Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman charged in connection with the 2022 death of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, will face a new trial starting January 27, 2025.
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The trial date was set after a mistrial was declared earlier this month due to a hung jury.
Read, 44, a financial analyst, was previously tried for the alleged murder of O’Keefe, a Boston police officer. The mistrial followed five days of jury deliberations in a case that spanned nine weeks at a courthouse outside Boston.
Prosecutors allege that Read, who had a tumultuous relationship with O’Keefe, intentionally backed her Lexus SUV into him and left him to die in the snow on January 29, 2022.
In addition to second-degree murder, Read faces charges of motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a collision causing death.
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Read’s defense contends that O’Keefe’s death was the result of a cover-up by law enforcement. They argue that the investigation was tainted and that Read was framed.
Her lawyers have requested the dismissal of the second-degree murder and leaving the scene charges, claiming that jurors were likely to acquit her on these counts.
Prosecutors oppose this request, calling it legally unfounded. Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone has scheduled a hearing on the motion to dismiss for August 9 and a trial conference for January 14, 2025.
O’Keefe was found dead from blunt force trauma and hypothermia. Read claims she did not see him after dropping him off at a gathering until discovering his body the next morning.
The lead investigator, Massachusetts state Trooper Michael Proctor, was suspended this month following allegations of biased behavior and improper conduct. Proctor has denied that his actions affected the investigation.
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