'Not Guilty!' Jury dismisses charges of murder against Karen Read in relation to her cop boyfriend's death

A jury found Karen Read not guilty of murder in a case that accused her of fatally killing her boyfriend using her SUV. Her boyfriend, a Boston cop, John O' Keefe was found dead outside Boston on a day when his cop friends were hosting a house party in the vicinity. The case considered two aspects: Either it was a love story gone wrong, or it had a hint of major cover up.

Prosecutors claimed that Read was a scorned lover, and she rammed her SUV into her cop boyfriend and left him out in the snow to die. The incident is from 2022, and this high-profile case dragged on through the years, with Read's lawyers claiming that she was being framed for a crime she did not commit. 

She was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene, but a jury declared that the main charges against her did not hold substance. While the courtroom saw the jury reading the verdict, loud cheers could be heard from the crowd inside, and Read departed from the place with her friends and family, assisted by her attorneys.

The first trial that was held in relation to these murder charges was held on July 1 last year, but it ended with a hung jury. "Several jurors came out after to say that the panel had unanimously agreed that Read was not guilty of the most serious charge of second-degree murder," read an AP report.

During the last round of hearings and conclusions made recently in the re-trial, Defense attorney Alan Jackson rejected the idea that there was ever a collision between Read and O'Keefe on the day. He and the defense called forward expert witnesses who presented their versions.

“There is no evidence that John was hit by a car. None. This case should be over right now, done, because there was no collision,” Jackson was quoted as saying during closing arguments.

Meanwhile, “She was drunk. She hit him and she left him to die,” special prosecutor Hank Brennan told jurors during the closing arguments.

Ultimately, it was a victory for Read, who was dismissed of the main charges against her in this case.