How did John O'Keefe die? Prosecutors, defense lawyers have last words in Karen Read trial

DEDHAM − Prosecutors say Karen Read was drunk and angry when she purposely hit her Boston police officer boyfriend, 46-year-old Braintree native John O'Keefe, with her SUV outside a Canton home in January 2022.

But defense attorneys for Read say she was framed for O'Keefe's death.

The two sides made their closing arguments Tuesday in the trial of Read, who was charged with second-degree murder after O'Keefe's body was found in the driveway outside the Canton home of a fellow Boston police officer on Jan. 29, 2022, during a snowstorm.

She is also charged with manslaughter while driving drunk and leaving the scene of personal injury and death.

The jury began deliberating after Tuesday's closing arguments ended. They deliberated until just before 4:30 p.m. when they were dismissed for the day. The jury is expected to return tomorrow.

The case has drawn national attention as her defense claims it was a cover-up by law enforcement and that others involved framed Read for O'Keefe's death.

More: How to watch Karen Read trial closing arguments live

Prosecutors say Read and O’Keefe had been drinking at a local bar with friends and acquaintances before they got into an argument. They say she hit him with her SUV outside the home of Brian Albert, who was hosting an after-party, shortly before 12:30 a.m.

But Read's lawyers say Read dropped O'Keefe off at Albert's home where he was fatally beaten inside before his body was planted on the front lawn. They say she was then framed for his death.

Prosecutors called more than 65 witnesses since testimony started April 29.

The defense's list of witnesses was much shorter and included a plow driver who said he did not see anything on the lawn in Canton where O'Keefe's body was found.

Jury deliberation ends for day

The jury began deliberating after Tuesday's closing arguments ended. They deliberated until just before 4:30 p.m. when they were dismissed for the day. The jury is expected to return tomorrow.

Defense argues Read was framed in cover-up involving witnesses, police

Read lawyer Alan Jackson opened by stating, “Look the other way,” which he said are “four words that sum up the commonwealth’s entire case.”

From late-night phone calls to Google searches and “butt dials galore,” Jackson said the state wants jurors to “just look the other way” when it comes to evidence that exonerates Read and suggests witnesses in the case framed her for the crime.

“That’s what they want. That’s what they’re counting on,” he said, telling the jury their “single duty” is to stare down that evidence and see the truth.

“You’re the only thing standing between Karen Read and the tyranny of injustice,” he said.

Jackson outlined how a cover-up could happen, from handpicking a police investigator to manipulating and destroying evidence.

“Pick your patsy and pin it on the girl,” he said. “It’s not that it could happen. Every single one of those things that I just mentioned did happen right in front of you.”

Jackson then walked through a narrative of the night, picking apart individual pieces of evidence, including cellphone data tracking of O’Keefe’s movement and phone calls made between people who were at the Albert house.

After meeting up with Brian Albert and other witnesses in the case at a local bar, Jackson said, Read dropped O’Keefe at the Albert home for the after-party and left.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Brian Higgins was also there. Higgins had been exchanging flirty text messages with Read in the weeks prior to Jan. 29.

Jackson suggested a fight then broke out inside the Albert home that involved the family dog Chloe, setting off a chain of events and ultimately a cover-up.

“How long does it take to have a cross word? How long does it take to have a fight? A push, a punch, a fall, pull Chloe off his arm and now it’s done,” he said. “It wasn’t intended to go that far, but what’s done is done.”

Jackson argued that the lead investigator on the case, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, had "deep ties" to the Albert family. He said Proctor worked alongside those at the Albert home to frame Read. Proctor is currently the subject of an internal State Police investigation.

Proctor was texting with his high school friends on the day of O'Keefe's death, revealing information about the investigation and sharing his personal thoughts about Read.

Jackson said none of the evidence suggests O'Keefe was hit by Read's SUV or that the SUV was damaged by coming into contact with O'Keefe's body.

"The commonwealth also knows that," he said. "The commonwealth resorts to character assassination and weeks on end of talking about the snow."

He said the prosecution has not met its "incredibly high" burden of proof.

“When you state the truth down, you can see the commonwealth has not proven this case beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said.

Prosecution says Read drunkenly and intentionally hit O'Keefe with SUV

“I hit him. I hit him. I hit him. I hit him.” Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally said those are the words that several first responders and witnesses heard Read say at the scene on Jan. 29, 2022, when O’Keefe’s body was discovered.

Lally said Read continued to make incriminating statements that morning, including stating, “This is all my fault.”Those statements along with the physical evidence prove that Read killed O’Keefe with her SUV, Lally said.

He told the jury to use “common sense and life experiences” as their guide.

“There is no conspiracy. There is no cover-up,” he said.

