Karen Read Acquitted of Murder After $5 Million Defense Unravels Flawed Investigation and Raises Doubts

Read and her Boston cop boyfriend, John O’Keefe.

Karen Read, a 45-year-old financial analyst from Mansfield, Massachusetts, was acquitted Wednesday of murder in the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, after a multimillion-dollar defense team dismantled the prosecution’s case and exposed critical investigative failures. She was found guilty only of a misdemeanor drunk driving charge and sentenced to one year of probation.

Read consistently maintained her innocence in the high-profile case, which gained widespread attention due to its explosive allegations of a cover-up involving law enforcement. Her elite defense team, led by renowned Los Angeles trial lawyer Alan Jackson — formerly a prosecutor in the Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey cases — presented a theory that Read had been framed to conceal the true circumstances surrounding O’Keefe’s death.

Karen Read and her legal team after the verdict was read

The defense was bolstered by local attorney David Yannetti and Victoria George, a former alternate juror from Read’s first trial. Their legal strategy included undermining the credibility of the investigation, raising alternate suspect theories, and leveraging inconsistencies in witness accounts.

Read’s legal battle came at significant personal and financial cost. She sold her home, lived off retirement savings, and was burdened with over $5 million in deferred legal fees before the second trial began. A legal defense fund raised more than $1 million from over 13,000 supporters, underscoring the case’s public interest. The donation site even crashed following her acquittal.

A supporter wore a look of relief after the verdict

Central to the defense’s strategy was the exposure of a flawed and biased investigation led by former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor. During the first trial, Proctor's profane and prejudicial text messages about Read — including calling her a “wack job c--t” and referencing her Crohn’s disease in vulgar terms — were presented to the jury. He also predicted her conviction early in the investigation, writing, “Zero chance she skates. She’s f--ked.” Proctor, suspended after the mistrial and later fired, did not testify in the retrial.

The defense also cast suspicion on several individuals present on the night O’Keefe died, including retired police officer Brian Albert, whose home O’Keefe was last seen entering. The defense argued that O’Keefe was involved in an altercation inside the house and suffered injuries inconsistent with being struck by a car — such as bite wounds allegedly caused by Albert’s dog, Chloe, which was given away shortly after the incident.

In a video from a Ring camera at John O’Keefe’s home, Karen Read is seen arriving in her SUV

Further scrutiny was placed on ATF agent Brian Higgins, with whom Read had exchanged flirtatious messages and shared a kiss, suggesting a possible motive related to jealousy. Jennifer McCabe, Albert’s sister-in-law and one of the first people on the scene, was questioned about a suspicious Google search — “hos [sic] long to die in cold” — that appeared to have been conducted hours before Read could have requested it, casting further doubt on the prosecution’s timeline.

Discrepancies in key witness testimony also became a focal point. Some accounts claimed Read confessed at the scene, saying, “I hit him!” while others said she was shocked and asked, “Did I hit him?”

Karen Read speaks after her not guilty verdict

Read’s high-stakes defense strategy — built on undermining the integrity of the investigation, suggesting alternate theories, and pointing to inconsistencies — ultimately persuaded the jury to acquit her of the most serious charges. The outcome marks a dramatic turn in a case that has gripped Massachusetts and the nation, and it raises renewed questions about police conduct, judicial fairness, and the power of public opinion in high-profile legal battles.