Woman charged with manslaughter in death of Boston cop found outside Canton home

Fred Hanson, The Patriot Ledger
·2 min read

CANTON – A Mansfield woman has been charged with manslaughter and motor vehicle homicide in the death of a Boston police officer.

Karen A. Read, 41, was arrested by State Police homicide detectives from the Norfolk County district attorney's office Tuesday night, District Attorney Michael Morrissey said in a statement.

Judge Daniel O'Malley set bail in Stoughton District Court on Wednesday at $50,000 cash. Read posted the bail before noon and is due to return to court for a probable cause hearing March 1.

Law enforcement officials say Read drove to the Fairview Road area with John O'Keefe, a Boston police officer, possibly shortly after midnight Saturday, Jan. 29.

O'Keefe, 46, of Canton, was found unresponsive outside a Canton home and was taken to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, where he was pronounced dead several hours later.

Read is also charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision causing death.

"After several days of intensive investigation, detectives from the Norfolk district attorney's office late (Tuesday) obtained an arrest warrant for Ms. Read," Morrissey said.

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O'Keefe was a 16-year-veteran of the Boston Police Department.

O'Keefe a Braintree High School graduate and a former intern at the Braintree Police Department.

Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Gregory Long said the department is offering whatever support it can to O'Keefe's family and Boston Police Peer Support will be available to assist department members in need of emotional support.

"John was a kind person, dedicated to his family, and will be greatly missed by his coworkers and anyone who had the privilege of meeting him," Long said in a statement.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Woman faces manslaughter charge in death of Boston police officer