Attorneys for Mansfield woman charged in the death of Officer John O’Keefe argue she’s being framed
DEDHAM, Mass. (WLNE) — The attorneys for a Mansfield woman accused of murder in the death of her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, claimed in court Wednesday that she is being framed, WCVB-TV reports.
Karen Read’s defense team was adamant that she is not responsible for the death of Officer John O’Keefe in January 2022.
Prosecutors allege that Read hit him with her car outside of a friend’s house in Canton after a night of drinking and left him to freeze to death during a nor’easter.
O’Keefe was found unresponsive in the snow at the Fairview Road home the next morning and was pronounced dead at a Brockton hospital.
Karen Read of Mansfield is accused of hitting Boston police officer John O’Keefe with her car and leaving him to die. (WCVB)
Read’s attorneys argue that she didn’t hit him, and asked the judge to allow them to try and find the person who is truly responsible.
While the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office wrote in an autopsy report that there was “no signs of an altercation or fight,” attorneys argued in court that O’Keefe had defensive wounds on his hands and marks that appeared to be dog bites.
A doctor said the abrasions were “caused by a blunt object” — including small skull fractures that caused swelling around his eyes.
Read’s defense team said the sister-in-law of the owner of the home searched “Ho[w] long to die in the cold” at 2:27 a.m. that night.
Her attorneys named several people in the courtroom who they claim to be related to the case; however, none of them are facing criminal charges.
Karen Read appears in Norfolk Superior Court, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. (WCVB)
Police reported that Read had returned to the home after dropping O’Keefe off and asked officers, “Could I have hit him?” and, “Did I hit him?”
Investigators said the tail light of Read’s black Lexus SUV was damaged the morning O’Keefe was found.
Two pieces of the red plastic were found by investigators while digging through the snow near where he was discovered, the DA’s office said.
Read is set to appear back in court on May 25.
WCVB contributed to this report.
