Karen Read is officially a free woman. After nearly three years of headlines, heated court debates, and viral TikToks, the Massachusetts woman accused of mowing down her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe, with her SUV in 2022 has been found not guilty of murder.
As the jury foreperson read the decision—not guilty of second-degree murder, not guilty of manslaughter while under the influence, not guilty of leaving the scene—Read broke into sobs, hugged her defense team, and mouthed “thank you” to supporters.
Outside the courthouse? Absolute mayhem. Cheers erupted. Supporters waved signs. Some even blasted music in celebration. If you’d just landed from Mars, you might have thought someone won a championship game.
This was Read’s second trial after her first ended in a mistrial in July 2024. The retrial kicked off in April 2025, but this time, prosecutors trimmed the fat. Gone were the wild side characters and courtroom drama—well, most of it.
Instead, the state zeroed in on one thing: they claimed Read slammed into O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV, then left him for dead in a snowbank after a boozy night out. Their key pieces of evidence? A shattered taillight, what they called “damning” text messages, and a frantic 911 call that they said hinted at guilt.
But Read’s defense team turned that around hard. They told the jury this wasn’t just a car crash—it was a cover-up. They said O’Keefe never even made it into her SUV that night, and instead, was beaten up inside a fellow cop’s house, then dumped outside.
One of Read’s lawyers, in an opening statement dripping with drama, declared, “She’s not on trial—she’s being framed.”
The theory caught fire online. Reddit threads, YouTube deep dives, #FreeKarenRead trending on X (formerly Twitter)—this case had its own digital fan club.
And apparently, the jury was listening. After about 21 hours of deliberation, they cleared her of every serious charge.
Read was convicted on a single count of driving under the influence, per The Boston Globe. But instead of jail time, the judge gave her a year of probation. That’s it. No bars, no cuffs, no prison jumpsuit.
Speaking to reporters just moments later, Read held back tears and said, “No one has fought harder for justice for John O’Keefe than I have.” The reaction from O’Keefe’s family? Devastated. They called the verdict “unbelievable” and “a blow to justice,” according to NBC Boston.
And they’re not done. The family has a wrongful death lawsuit pending against Read—and that’s still on track.