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Karen Read murder case verdict reached after deadlocked first trial
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Jurors have reached a verdict in Karen Read’s retrial in the murder of her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe, who prosecutors allege she killed in a drunken hit-and-run during a blizzard on Jan. 29, 2022.
Jurors found Read not guilty of second-degree murder, the top charge, but guilty of a lesser offense of operating a vehicle under the influence with a blood-alcohol level of .08% or greater.
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan requested 1 year of probation and that Read be entered into a 24D outpatient program – routine penalty for a first drunken driving offense.
The trial saw more than 30 days of testimony and four days of deliberation. Read was also found not guilty of drunken driving manslaughter and fleeing the scene of a deadly accident. Her first trial on the same charges ended without a verdict last year when jurors deadlocked.
SEE THE PHOTOS: Karen Read not guilty
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Cheers of her supporters, who had been waiting for an update across the street from the courthouse, could be heard inside the courtroom.
For Read’s second trial, the commonwealth appointed a special prosecutor, high-powered defense attorney Hank Brennan, and Read added New York defense attorney Robert Alessi to a team that included Los Angeles’ Alan Jackson and Boston’s David Yannetti.
SEE THE VIDEO: Verdict revealed
Jack Lu, a retired Massachusetts judge and Boston College law professor, called the outcome “a stunning victory for the defense” that he said would also help Read in a civil lawsuit against her from O’Keefe’s family.
WATCH ‘KAREN READ TRIAL LIVE’ ON FOX NATION, HOSTED BY PAUL MAURO
Officer John O’Keefe poses for his official headshot. O’Keefe’s girlfriend, Karen Reed, is currently on trial for murder after he was found dead outside of a Massachusetts home in January 2022. (Boston Police Department)
The investigation of Read’s case led to investigations into the investigators, leading to an audit into the Canton Police Department and the firing of a state police homicide detective.
“Today’s outcome may bring a sense of relief to some and continue to raise questions for others,” said John McCourt, chairman of Canton’s governing body, the select board. “We encourage members of the community to move forward together, treating one another with respect through civil, constructive dialogue.”
A crowd of supporters react as the verdict is revealed. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)
Read found O’Keefe around 6 a.m. lying in the snow and unresponsive. She was with two other women – Jennifer McCabe and Kerry Roberts, both of whom testified against her during the trial.
They said Read called them in a panic that morning and said she couldn’t find O’Keefe.
Karen Read, flanked by attorneys Elizabeth Little and David Yannetti, reacts to the verdict after her second trial in the death of her former boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
McCabe testified that on the morning in question, Read repeated three times, “I hit him.”
Paramedic Timothy Nuttall, the first witness to take the stand in the trial, said he overheard Read saying the same thing – three times again.
But the defense argued that a collision never happened.
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Peggy O’Keefe, the mother of deceased Boston police officer John O’Keefe, looks up at defense attorney Alan Jackson, right, during the Karen Read murder trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Matt Stone/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)
The couple and other friends and acquaintances, including McCabe, had been out drinking in downtown Canton before they were invited to an after-party at the home of Brian Albert, who testified in the first trial but not the second.
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O’Keefe was found on Albert’s lawn hours later.
Witnesses said they saw Read’s car outside but neither she nor O’Keefe went into the gathering. She did not testify in her own defense – but she told reporters outside court that she saw O’Keefe go inside before she drove away.
Prosecutor Hank Brennan during the Karen Read retrial, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Matt Stone/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool)
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Throughout the trial, Brennan played clips of Read’s televised interviews, giving jurors a chance to hear not only her version of events, but other commentary she gave journalists, including how she was spiking her own drinks at the bar before O’Keefe’s death and an encounter with O’Keefe’s mother afterward.
Karen Read listens to the cross-examination by Robert Alessi of expert accident witness Dr. Judson Welcher while seated at the defense table with her attorneys, Alan Jackson and David Yannetti, during her retrial at Norfolk Superior Court, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Prosecutors allege Read hit O’Keefe and drove to his house without him. Read’s defense has argued she never hit him, blaming his injuries on a dog attack and an altercation with other men at the party.
Fox News’ Lissa Kaplan contributed to this report.
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have looked for reliable bullpen arms and right-handed pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski displayed exactly what they need this season.