Lally said the couple’s relationship was falling apart amid allegations that O’Keefe was cheating on Read, which led to her intentionally backing her SUV into him and leaving him for dead after a night of drinking.

Lally laid out the evidence in the case, putting up text messages between Read and O’Keefe showing them arguing on Jan. 28, timelines using GPS data from O’Keefe’s phone until 12:25 a.m. and data from Read’s Lexus SUV in the moments before. He said that data shows her driving in reverse at about 24 mph followed by a “minor steering change,” which is consistent with a pedestrian strike.

He said Read then left the scene, driving back to O’Keefe’s Canton home and texting and calling him. While Read left O’Keefe voicemails stating she was looking for him, Lally said she knew exactly where he was.

“She had driven him there. She struck him there and she left him to die there,” he said.

Lally addressed claims of the cover-up, and why the evidence and witness testimony in the case disprove any theory other than Read hitting O'Keefe.

"There's no evidence of a fight or an altercation. There's no one else's DNA on his fingernails or on his clothing," he said.

Judge gives jury instructions ahead of deliberations

Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone gave the jury instructions for their deliberations.

She first gave jurors instructions that are provided in every case, including that every person who is accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent of the crime. It is the burden of the prosecution to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Read committed the crimes.

“Ms. Read does not have to do anything to convince you she is innocent,” Cannone said. “The burden of proof never shifts to the defendant.”

Cannone said the jurors should not make their decision based on emotion or feelings, but just “the impartial sifting of evidence.”

Cannone told the jury to use their common sense and that they can draft "reasonable inferences" between the evidence in the case. She said the jury can consider the credibility of witnesses when weighing their testimony.

Cannone then gave instructions specific to the charges Read is facing.

Turtleboy joins hundreds outside courthouse awaiting verdict

Hundreds of people, many wearing pink – the color supporters of Karen Read have chosen to symbolize their support – milled about Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham on Tuesday afternoon awaiting a verdict.

“This is beyond a travesty of justice,” Suzanne Arundale, who identified herself as a paralegal from New Hampshire, said as she ticked off the reasons she believes Read is innocent.

Arundale said she believes the investigation was suspect from the beginning, and that a large number of loose ends in the state’s case demand a not-guilty verdict.

“One or two odd things, you can deal with,” she said, but in this case, “there’s zero that’s clear.”

Arundale said she believes an accident happened and that those responsible for John O’Keefe’s death panicked and didn’t call 911.

She said testimony from witnesses inside or near the home was not believable, and that for her, the testimony of a plow driver who testified to not seeing a body on the lawn while driving his routes on Jan. 29, 2022, was vital.

Arundale said the driver struck her as a man incapable of lying, and that she believed him. She said she didn’t believe evidence and experts the state presented to rebut some of the alleged elements of the conspiracy – including a 2:27 a.m. Google search – were persuasive.

As Arundale spoke, Aidan Kearney, the Holden blogger known as Turtleboy, said hello to her by name and posed with fans for pictures.

Kearney, who is facing felony charges of witness intimidation regarding his interactions with witnesses he accuses of helping to frame Read, told the Telegram & Gazette around 3:20 p.m. that he was hopeful the jury would return a verdict of not guilty by day’s end.

Kearney said he believed Read’s lawyer, Alan Jackson, made it “plainly obvious” that Read was framed by a “corrupt” district attorney’s office he has said is coming after him to silence him.

There were many “Free Turtleboy” signs peppered in with "Free Karen Read” signs along the side streets near the Dedham courthouse Tuesday.

Despite intense sun and temperatures above 80 degrees, hundreds milled about the area, at one point craning their necks and screaming support for Read when she made an appearance.

Cameras abounded, with TV reporters not only interviewing others, but also, in at least one instance, being interviewed by men who said they were making an independent documentary.

On the back of a truck where a tent was set up, about a dozen pizzas and two huge buckets of chicken were brought in around 2:30 p.m. for Read supporters.

Lisa Ochs, a Read supporter who was cutting up slices for others, said a fellow supporter has been raising money online and buying lunch every day for those who surround the courthouse.

“I’m nervous, but I’m confident they will make the right choice with a not guilty,” Ochs said.

Ochs said she first thought Read was guilty, but changed her mind after reading Kearney’s coverage.

“All these things do not add up,” she said.

How to watch the Karen Read trial online

CourtTV has been covering the case against Read and the investigation surrounding Read's alleged crime since early 2022.

You can find CourtTV's ongoing coverage of the Read trial here. You can also watch its live feed where CourtTV anchors report on the Read trial proceedings as they occur, as well as coverage on other ongoing legal stories.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Karen Read murder trial: Closing statements made; jury deliberates