Read then struck him with the vehicle and fled, abandoning him in the snowy cold.
However, Read claims she dropped off O’Keefe at the house and then drove home because she wasn't feeling well. When she realized he was still missing the next day, she braved a snowstorm to search for him, eventually finding his body in the front yard of the Canton house.
Read and her legal team have claimed that O’Keefe was injured in a fight inside the house and then thrown out in the snow. They have also accused a vast cop conspiracy and a corrupted investigation.
Prosecutors have dismissed this theory, as firefighters who arrived at the scene that morning questioned about O’Keefe's injuries, and Read herself admitted, "I hit him, I hit him," according to their testimony. In addition, Read’s vehicle had a broken taillight, and pieces of the taillight were found outside the Canton house, prosecutors said.
"From the people within that house that evening, no one at any point saw John O’Keefe enter the house," said Lally during opening statements. "They saw the vehicle drive away and assumed that it had left."
The trial, which began in April, included testimony from various law enforcement officers, some as witnesses and others as investigators.
Following the alleged incident where she's accused of hitting him with her SUV, she apparently called his phone, leaving a heated voicemail filled with anger, saying, "John, I can't stand you!"
The defense has been skeptical about the claims that Read admitting to hitting him with her vehicle, and they've criticized the investigators' methods. For instance, they collected evidence using red plastic cups, and the surveillance footage of Read's car was inexplicably shown in reverse, according to WCVB.
"They're nothing but liars, manipulators, and experts in deception," Jackson stated in the final arguments.
"It's not just carelessness," he continued. "It's tampering with evidence."
Massachusetts blogger, Aidan Kearney, often known as Turtleboy, has contributed to the ongoing controversy by publishing multiple posts suggesting a cover-up of the murder by law enforcement and local officials. Recently, Kearney denied charges of witness intimidation and conspiring to obstruct justice, as per WBZ, after it was claimed he contacted witnesses and investigators in Read's case.
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The jury is tasked with deciding the fate of Read, as she and her legal team argue that US law enforcement officers present in the Canton home that night were involved in O'Keefe's fatal beating.Over the course of the trial, supporters of Read have advocated for her freedom with pink signs, raising concerns about witness tampering and a corrupt investigation in this US case.
