Who is Karen Read, the glamorous girlfriend dubbed America's 'happiest murder defendant' as she's accused of killing her cop boyfriend in drunken hit-and-run

Karen Read, dubbed America's 'happiest murder defendant,' has found herself at the center of a high-profile case after being accused of killing her cop boyfriend in drunken hit-and-run. 

Read, 44, a financial analyst and college professor from Mansfield, is facing charges of second-degree murder, with prosecutors arguing that she drunkenly drove over Boston police officer John O'Keefe in January 29, 2022. 

Amid intense media scrutiny and large demonstrations surrounding her hearings, public opinion on Read's innocence is split - with some calling to 'free her' and others accusing her of being a villainous murderer. 

People who knew her in the past have also shared contradictory statements regarding her character.  

While Read's upbringing was marked by her outgoing personality and academic achievements, according to a report by The Boston Globe, interactions with neighbors in recent years were less amicable, as detailed in police reports.

Read, a financial analyst and college professor, is facing charges of second-degree murder, as prosecutors say she drunkenly drove over Boston police officer John O'Keefe in January 29, 2022

Amid intense media scrutiny and large demonstrations surrounding her hearings, public opinion on Read's innocence is split - with some calling to 'free her' and others accusing her of being a villainous murderer

Read and O'Keefe had been out drinking on the night of his death, before she drove him to an afterparty while she went home to sleep. He was found dead on the lawn of the afterparty's home hours later 

Read was raised in Blacksburg, Va., and Taunton, Mass and lived on a 'quiet, woodsy cul-de-sac' with her family, where she enjoyed playing piano, and attended Mass regularly, according to her father William Read.

She attended Coyle & Cassidy, a private Catholic school in Taunton, where she reportedly stood out as a high-achieving student. 

After Coyle & Cassidy, Read pursued finance at Bentley University, where she earned both a bachelor's and master's degrees in finance, graduating in 2004.  

Read began working at Fidelity Investments and teaching finance classes as an adjunct professor at Bentley, the same college where her father taught accounting, when she moved back to Boston. 

She served as a faculty member in the Finance Department of Bentley University for over 13 years. 

Read's family and life-long friends are fighting alongside her and believe in her innocence, while the relatives of O'Keefe's think Read is responsible for his death.

Catherine Quarantello, a friend since ninth grade, told The Globe that a close-knit group of Read's friends and family are supporting her. 

The two took Advanced Placement (AP) classes together and were members of the National Honor Society, according to Quarantello.

'We have been by her side since day one and will see it to the finish line for her and John,' Quarantello told The Globe.

'She's the strongest person I know,' she added.

Quarantello told the Globe that Read was always 'outgoing and sociable.'

But Read's journey has also been marked by health battles, including a decade-long struggle with Crohn's disease and later multiple sclerosis, her father, William Read told the Boston Globe. 

Initially diagnosed with Crohn's disease at age 25, Read underwent 10 surgeries in two years, her father said.

Nevertheless, she persevered - ultimately recovering at the Cleveland Clinic, where a surgeon performed 'major reconstructive surgery on her intestines,' he said. 

But at 32-years-old, Read was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.   

Her father and former dean of business at Bentley University expressed unwavering support for his daughter, stating that she will fight the charges with the backing of family and friends.

As her trial began this week, Read received a slew of support from true crime fans and locals who have been camped outside the courthouse with signs reading 'Free Karen Read' 

This week, a judge to issue an order barring Read's supporters from coming within 200 feet of the courthouse

Read has an army of supporters after the case, and Read's claims of a wide-ranging conspiracy against her, whipped up intense speculation online

Matthew Pervier of Worcester with a sign he made to support Read

'She will fight this injustice as long as it takes, and our family and friends will be there every step of the way,' her father, William Read, told the Boston Globe. 

'Karen will never break down and she will never lose her resolve,' he added.

Her father bailed his elder daughter out of jail for $50,000, according to court records obtained by the Globe.  

He now attends each hearing - sitting front and center to support his daughter. To the media, he emphasized his faith in 'God, in the justice system, in his daughter's innocence,' the Globe reported. 

'Karen's road to healthiness was a long ten-year battle, but she ultimately prevailed — as she will from this battle,' he told the Globe. 

In a photo of Read obtained by the Globe, she is displayed in her senior yearbook of 1998, alongside the quote by British writer V.S. Pritchett: 'Youth is the period of assumed personalities and disguises, it is the time of the sincerely insincere.' Her ambition? 'To break on through to the other side.'

Michael Cote, a teacher at the high school said Read stood out to him among his many students. 

