Boston, MA

Trial starts in conspiracy-fueled case of girlfriend charged in Boston police officer's death

Published

2 years ago

April 29, 2024

Trial starts in conspiracy-fueled case of girlfriend charged in Boston police officer's death

DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — The trial of a Massachusetts woman who prosecutors say killed her Boston police officer boyfriend by intentionally driving her SUV into him begins Monday amid allegations of a vast police coverup.

Karen Read, 44, of Mansfield, faces several charges including second degree murder in the death of John O’Keefe, 46, in 2022. O’Keefe, a 16-year police veteran, was found unresponsive outside a home of a fellow Boston police officer and later was pronounced dead at a hospital. Read has pleaded not guilty and is free on bond.

As the case unfolded, the defense’s strategy has been to portray a vast conspiracy involving a police coverup. It has earned Read a loyal band of supporters – who often can be found camped out at the courthouse — and has garnered the case national attention.

The couple had been to two bars on a night in January 2022, prosecutors alleged, and were then headed to a party in nearby Canton. Read said she did not feel well and decided not to attend. Once at the home, O’Keefe got out of Read’s vehicle, and while she made a three-point turn, she allegedly struck him, then drove away, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors haven’t said where they think she went after that, however they allege she later became frantic after she said she couldn’t reach O’Keefe. She returned to the site of the party home where she and two friends found O’Keefe covered in snow. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. An autopsy concluded he died from head trauma and hypothermia.

One friend who returned to the home with Read recalled her wondering if she had hit O’Keefe. Investigators found a cracked right rear tail light near where O’Keefe was found and scratches on her SUV.

The defense have spent months arguing in court that the case was marred by conflicts of interest and accused prosecutors of presenting false and deceptive evidence to the grand jury. In a motion to dismiss the case, the defense called the prosecution’s case “predicated entirely on flimsy speculation and presumption.” A Superior Court judge denied the request.

Among their claims is that local and state police officers involved in the investigation failed to disclose their relationship with the host of the party. They also alleged the statements from the couple who owned the home were inconsistent.

The defense also floated various theories aimed at casting doubt on Read’s guilt, including suggestions that partygoers in the house beat up O’Keefe and later put his body outside.

In August, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey criticized suggestions that state and local enforcement were orchestrating a cover up, saying there is no evidence to support O’Keefe was in the Canton home where the party took place nor was in a fight.

The idea that multiple police departments and his office would be involved in a “vast conspiracy” in this case is “a desperate attempt to reassign guilt.”

Such comments have done little to silence Read’s supporters.

Most days, a few dozen supporters — some carrying signs or wearing shirts reading “Free Karen Read” — can be seen standing near the courthouse. Many had no connection to Read, who worked in the financial industry and taught finance at Bentley University before this case.

Among her most ardent supporters is a confrontational blogger Aidan Timothy Kearney, known as “Turtleboy.” He has been charged with harassing, threatening and intimidating witnesses in the case. For months, he has raised doubts about Read’s guilt on his blog that has become a popular page for those who believe Read is innocent.

“Karen is being railroaded,” said Amy Dewar, a supporter from Weymouth from outside the courthouse where the jury was being chosen. “She did not do it.”

Friends and family of O’Keefe fear the focus on Read and the conspiracy theories are taking away from the fact a good man was killed. In interviews with The Boston Globe, they described how O’Keefe took in his sister’s two children after their parents died.

To them, Read is responsible for his death. “No one planted anything in our heads,” his brother, Paul O’Keefe told the Globe. “No one brainwashed us.”

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Boston, MA

Editorial: With Boston’s World Cup win, could we host Olympics?

Published

10 hours ago

June 23, 2026

Press Room

Editorial: With Boston’s World Cup win, could we host Olympics?

The World Cup economic windfall boosting Boston gives rise to a question: Could the Hub host the Olympics?

Certainly Bostonians have more than risen to the occasion in terms of welcoming international visitors to our city and showing them a good time (and vice versa, Tartan Army). But it takes more than great hosts and a convivial atmosphere to pull off an epic sporting event.

It takes money, lots of it, political transparency, and a process open to public scrutiny and feedback. In other words, no, we couldn’t.

Public reception to the 2014 Olympics bid was tepid at best, as it would entail multiple construction projects. And when big construction projects are presented in Boston, taxpayers get suspicious. Big Dig, anyone?

Boston 24 announced it estimated the Games would produce at least $4.8 billion in revenues from television broadcast rights, ticket sales, corporate sponsorships and other revenues, the Associated Press reported. They assumed nearly $4.6 billion in costs, including $176 million for a temporary Olympic Stadium, $90 million for the athletes’ village, about $754 million to build other Olympic venues and another $132 million to rent other locations.

They reportedly announced all this to answer critics who said the privately funded Boston 2024 withheld details of the bid to prevent the public from assessing whether the Games could be staged, as promised, without the need for taxpayer money.

We learned the answer to that soon enough.

In this case, as the Herald reported that year, details from Boston 2024’s so-called bid book indicated that plans sent to the U.S. Olympic Committee called for the Hub to fund “land acquisition and infrastructure costs” at Widett Circle, where a temporary Olympic stadium was being proposed. It came after months of promises that the group planned to run a privately funded Olympics.

