Karen Read took a victory lap outside court — and made a bold claim — in her first words after being acquitted of killing her Boston cop boyfriend on Wednesday.
“No one has fought harder for justice for John O’Keefe than I have. Than I have and my team,” she said outside court in Dedham, Mass., as she thanked her screaming supporters.
The financial analyst was only convicted of a drunk driving charge, while avoiding the more serious charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident causing death at her second trial in the case.
Karen Read gestures to supporters after she was found not guilty of second-degree murder on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. AP
The scene outside court as Karen Read was found not guilty of the top charges. David McGlynn
Read’s supporters react to her not guilty verdict on murder charges outside the courthouse. AP Photo/Josh Reynolds
“I could not be standing here without these amazing supporters who supported me and my team financially and more importantly emotionally for almost four years,” she also said to adoring fans.
O’Keefe’s friends, the McCabe and Albert families, who were key witnesses in the murder trial against her, released a statement blasting the verdict as a “miscarriage of justice.”
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“Today, our hearts are with John and the entire O’Keefe family. They have suffered through so much and deserved better from our justice system,” the statement said.
Read supporters celebrating her legal win. David McGlynn
Read told supporters that “no one has fought harder for justice for John O’Keefe” than she. AP Photo/Josh Reynolds
O’Keefe’s family and friends released a statement calling the verdict a “miscarriage of justice.” Courtesy of David Yannetti“Today we mourn with John’s family and lament the cruel reality that this prosecution was infected by lies and conspiracy theories spread by Karen Read, her defense team, and some in the media. The result is a devastating miscarriage of justice.”
As she left the Norfolk County courthouse in Dedham for the last time in connection to the criminal case, Read had her right hand on her heart as supporters erupted in cheers.
Read reacting to the verdict in Norfolk Superior Court. Greg Derr/USA Today Network via REUTERS
Read embracing her lawyer Alan Jackson in the courtroom. Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Read gesturing to supporters as she leaves court after the verdict. David McGlynnThe legal drama began in 2022 when O’Keefe was left for dead in a snowbank. Prosecutors accused Read of hitting him with her car and driving off following a drunken night of partying. Her defense team argued that O’Keefe’s death had nothing to do with Read and that she was a scapegoat for cops who conspired against her.
