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Karen Read accused of wrongful death in lawsuit by family of Boston police officer boyfriend

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Karen Read accused of wrongful death in lawsuit by family of Boston police officer boyfriend


The family of a Boston police officer filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday against Karen Read, the Massachusetts woman whose murder trial in the officer’s death ended with a hung jury in July.

The civil suit, filed in Plymouth County Superior Court by relatives of John O’Keefe, also accuses two bars of wrongful death, alleging they served Read alcohol when she was already intoxicated on the night of Jan. 28, 2022.  

The suit accuses Read, 44, of plowing into O’Keefe, 46, with her Lexus SUV after having had a series of drinks at C.F. McCarthy’s and Waterfall Bar & Grille.

Read claimed innocence at her criminal trial. Her defense team alleged that law enforcement officers framed her. Read could not be reached for comment Monday. The lawyer in her criminal case did not respond to a request for comment. 

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A person who answered the phone at C.F. McCarthy’s on Monday would not comment on the lawsuit. No one could be reached at Waterfall Bar & Grille.

The suit alleges that Read left her boyfriend for dead outside the home of a former Boston police officer in Canton, south of Boston.

The suit, which does not specify damages, also accuses Read and the two bars of negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Prosecutors had alleged that Read mowed O’Keefe down amid a deteriorating relationship. She was charged with second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a collision causing death.

On July 1, after five days of deliberations, a judge declared a mistrial when jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict. 

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According to Read’s lawyers, four jurors have come forward and said the entire panel reached not guilty verdicts on two charges: second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a collision.

The jury remained deadlocked on the remaining manslaughter charge, according to the lawyers. Citing that evidence, the lawyers asked the judge in the case to dismiss the charges, but she declined.

Prosecutors vowed to retry the case. A new trial is scheduled for Jan. 27.

The O’Keefe family lawsuit accuses one of the bars, C.F. McCarthy’s, of serving Read seven drinks over roughly 1½ hours on the night of Jan. 28. The second bar, Waterfall Bar & Grille, served Read a shot and a mixed drink shortly afterward, the lawsuit alleges.

After she left the second bar around midnight on Jan. 29, the suit alleges, Read drove O’Keefe to the Canton house, where the other Boston officer was having a gathering.

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O’Keefe and Read had been arguing, the suit alleges, when O’Keefe got out of the vehicle and Read fatally struck him.

In her criminal trial, Read’s lawyers said she watched O’Keefe enter the Canton house after she dropped him off. Hours later, she discovered that he had never come home and raced back to the house, where she found his body on the morning of Jan. 29.

The lawyers have alleged that O’Keefe was most likely beaten inside the home and left outside in the snow.





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Boston, MA

Karen Read analysis | What latest hearings say about coming retrial

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Karen Read analysis | What latest hearings say about coming retrial


No two trials are the same — and it appears that’ll be true for the high-profile Karen Read case as well.

Prosecutors have been working to keep several defense witnesses off the stand in the upcoming retrial over the killing of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.

“It’s not surprising to me to at all that, with new lawyers on the case and fresh looks at the evidence, that they’re making a determination as to which pieces of evidence they think they have real chance of excluding,” NBC10 Boston legal analyst Michael Coyne said.

The witnesses whom the prosecution moved to exclude from the case are a doctor whose expertise includes dog bites, a forensic expert who challenged the now infamous Google search, “hos long to die in the snow,” as well as two accident reconstruction experts whose testimony under cut the state’s version of how O’Keefe died.

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Prosecutors in the Karen Read trial spent the day in court trying to discredit the expertise of the defense’s dog bite expert, Dr. Marie Russell, so she can’t testify in the retrial.

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Judge Beverly Cannone will decide if the witnesses testify. She allowed them at the first trial and Coyne said it could create problems if she says no for the next trial.

“It does put her in a difficult point to be able to now reverse herself, and I don’t think that’s likely to happen,” he said.

Special Assistant District Attorney Hank Brennan is now leading the state’s case, and he plans to cut down the number of witnesses while bringing a different style than the original lead prosecutor, Adam Lally.

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“Hank’s approach is like an everyman’s approach,” said Coyne, who knows the experienced defense lawyer. “He’s understated. He’s very quick on his feet. I think he’ll be well received by the jury.”

Read’s team remains intact, but she said Tuesday outside one of the witness hearings that they’re taking a second look, too.

“We’re going to re-tool everything. Maybe something will stay similar but we’re gonna shuffle a lot of things around,” she said.

Much of this preparation could be moot if the state’s Supreme Judicial Court decides to throw out two of the charges against Read.

The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office says one of Karen Read’s key arguments has been “debunked” in a legal filing seeking to prevent testimony from a defense witness in the upcoming retrial.

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Boston, MA

What are those giant pink inflatable sculptures in downtown Boston?

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What are those giant pink inflatable sculptures in downtown Boston?


Giant pink people appear in Boston for art installation

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Giant pink people appear in Boston for art installation

01:09

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BOSTON – It’s a peculiar sight in downtown Boston: Giant pink people peering into restaurant windows and hanging out in alleyways.

These sculptures that are making their debut in the United States are called “Monsieur Rose” or “Mr. Pink” in English. It’s a new art installation designed to catch your attention and lift your spirits.

“These characters transform the streets into playful places and our daily travels into delightful, colorful journeys,” a website for the exhibit says.  

“Cute-ism” art

Their collective name in French roughly translates to “cute-ism” from artist Philippe Katerine. The inflatable sculptures are part of this year’s Winteractive art walk. 

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A Mr. Pink sculpture in Boston.

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CBS Boston


Winteractive is the same event that brought floating clown heads to the city last year. The Downtown Boston Alliance says the reaction encouraged them to up the ante this year.

Changing people’s days

Michael Nichols with the Downtown Boston Alliance says the organization is exploring “different ways of using our downtown to have fun.”

“It is the darkest, drabbest time of year in Boston. It’s gray … just cold and bitter,” he said. “And pops of pink color, bubblegum pink dotting the downtown in now six different locations is changing people’s day.”

Mr. Pink is only the beginning of the experience – new installations will be added to the collection every day for the next week. On Thursday morning there was another eye-catching sight: A display that appeared to show a satellite or small spacecraft that had crashed onto the hood of a car.

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A new art installation in downtown Boston showing a spacecraft or satellite on the hood of a car.

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ICE blasts Boston: Feds say BPD refused 198 immigration detainer requests for ‘egregious crime’ in 2024, not 15

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ICE blasts Boston: Feds say BPD refused 198 immigration detainer requests for ‘egregious crime’ in 2024, not 15


Federal authorities said the Boston Police Department refused to act on 198 immigration detainer requests last year, far exceeding the 15 reported by BPD’s commissioner, while blasting the city for jeopardizing “public safety and national security.” 



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