“They’ve been saying for months, ‘No taxpayer (money),’ ” said Evan Falchuk, a vocal bid critic who pushed for a statewide ballot question on hosting the games. “Then you read what they told the USOC. … It’s a devastating blow to their credibility. There’s a reason why voters don’t trust what they’ve heard and (Boston 2024 has) got a lot of work to do to earn that trust.”

And all this talk of money came before any cost overruns made an appearance. London’s budget for the 2012 Summer Games escalated by about 300%, ending somewhere in the $14 billion range. What were the chances we’d fare any better?

No wonder Bostonians gave the Olympics idea the cold shoulder.

But what of the city’s World Cup success story? For starters, Gillette Stadium is already built, and the only large element requiring a cash infusion was the MBTA, which shelled out $35 million to upgrade Foxboro Station in advance of the Cup. They’ll make a nice chunk of that back, as the T spiked round-trip Commuter Rail ticket prices between South Station and Gillette Stadium for fútbol fans to $80.

In this case, Bostonians are on the winning side, reaping benefits from free-spending (and thirsty) visitors, and reveling in the good vibes.

It would be great for the city if megaprojects, or even minor ones, came with the guarantee of financial transparency before shovels hit the dirt. Optimists should look at White Stadium before calling it a day.

Editorial cartoon by Gary Varvel (Creators Syndicate)

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Boston, MA

With Columbia Threadneedle out, Boston Triathlon director is looking for a new sponsor – The Boston Globe

Published

20 hours ago

June 22, 2026

Press Room

With Columbia Threadneedle out, Boston Triathlon director is looking for a new sponsor – The Boston Globe

Michael O’Neil is on the hunt for the next John Hancock.

As many Boston sports fans know, the insurance company first sponsored the Boston Marathon 40 years ago, helping usher in the modern professional era of the race as well as tens of millions of dollars in community fund-raising each year.

O’Neil wants to make a similar leap for the race he runs, the Boston Triathlon. This will be the first year without a naming-rights sponsor after nine years with Ameriprise Financial-owned Columbia Threadneedle Investments. O’Neil is seeking a successor that can help make an impact on the race the way Hancock once did with the marathon, a sponsorship role now played by Bank of America.

“We’re looking for that next transformational partner that wants to do something like that,” O’Neil said.

The 18-year-old triathlon draws nearly 2,500 athletes to Carson Beach in South Boston each August, for sprint and Olympic-distance triathlons, and also features free kids’ races the day before at the same location; Amazon has been a big sponsor for the “Kids Day” events.

O’Neil says he would like to extend the race beyond loops in South Boston to showcase more of the city and boost tourism; the Meet Boston tourism bureau is also among the race’s sponsors. Another hope of O’Neil’s: to continue community efforts that he and his race management firm, Ethos, undertook with support from Columbia Threadneedle, including donations to Boston Medical Center and the city’s “Swim Safe” program to provide swim lessons for kids. (O’Neil started an affiliated nonprofit to help expand this community work in 2024.)

He expects the race’s naming-rights sponsorship to cost “in the mid-six figures” annually.

“We’re over this hump now, after 18 years, we’re an institution,” O’Neil said. “We’re seeking a Boston-based company, that’s headquartered here or has a large presence here, that wants to make an impact on the community. … We know how to do that.”

This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston’s business scene.

Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.

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Boston, MA

Red Sox Star ‘Open’ to Trade Talks With Boston’s Season Spiraling

Published

1 day ago

June 22, 2026

Press Room

Red Sox Star ‘Open’ to Trade Talks With Boston’s Season Spiraling

Although it is just June 22, it’s certainly starting to seem like the Boston Red Sox could end up being sellers later on this summer when the 2026 Major League Baseball trade deadline gets here.

Boston took two out of three games from the Seattle Mariners over the weekend, but still finds itself 13 games under .500 at 31-44. Right now, Boston is six games out of an American League Wild Card spot as well. Boston needs a long winning streak to turn the tide. If not, the club will certainly trade pieces away. The conversation has gotten loud enough around the team that Red Sox starter Sonny Gray said he “would be open” to having a conversation about waiving his no-trade clause if someone from the club approached him about it to Tim Healey of The Boston Globe.

“If someone came to me from the Red Sox and made a decision that that’s the direction that this team was going to go, I would be open for a conversation,” Gray said to Healey. “Whatever happens from then, only time will tell. But I would be open for a conversation.

Could Sonny Gray Be The Next Star Out Of Boston?

Jun 18, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

“Holding veto power is ‘an earned thing’ and means a lot, Gray said. He negotiated it into the three-year, $75 million deal he signed with the Cardinals heading into 2024.”

When it comes to Gray, he has been a major addition for Boston so far this season. He has a 3.12 ERA in 13 starts to go along with a 55-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 69 1/3 innings pitched. Gray is also 8-1 on the season. Even in a campaign full of losses for Boston, Gray has been able to consistently be a stopper for the club.

If he were to become available, he would be an intriguing, although imperfect trade candidate. From a talent perspective, he’s awesome and would help a contender. But from a contract point of view, he has a $30 million mutual option for the 2027 season with a $10 million buyout. Mutual options rarely get picked up. The buyout is very high and could be a barrier. That will be a bridge to cross later on, though. What’s important to note right now is the fact that Gray is “open” to a conversation about a trade. It doesn’t mean that it will happen, but it’s possible.

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