Two Trials. One Dead Cop. The Lead Detective Was Friends With the Suspects. — The Karen Read Case

Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe was found dead in the snow outside a Canton, Massachusetts house party in January 2022. His girlfriend Karen Read was charged with murder. What followed was three years, two trials, a fired detective, and a corruption scandal inside the Massachusetts State Police. The lead investigator was secretly friends with the key witnesses, sharing case information and actively working against Read. He was eventually dishonorably discharged. In June 2025, after eight weeks of testimony and 21 hours of deliberations, the jury acquitted Karen Read of murder. She walked free. John O’Keefe’s real killer, if it wasn’t her, has never been identified. This is the full story.