Karen Read’s fans say she didn’t kill her boyfriend. She says it is a police cover-up

2 days ago 3

By Susie Coen

June 28, 2024 — 7.26pm

At astir 6am connected January 29, 2022, the lifeless assemblage of John O’Keefe, a constabulary officer, laic blanketed successful snowfall extracurricular a detached location successful a tiny suburban municipality 25 kilometres south-west of Boston.

About six hours earlier Karen Read, his girlfriend, had dropped him astatine an after-party with his colleagues successful her achromatic Lexus SUV pursuing a nighttime of bar-hopping.

Supporters of Karen Read show signs to passing cars adjacent court.

Prosecutors allege that aboriginal successful the nighttime she returned and intentionally reversed implicit her fellow of 2 years who she had been warring with implicit text, leaving him for dormant extracurricular the location of Brian Albert, a retired constabulary officer.

Read, 44, who is presently connected proceedings astatine Norfolk Superior Courthouse for second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter portion intoxicated, and leaving the country of a collision, insists she is guiltless and being acceptable up by the constabulary – a presumption that is shared by her legions of supporters who flock to the courthouse to enactment her each day.

Read’s lawyers person argued O’Keefe, 46, was beaten to decease by idiosyncratic wrong the location and bitten by the location owner’s German shepherd earlier being thrown extracurricular and near to die. They assertion constabulary past conspired to pin the decease connected Read, a “convenient outsider”.

Now, aft 2 months and 74 witnesses, the assemblage has retired to determine whether Read is guilty.

“There is nary lawsuit against maine … aft 8 weeks, it’s fume and mirrors, and it’s going done my backstage beingness and trying to contrive a motive that was ne'er there,” Read told reporters extracurricular the tribunal this week.

What happened that nighttime and who killed O’Keefe has torn the sleepy municipality of conscionable 24,000 isolated and spawned a immense web of amateur sleuths convinced that Read, a erstwhile assemblage professor, is the unfortunate of a blase cover-up involving the constabulary and the territory attorney’s office.

The prosecution has argued Read struck her fellow portion performing a three-point turn, causing “catastrophic caput injuries” and leaving him for dead.

Points of contention included a breached process airy connected Read’s car, witnesser claims that Read said “I deed him” aft his assemblage was found, and whether O’Keefe’s injuries are accordant with being tally over.

Karen Read watches arsenic the assemblage enters the courtroom earlier this week.

Read’s defence is that the full prosecution lawsuit is based connected lies by officers sticking unneurotic to support themselves.

Her lawyers accidental the pieces of process airy and the hairsbreadth were planted during the hours earlier the transgression country was secured. They suggested O’Keefe mightiness person been beaten up by a national cause helium was with that night, who had flirted with Read implicit texts, and that the men panicked earlier trying to screen up the crime.

Since the proceedings began successful April, a oversea of radical adorned successful pinkish “Free Karen Read” T-shirts person descended connected the municipality of Dedham, Massachusetts, wherever she is connected trial, to protestation her innocence.

Each day, equipped with placards, flags and pom-poms, they substance themselves with freshly grilled blistery dogs and acceptable up campy extracurricular the judge’s 200-foot buffer portion from the court.

On her mode into court, Read has been continually met with the adulation usually reserved for Hollywood movie stars.

The origin célèbre has fired up supporters crossed the world, with 1 British mates spending £3000 ($5700) to question from Manchester to be the proceedings successful person.

After making the 5000-kilometre travel crossed the Atlantic, Tom Murphy and Jill Boothman met Read extracurricular court.

Mothers person turned up with their home-schooled children to amended them astir the justness system, portion others person attended with their favored budgies and dogs dressed successful pinkish outfits.

Those who person protested Read’s innocence extracurricular tribunal see Liz Erk, who said she felt “compelled” to get progressive aft speechmaking astir the case.

“I felt similar Karen Read could beryllium me,” the 47-year-old azygous genitor said.

“It’s casual to brushwood thing disconnected and say, ‘T hat’s crazy, this doesn’t happen’,” Erk added.

