Woman’s trial for murder of police-officer boyfriend captivates Boston | Massachusetts

Over the last eight weeks, a jury in Massachusetts has pondered whether 44-year-old Karen Read murdered her boyfriend, a police officer, in an act of domestic violence, or was framed by corrupt authorities trying to cover up the killing.

Read’s trial has captivated Boston residents’ attention and triggered a wave of conspiracy theories far beyond the city. At the center is Read, a suburban woman who worked as an equity analyst, and her boyfriend, 46-year-old John O’Keefe, a veteran Boston officer who was found dead in the snow on 29 January 2022.

Prosecutors have charged Read with hitting O’Keefe with her sport-utility vehicle and leaving him to die in a snowbank. She has pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree murder, manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of a deadly crash.

Jury deliberations could begin by Tuesday, after prosecutors rested their case and Read’s attorneys began presenting theirs.

For two months, prosecutors have relied on myriad expert witnesses to support their contention that Read was responsible for O’Keefe’s death. But the defense has countered with a tale of police corruption, maintaining that a tightly knit circle of law enforcement officials framed Read.

O’Keefe was found dead in front of the home of Brian Albert, a recently retired Boston police officer who had hosted a house party in the suburb of Canton.

According to prosecutors, Read dropped O’Keefe off at Albert’s house following a night of drinking at a bar, struck him with her Lexus SUV and then left him to die.

But Read’s lawyers have argued that their client went out to look for O’Keefe after realizing he never returned from the party. They have asserted that Read sought help from two other women, who helped her find O’Keefe’s body outside Albert’s home before they called the police.

O’Keefe was pronounced dead hours later, having sustained multiple head injuries – including a skull fracture and brain bleed – as well as hypothermia, according to investigators.

Prosecutors have pointed to forensic testing that showed strong matches among O’Keefe’s DNA, hair found on Read’s car bumper and DNA on its tail light. Tess Chart, a technology forensic DNA analyst, testified that according to mitochondrial DNA testing, she could say with 95% confidence that the hair found on Read’s car matched O’Keefe, CBS reported.

But Read’s attorneys have contested that evidence, with lawyer David Yannetti telling reporters: “It was planted on the vehicle – I mean, it was. You know the question is, how did that magic hair survive a 30-mile drive through a blizzard?”

Yannetti’s suggestions of police malevolence have received a boost from inappropriate text messages from the lead investigator in the case, Massachusetts state trooper Michael Proctor.

During his testimony earlier in June, Proctor acknowledged that he had called Read a “wack job” in text messages to friends, family members and his colleagues.

Proctor also admitted to texting his sister that he wished Read would “kill herself”, the Associated Press reported.

While on the stand, Proctor said that his text messages were a figure of speech, adding that “emotions got the best of me”. Despite apologizing for his language, Proctor maintained that his emotions did not influence his investigation into O’Keefe’s death.

Read’s lawyers insist the texts support their theory that closely related law enforcement officials framed their client.

Furthermore, during cross-examination by Read’s lawyers, Proctor acknowledged that he drank socially with Albert’s brother, Kevin Albert, a police officer from Canton. On the stand, Proctor testified that the two communicated about coordinating aspects of the case even though the Canton police department recused itself from the case, the Associated Press reported.

The first witness called by the defense on Friday was a snowplow driver who reported having seen “nothing” when he passed Albert’s house at about 2.45am the day O’Keefe was found. The snowplow driver, Brian Loughran, added that he did not see anything upon driving past the house again half an hour later, according to his testimony.

For their part, prosecutors have called on multiple first responders who reported hearing Read repeatedly say “I hit him” when asked what happened to O’Keefe. Among them was the Canton firefighter Timothy Nuttall.

Canton police officer Steven Saraf also testified that he recalled Read as being visibly upset. “This is my fault, this is my fault. I did this,” Saraf recalled Read saying, adding that she also asked multiple times: “Is he dead?”

Read’s legal team has asserted that she asked “Did I hit him?” rather than confess to having done so – and that the first responders misheard her.

Complicating the complex case even more are conspiracy theories that have been given air by social media users.

Aidan Kearney, a blogger with the moniker Turtleboy, has become a central spectator of the trial, frequently covering the case’s developments on his website TB Daily News, and rallying supporters behind Read.

According to an affidavit reported by CBS, Kearney and Read shared 189 phone calls in 2023, in addition to having communicated through the encrypted messaging app Signal.

Authorities charged Kearney in October with six counts of witness intimidation and one of conspiracy with respect to Read’s case. He has maintained his innocence while being ordered to stay away from those he allegedly has intimidated.

After Kearney’s arrest, the Norfolk district attorney, Michael Morrissey, condemned the “absolutely baseless” alleged harassment of witnesses in the case, saying: “Conspiracy theories are not evidence.”

A grand jury then indicted Kearney on 16 new charges in December, including eight counts of witness intimidation, three counts of conspiracy and five counts of picketing a witness.

“It’s clear that Mr Kearney is encouraging his minions, his followers, in the context of his blogs and YouTubes, et cetera, to continue to harass witnesses,” special prosecutor Kenneth Mello contended, according to CBS.

Read’s side is scheduled to resume presenting its case on Monday. She faces life imprisonment if convicted of murdering O’Keefe.

Associated Press contributed reporting