Mlodzinski earned a four-inning save for the Pirates in the 5-1 win over the Houston Astros in the series finale at Daikin Park on June 5, playing a big role in a massive road series win.
He allowed just one run and four hits, while posting three strikeouts, shutting down a strong Astros offense for an important win.
Mlodzinski has a new role with the Pirates, but it’s one they need more performances like this one to help out an area of weakness on their pitching staff.
How Mlodzinski Shut Down the Astros
It wasn’t a great start for Mlodzinski, who gave up a solo home run to Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning.
Mlodzinski threw just his second pitch, a 94.6 mph four-seam fastball that was in the top part of the strike zone, which Paredes sent 101.3 mph off the bat and 356 feet into the left field seats.
The Pirates pitcher then got out of the inning quickly, with two ground outs and a fly out to end it.
Mlodzinski faced some adversity in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving up back-to-back singles with one out and faced Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez, who was 7-for-11 and drove in five RBI prior to this at-bat.
He managed to get Alvarez out on a sinker at the top of the zone, that Mlodzinski noted postgame as, “unintentional”, and then got a ground out to strand both runners.
Mlodzinski got a 1-2-3 eighth inning and then after giving up a single in the ninth inning, he got a double play to end the game on a backdoor slider.
it was an outing that Mlodzinski relied less on striking batters out and more on inducing weak contact and relying on his defense to get the job done.
He allowed just five hard hits on 12 batted ball events and saw some nice defensive plays made, including a diving catch from left fielder Jake Mangum and a good stop from third baseman Nick Gonzales and then the pick from first baseman Spencer Horwitz for a big out.
“Yeah it was fun,” Mlodzinski said postgame to DK Pittsburgh Sports. “Not ideal second pitch in. I just felt like trusting my stuff to go right after guys. We had a five-run lead, so the thought was, ‘Let’s be efficient.’ Kind of had an idea going in that I might be able to finish this one, so efficiency was definitely in the back of my head and no walks and the defense made some plays behind me. Just pitching to the game, in a sense.”
Mlodzinski Filling New Role Admirably for Pirates
It wasn’t an easy week prior to this game for Mlodzinski, who lost his spot in the starting rotation after two months, following the return of Jared Jones from inury.
Jones took Mlodzinski’s role and the Pirates placed Mlodzinski on the restricted list for the 9-3 win over the Minnesota Twins in the series finale at PNC Park on May 31.
Mlodzinski came back off the restricted list the following day and eventually resumed his role in the bullpen, where he followed Jones in this game.
Jones had thrown five scoreless innings in his second start back and Mlodzinski came through with a solid outing for himself.
This is a big moment for the Pirates, who now have Jones improving and able to take on a bigger workload each time he comes out, while Mlodzinski is an effective reliever that can fill that bulk role after Jones.
Pittsburgh managed to give the seven other bullpen arms a rest, crucially important as they take on the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park, a weekend road series against the team with the best record in baseball at 42-21.
The Pirates bullpen had just blown a 9-5 lead in the eighth inning the game prior, in a 11-9 loss to the Astros on June 3, which marked their 13th blown save of the season.
Pirates manager Don Kelly now has one of his best arms back in his bullpen and will want to see more outings like this one from Mlodzinski as the season continues, who will help the Pirates maintain leads and give them a chance to make comebacks as well.
“We’re gonna be smart with it,” Kelly said postgame to SportsNet Pittsburgh. “He’s extremely important to us, with the starts he’s made, coming out of the ‘pen, filling four.
“We’re going to smart about the usage with him and it keeps him stretched out. It’s not to say we might not see some shorter, but the ideal length is probably for him to get up there in pitches and to do exactly what he did tonight.”
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Just one day after Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced a new state council tasked with studying the impacts of AI data centers in Maine, a new poll suggests a majority of Mainers oppose their construction.
A new poll from UMass Lowell found that 72% of Mainers are against AI data centers being built in their communities.
That includes 51% who strongly oppose the projects, while only 28% support them.
In April, Mills vetoed a bill that would have paused all large-scale AI data center projects in the state, citing a planned facility in Jay.
Since then, several Maine communities have adopted moratoriums of their own. The latest is Scarborough, which enacted its moratorium earlier this week.
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