Former Boston constabulary serviceman John O'Keefe.

“You don’t privation to judge that it happens, but I deliberation erstwhile radical statesman to look astatine the details that it’s truly hard to ignore.”

As good arsenic showing up successful person, Read’s supporters person pored implicit tribunal documents and evidence, sharing their findings with 45,000 others successful a dedicated Facebook group.

The defence has argued Read was framed by the “well-connected” Albert household and Michael Proctor, the pb researcher and Massachusetts authorities trooper, who is simply a household friend.

On the stand, Proctor was confronted with a bid of texts successful which helium described Read arsenic a “wack job” and joked astir not uncovering nude photographs of her portion going done her phone.

In 1 substance to his sister, Proctor said that helium wished Read would “kill herself”.

Read’s lawyer, Alan Jackson, said successful tribunal earlier this month: “You weren’t truthful overmuch arsenic objectively investigating her arsenic objectifying her successful those moments.”

Supporters of Karen Read show signs adjacent court.

Proctor denied helium was looking for nude images and apologised for the connection utilized successful the messages.

Read’s service of sleuths has raised implicit $US340,000 ($511,000) selling everything from bum bags to candles to assistance money her ineligible squad led by Jackson, who represented Kevin Spacey erstwhile helium was cleared connected intersexual battle charges successful 2019.

Campaigners person organised a billboard professing Read’s innocence with a QR codification to donate cash.

Aidan Kearney, a blogger who goes by the moniker Turtle Boy, has posted hundreds of videos speculating astir the case.

Kearney, who filmed himself confronting witnesses, was arrested successful October and indicted connected much than 15 felony charges involving witnesser intimidation and conspiracy.

Last year, helium organised a rolling rally, successful which hundreds of supporters went to the code wherever O’Keefe was found, to the past barroom they had been astatine and to the homes of antithetic witnesses.

Nick Rocco, a 29-year-old hairdresser, archetypal heard astir Read’s lawsuit successful April 2023 done 1 of Kearney’s videos.

Now, helium says helium and his woman Jenna Rocco are “key players successful the movement”.

He founded the Justice For Officer John O’Keefe & Karen Read Facebook leafage and has raised adjacent to $200,000 by organising giveaways, Halloween parties and selling bracelets.

“It’s perfectly insane. The question conscionable keeps getting bigger and bigger,” helium said.

As good arsenic manning the online leafage and fundraising, the begetter of 3 goes to tribunal each Monday and Tuesday – his days disconnected – to enactment Read.

He said she is “very appreciative” of the support.

“I didn’t cognize her earlier this astatine all, I had nary thought who she was, and past it came to a constituent where, like, you know, she trusted me, she saw what I was doing for her,” helium added.

He is “not a existent transgression person”, helium said. “I conscionable felt atrocious for this woman. I felt bad. I wanted to assistance her.”

Responding to claims helium is promoting a conspiracy theory, helium said: “Put it this way, we’ve seen galore conspiracies and I don’t privation to beryllium political, but we’ve seen galore conspiracies that person travel true.”

Jon Silveira is the lone 1 of the 9 administrators connected the Facebook leafage who knew Read earlier her arrest.

The brace grew up together, and she and O’Keefe had visited him successful Florida 3 months earlier her partner’s death.

Silviera, 44, who works offshore connected an lipid tanker, has been supporting Read successful tribunal passim the trial.

The question is “massive”, helium said, with radical taking clip disconnected enactment conscionable to basal extracurricular successful the rainfall to protest.

“When you propulsion up successful the morning, seeing everybody dressed successful pinkish with the signs, it’s truly refreshing, it’s truly motivating,” helium said.

Before O’Keefe’s death, Canton was similar immoderate tiny town, quiescent and “family-oriented”, Rocco said.

Now it is “very overmuch divided. You person the ‘Karen Read is guilty’ and past you person the ‘Karen Read is innocent’,” helium said.

With the 12-strong assemblage present deciding Read’s fate, immoderate the outcome, it’s going to beryllium a rocky thrust yet for that erstwhile peaceful town.

The Telegraph, London