Jurors in Karen Read’s murder retrial heard a dramatic series of voicemails Tuesday that paint a volatile picture of the final hours before her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, was found dead outside a friend’s home in Canton, Massachusetts.
The voicemails, some furious and others desperate, were left between 12:33 a.m. and 6:03 a.m. on January 29, 2022 — the same morning O’Keefe’s body was discovered in the snow.
“You’re f—ing using me right now,” Read said in one message. “You’re f—ing another girl!” In others, she grew more frantic: “John, I’m here with your f—ing kids,” and finally, “I f—ing hate you.”
Read, 45, is accused of running over O’Keefe with her SUV after dropping him off at a party at the home of retired officer Brian Albert.
Prosecutors say she then left him outside in freezing conditions where he later died. She faces multiple charges, including second-degree murder and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
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Read has pleaded not guilty, claiming she is being framed by people inside the tight-knit law enforcement circle.
Her attorneys say O’Keefe was beaten during the party and then left outside to die — and that Read became the convenient scapegoat.
State police testified Tuesday that Read’s phone connected to O’Keefe’s home Wi-Fi around 12:36 a.m., placing her in the area at the time.
Over the next several hours, she called him 44 times, left at least eight voicemails, and sent dozens of text messages.
The final voicemail was left at 6:03 a.m., moments after she and two other women found his lifeless body in the snow. Screams could be heard in the background as 911 was called.
This is Read’s second trial; the first ended in a mistrial last year after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
The retrial continues as the court considers both forensic evidence and emotional testimony in a case that has captivated national attention.
