Massachusetts jurors heard a series of profanity-laced voicemails Tuesday that Karen Read left for her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, in the early morning hours of January 29, 2022—the same day prosecutors say she struck and killed him with her SUV.
According to CBS News, prosecutors played the messages during the tenth day of Read’s murder retrial at the Norfolk Superior Court, where she stands accused of murder, after backing her vehicle into O’Keefe outside a Canton home. She then allegedly left him to die in the snow.
“You are f***ng using me right now,” Read said in one message. “You’re f—ing another girl!”
In another voicemail, Read shouted, “John, I’m here with your f***ing kids, nobody knows where the f— you are, you f—ing pervert.” She left several more messages, including one where she said, “I f***ing hate you.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Read allegedly dropped O’Keefe off at the home of retired Boston police officer Brian Albert after a night of drinking, then struck him with her Lexus SUV before she drove away. His body was later found in a snow bank with head injuries and signs of hypothermia.
Read told police she dropped O’Keefe off around midnight and later grew concerned when he stopped responding to her texts and calls. By morning, she and two others returned to the home and found his body in the snow, bloodied and partially buried near the front lawn.
Read allegedly told first responders, “I hit him. I hit him. I hit him,” but later claimed she was repeating what others suggested. Prosecutors argued her statements, along with damage to her vehicle and O’Keefe’s injuries, support the theory that she struck him during a failed three-point turn.
The defense argued that a cover-up began shortly after O’Keefe’s death. Read’s attorneys claimed someone inside the Albert home may have assaulted O’Keefe and left him outside, and that evidence was either mishandled or suppressed to protect people with ties to law enforcement.
Read has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
Testimony is expected to continue later this week with more witnesses from the Canton neighborhood and additional forensic analysis.
Check back for updates.