He described the time she developed a close relationship with an elderly patient at a nursing home where she volunteered as part of his class, stating, 'She was a remarkable, young, mature woman who showed such compassion and sensitivity.'   

A former Fidelity colleague described Read as generous and humorous, and recalled the time she once salvaged a failed end-of-summer intern party by footing the bill for an event at a restaurant atop the Prudential Center, the Globe reported.

Jury selection begins on Tuesday at the Norfolk Superior Court, south of Boston, where Read faces second-degree murder and manslaughter charges

Karen Read, center and her lawyer Alan Jackson pass through a gauntlet of supporters en route to court

Read's defense is led by Alan Jackson (center, with Read on right), the high-powered lawyer who secured disgraced actor Kevin Spacey's acquittal of sexual assault charges

Read sparked backlash on Tuesday after being filmed winking at a camera, with one critic slamming her for 'thinking she is Miss America' 

However, more recent interactions with neighbors in Mansfield, where Read relocated from Boston before the pandemic, were reportedly less friendly.

In April 2020, she called the police on her next-door neighbors, alleging excessive noise while she taught an online class- but upon arrival, officers found no disturbance, according to the Boston Globe report.

In November 2020, the neighbors called the police on Read, citing her disruptive behavior while they were vacuuming and mowing the lawn. 

Allegedly, Read approached their residence, shouting threats. 

Read allegedly came to their house, 'yelling and screaming,' according to the report and said, 'Wait and see. You'll be sorry.'

Read had no criminal record prior to the police report. 

Her two-year relationship with John O'Keefe, a Boston police officer, was rekindled from her younger years.

Read was first introduced to John O'Keefe when she was 24 and he was 28, where they become involved in a short-term relationship.

They were separated after Read moved to Dublin, Ireland, for work, her father said. 

During the pandemic, Read reconnected with O'Keefe, who shared his life story, including adopting his deceased relatives' children. 

Karen Read at her final pretrial hearing on April 12 at Norfolk Superior Court

Karen Read, 44, is standing trial accused of murdering her Boston police officer boyfriend John O'Keefe with her car in January 2022 

Read has come under scrutiny for a perceived flippant attitude in court, including winking at cameras and snacking during proceedings 

While Read's upbringing was marked by her outgoing personality and academic achievements, according to a report by The Boston Globe, interactions with neighbors in recent years were less amicable, as detailed in police reports

'I admired that. I thought that was amazing,' she told the ABC in August. 

Their relationship became more serious, until an argument broke out on New Year's Eve in 2021.  

Read said O'Keefe got drunk and stayed out until 3am, leaving her to take care of the children.

'I felt very much taken advantage of,' she said in the interview, while also confirming 'she loved them all.'

But prosecutors have casted a shadow of doubt over their romance - pointing to mounting discord, fueled by accusations of infidelity and angry voicemails exchanged between Read and O'Keefe - leading up to O'Keefe's mysterious death. 

O'Keefe's friends and family believe Read is responsible for his death.

'No one planted anything in our heads,' his brother, Paul O'Keefe told the Boston Globe. 'No one brainwashed us.'

Boston attorney David Yannetti and high-profile Los Angeles lawyer Alan Jackson are leading the defense for Read.

Jackson, known for defending actor Kevin Spacey against groping allegations, has raised over $271,000 through a legal defense fund set up by his law firm.

Before the trial, some rallies even went paraded through the streets visiting the houses of witnesses. Now they will focus on the courthouse

Protesters must stay at least 200ft from the courthouse during the trial

Dubbed America's 'happiest murder defendant,' Read has been spotted winking and smirking at cameras outside court where she is standing trial.  

Prosecutors claim Read struck O'Keefe with her car, while her attorneys argue that she was framed by party attendees and members of the Boston Police Department after he was killed inside the home.

As her trial began this week, Read received a slew of support from true crime fans who have been camped outside the courthouse with signs reading 'Free Karen Read.'

Many have taken to wearing pink as a show of support for Read, leading a judge to issue an order barring any clothing or accessories that could be perceived as encouraging, and banning them from coming within 200 feet of the courthouse.

The alleged murder occurred on January 29, 2022, during a snowstorm outside a home in Canton, where Read is accused of hitting O'Keefe with her vehicle. 

She had spent the evening drinking with O'Keefe and a group of friends at the Waterfall Bar and Grill in Canton, around 14 miles south of Boston, and were invited to his friend Brian Albert's home for an afterparty. 

