Northeast
Karen Read arrives at Massachusetts court through sea of ‘cop killer’ chants, supporters in fight to drop case
Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman who was accused of killing her police officer boyfriend with a vehicle in January 2022, was back in court Friday for a hearing discussing her defense team’s motion to dismiss.
Attorney Martin Weinberg argued for Read in court on Friday. Attorneys Alan Jackson and David Yannetti previously argued that two of three charges filed against Read, 44, including second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, should be dismissed following a mistrial in June.
Her lawyers told Judge Beverly J. Cannone that jurors reportedly agreed that Read was not guilty on two of the charges, and that another trial would subject Read to “double jeopardy.”
Prosecutors plan to retry Read in January. Cannone heard arguments from both sides and said she will take them under advisement, without making a decision Friday.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR KAREN READ?
Karen Read departs Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. Read, who was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend with a vehicle in January 2022, was back in court Friday for a hearing discussing her defense team’s motion to dismiss. (Patriot Pics/Backgrid for Fox News Digital)
Karen Read departs Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Patriot Pics/Backgrid for Fox News Digital)
Read arrived at the Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, on Friday afternoon surrounded by dueling onlookers: those who cheered her and held up signs that read, “Free Karen” and “Framed,” versus those who chanted, “Cop killer” repeatedly as she walked up the courthouse steps.
Jackson and Yannetti argued during the June trial that accusations against Read alleging she killed her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, are part of an elaborate cover-up and frame job.
Following a weeks-long trial and 26 hours of deliberation, the Norfolk County jury was deadlocked and Cannone declared a mistrial on July 1.
Prosecutors argued during the trial that after a night of drinking on Jan. 28, 2022, a shouting match between O’Keefe and Read — a financial analyst — turned deadly when Read allegedly backed into O’Keefe with her SUV. Prosecutors further alleged she left her boyfriend to die in front of a Canton home during a nor’easter.
Karen Read departs Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts on Friday, August 9, 2024. Read, who was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend with a vehicle in January 2022, was back in court Friday for a hearing discussing her defense team’s motion to dismiss. (Patriot Pics/Backgrid for Fox News Digital)
Karen Read smiles as defense attorney David Yannetti speaks to reporters in front of Norfolk Superior Court after the judge declared a mistrial after jurors were unable to reach a verdict following a two-month trial, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Authorities located his body on the front lawn of an influential family with deep ties to law enforcement and prosecutors.
KAREN READ MURDER CASE ENDS WITH ‘DEEPLY DIVIDED’ JURY’S DECISION
The question remains: Who killed John O’Keefe?
Read’s defense claimed the family who owned the home where O’Keefe was found dead in the snow on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022, framed her for his death in an elaborate cover-up.
Karen Read smiles during a news conference in front of Norfolk Superior Court, Monday, July 1, 2024, in Dedham, Mass. A judge declared a mistrial after jurors deadlocked in the case of Read, who was accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by striking him with her SUV and leaving him in a snowstorm. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Karen A. Read, girlfriend of the late Boston Police officer John OKeefe, was arraigned in Norfolk Superior Court on charges of second degree murder in his death in Dedham, MA on June 10, 2022. A photo of the couple together was presented by the defense to the prosecution. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The case has sparked debate between Boston-area locals who blame Read for O’Keefe’s death and those who think she’s innocent.
KAREN READ TRIAL COULD SINK OTHER HIGH-PROFILE MURDERS, EXPERT WARNS: ‘HARD TO SEE HOW IT DOESN’T’
“It’s turned into the Karen Read show,” O’Keefe’s brother, Paul O’Keefe, told CBS Boston in July. “She walks through a crowd that cheers her on. She goes in public and takes pictures and signs autographs.
View of 34 Fairview Road in Canton, Massachusetts on Feb. 2, 2022. Massachusetts State Police homicide detectives arrested Karen A. Read, of Mansfield, on a manslaughter warrant in the death of John OKeefe, a Boston Police officer who was found unresponsive outside a Canton residence. (Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
“She’s just living life like nothing ever happened,” he said at the time.
