Murder, Mistrial & Media Frenzy: Inside the High-Stakes Retrial of Karen Read

The second murder trial of defendant Karen Read is underway just outside Boston and this case has taken on national prominence. Read, 45, is accused, after a night of drinking with friends, of hitting her boyfriend, Boston Police officer John O’Keefe with her SUV on Jan. 29, 2022, and leaving him to die in a snow blizzard on the front lawn of another police officer. The two were allegedly arguing. She is charged with second degree murder, leaving the scene of an accident and manslaughter while operating under the influence. Her defense says she is being framed by police officers to cover a murder within the ranks. Her first trial with 70 witnesses ended in a hung jury and a mistrial on July 1, 2024, after three days of jury deliberation. At the first trial large groups of vocal protestors stayed outside the courthouse throughout the trial. They were predominately in favor of Read and were stirred up by a blogger called “Turtleboy.” Her second trial began just recently and is in the process of jury selection. In the interim, the case has been the subject of a highly viewed five-part documentary on HBO/Max called “A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read.” The second trial has some interesting changes. There is a new special prosecutor brought in to streamline the state’s case and make it clearer for the jury. Meanwhile, the defense has added a new attorney, Victoria George. Surprisingly, she was an alternate juror at the first trial but never got to deliberate. This is unprecedented. And while the trial is going on, an appeal has been filed with the U.S. Supreme Court claiming double jeopardy on two of the charges. The defense has learned that the first jury had reached a unanimous verdict of “not guilty” on the murder charge and the leaving the scene accusation but when the jury reported they were deadlocked, the trial judge assumed they couldn’t decide all three cases. Other twists include: “Turtleboy” is scheduled to be called as a witness even though he has now been charged with “intimidating witnesses” at the first trial. And Michael Proctor, the lead investigator on the case for the Massachusetts State Police, has been fired for sending degrading and somewhat sexual text messages to colleagues about Read during the investigation. On this episode of Next Witness…Please, our retired judges Gayle Williams-Byers and Thomas Hodson use the Read cases to decipher trial strategies for you and translate what’s happening with this second trial.