Read, who prosecutors say drank several alcoholic drinks beforehand, decided to drop O'Keefe at the afterparty at around 1am before she returned to sleep at O'Keefe's home that he shared with his orphaned niece and nephew. 

Court documents revealed that the couple had been bitterly arguing for weeks beforehand, and on the night O'Keefe died, Read left him a voicemail calling him a 'f****** loser', and 'John, I f****** hate you.' 

The couple had been dating for two years at the time of O'Keefe's death. He had been serving on the Boston Police Department for 16 years.  

As the party went on inside the home of Albert, who was a retired Boston police officer, Read said she woke up around 4am to find that he was not at home, and told O'Keefe's niece that she was 'distraught.' 

Attendees at the party, including some law enforcement, claimed O'Keefe never arrived at the party or entered the home. 

Read then searched for O'Keefe with a friend, and prosecutors allege that during the search she speculated: 'What if he's dead? What if a plow hit him?… I don't remember anything from last night, we drank so much I don't remember anything.' 

At 6am, Read found O'Keefe laying in the snow outside Albert's home, and a first responder on the scene reportedly claimed Read repeatedly cried out, 'I hit him, I hit him', reports CBS News. 

O'Keefe was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy found that the cause of death was blunt impact injuries and hypothermia. 

John O'Keefe, 46, was found dead 6am on January 29, 2022, outside a house where she dropped him off for an afterparty about 12.45am

However, Read's defense team claim that this testimony heard by the grand jury which handed down the murder indictment was 'false and deceptive'. 

Read had also allegedly told her friends during the search that she cracked her tail light, and pieces of a broken cocktail glass and a tail light were found around O'Keefe's body, prosecutors say. 

As the college professor argues she was framed by police officers at the party, prior to jury selection on the first day of trial, the judge ruled that she would not stop her legal team from mounting a 'third party culprit defense.' 

The tactic is used by attorneys to argue that someone other than the defendant committed the crime in question. 

The judge said: 'I'm going to give you a chance to develop it through relevant, competent, admissible evidence... but you cannot open with it.'     

Read has pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree murder. 

On the second day of Read's trial on Wednesday, she was seen being flanked by a number of lawyers, cameras and supporters, who cheered her name as she smiled and waved.

At one stage, Read smiled at a camera as she flashed a large wink, sparking backlash online among some of her detractors.

'Happiest murder defendant in history!' said one on Twitter. 'The Chick thinks she is Miss America.'

Another commented: 'It's a murder trial not a traffic ticket she's fighting. Bad look for the jury.'

As of Wednesday, the second day of the trial, the court has continued jury selection, with around 80 percent of potential jurors dismissed amid fervent online attention around the case.   

Read has also compiled a blockbuster legal team for her defense, including attorney Alan Jackson, famed for representing actor Kevin Spacey when he was cleared of sexual assault charges in 2019.

Her claims of innocence also coincide with an FBI probe into the investigation of the death, seeking to see if there is any merit to her claims that she was framed.

Read's defense attorneys argue that O'Keefe was involved in a fight inside Albert's home, and presented evidence they claimed showed he had been in an altercation, including wounds on his arms they say came from Albert's dog. Albert has not been charged with any crime.

O'Keefe was found in the snow outside this home in Canton, around 12 miles from Boston, in the early hours of January 29, 2022 

Prosecutors allege that Read hit O'Keefe with her car after an argument, while she contends that she was framed by party attendees and members of the Boston PD. Read's family believe in her innocence while the relatives of O'Keefe's believe Read is responsible for his death

When presenting images of the cop's arms, Jackson insisted to the judge that the claims of framing were 'not just fishing.'

'We've got a fish on the hook, we just need the court to help us reel it in,' he said.

'Certainly the Massachusetts State Police is involved. There are people that were in that house that are involved,' Jackson claimed at a pre-trial hearing.

'Brian Albert is involved. Jennifer McCabe is involved. The rest of the folks that were in that house, there's some level of involvement by every one of them.

'Every single one of them. We're not going to rest until we get to the bottom of exactly who's behind this coverup. Not only Karen Read deserves this. John O'Keefe deserves this, and has deserved this from moment one. And that's why they're not going to rest.'

Read also spoke to reporters on the steps of the courthouse at a pre-trial hearing in May 2023, where she claimed that she and her attorneys 'know who did it.'

'We know. And we know who spearheaded this coverup. You all know,' she said. 'I tried to save his life. I tried to save his life at 6 in the morning, I was covered in his blood. I was the only one trying to save his life.'

Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally countered that there is 'no evidence that Mr. O'Keefe was beaten and left for dead.'