The jurors who presided over the June trial were “deeply divided” because of “deeply held convictions,” ultimately deciding that a “consensus is unattainable,” according to the judge’s notes from July.
WATCH: DASHCAM FROM THE NIGHT JOHN O’KEEFE WAS FOUND DEAD
A Norfolk County grand jury in June 2022 indicted Bentley University Professor Karen Read, 42, of Mansfield, for second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a collision, which prosecutors said caused 46-year-old Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe’s death. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe)
“Despite our commitment to the duty entrusted in us, we find ourselves deeply divided by fundamental differences in our opinions and state of mind,” the jury wrote in its final note to the judge.
Fox News Digital’s Chris Eberhart contributed to this report.
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GREENE TWP., Pa. (WKBN) – A 17-year-old Greenville boy on a minibike was killed in a crash over the weekend in Mercer County.
The crash happened around 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
A family member identified the victim as Ethan Guthrie, who attended Reynolds High School.
A Pennsylvania State Police report states that the teenager was driving a minibike traveling westbound on state Route 58 in the eastbound lane. A 2003 Lincoln Town Car driven by a 23-year-old man from Jamestown was traveling east in the eastbound lane.
The report states that the Town Car swerved to the right to avoid a head-on crash, while the minibike swerved to the left and hit the front end of the Town Car.
Guthrie, who was wearing a helmet, was transported to UPMC Greenville but died from his injuries.
Pennsylvania State Police were investigating the crash.
Hanna Erdmann and Kristen Hephner contributed to this report.
Rhode Island State Police said Tuesday that a dump truck that was left in the up position struck a bridge over Route 146 in Lincoln.
The crash happened at about 11 p.m. Monday at Breakneck Hill Road.
State police said their preliminary investigation showed the truck dumped a load of material south of Breakneck Hill Road, headed north with the dump body in the “full up” position and struck the overpass.
The driver complained of pain, but no other injuries were reported.
State police said Route 146 was shut down at 11:09 p.m. and re-opened at 2:10 a.m. after the truck was removed and Department of Transportation inspectors cleared the bridge. Traffic was detoured during the closure.
State police said they towed away the truck for inspection.
They said the truck is owned by A. Furtado’s Paving in East Providence, a private company sub-contracted by DOT. It was part of a paving project on Route 146.
Rabies is significantly on the rise among wild animals in Vermont, according to Vermont health officials. In response, the state and federal government are ramping up joint efforts to vaccinate wildlife against the disease.
Officials plan to put over 900,000 doses in bait they’ll distribute across 10 counties in Vermont. Workers in early May will drop the bait from low-flying aircraft in rural areas, and place it by hand in more densely-populated places.
Little blister packs covered in a waxy green coating will hold the vaccine. They’re scented to attract raccoons and skunks.
If you encounter these blister packs while you’re out, it’s important to leave them alone so wild animals can find them, said Vermont public health veterinarian Natalie Kwit.
“The way it works is they pick them up, they bite into it. It’s kind of like a pressurized liquid packet, and it bursts in their mouth, and then they swallow it, and it gets them vaccinated,” she said.
If your pet accidentally eats one of these blister packs, Kwit said they should be fine. But the health department wants you to call anyway to let them know.
Rabies is a deadly virus that attacks the brain and nervous system. Infected animals spread the disease through their saliva. In Vermont, it is most often found in raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats.
There were 66 rabid animals reported in both 2024 and 2025, more than double the previous annual average in Vermont. So far this year, 16 animals have been found to be rabid. While counties across northern Vermont have been affected, the greatest number of recent cases have been in Orleans County.
The vaccine bait drop is a joint project between the state and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has been running the program across the eastern seaboard since the 1990s.
Officials also plan to conduct the regular, annual statewide bait drop in August. This year is the fourth consecutive year that Vermont has scheduled an extra bait drop in response to rising cases.
Rabies cases are up nationally, although officials say they’re still trying to understand why.
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