Karen Read trial: Text messages highlight tension between couple before John O’Keefe’s tragic death

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

NORFOLK, MASSACHUSETTS: In the ongoing high-profile murder trial concerning the 2022 death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe, prosecutors made a striking revelation during opening statements.

Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally highlighted text messages, shedding light on the turbulent relationship between the accused, Karen Read, and the deceased.

According to Lally, the prosecution's theory contends that Read, accused of fatally striking O'Keefe with her black Lexus SUV, "knocking him back to the ground ... causing the bleeding in his brain, the swelling ... and then leaving him there for several hours, in a blizzard, with temperatures in the teens ... (and) snow piling up on his body", had engaged in heated disputes with him in the weeks leading to his demise.

What led to disputes in Karen Read and John O'Keefe's relationship?

These confrontations were allegedly fueled by suspicions of infidelity. Read had accused O'Keefe of flirting with another woman during a New Year's vacation in Aruba.

The pair engaged in a "screaming match" for about 20 minutes during the trip. Their strained relationship was vividly reflected in the text messages they exchanged. These text messages are expected to be unveiled as the trial progresses.

However, Read's defense team countered the prosecution's claims, asserting that she was framed as part of an elaborate cover-up orchestrated to shield the homeowner and other individuals present at the scene of O'Keefe's death, reported ABC.

Insights into John O'Keefe's final moment

They claim O'Keefe sustained severe injuries during an altercation inside the residence, which included an attack by the homeowner's German Shepherd, before being thrown out into the yard where he met his demise.

"It was no accident that John O'Keefe was found dead on the front lawn" of the residence on Fairview Road, asserted defense attorney David Yannetti to the jurors.

"At that address lived a well-known and well-connected law enforcement family in Canton. Because the others were involved and because they had close connections to the investigators in this case, Karen Read was framed for a murder she did not commit."

"Someone - not Karen Read - ambushed John O'Keefe," Yannetti emphasized. "Somebody probably did not mean to kill him. But somebody went too far."

Read, aged 44, has entered pleas of not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and leaving the scene of a collision.

Mystery surrounds John O'Keefe's unseen presence at Fairview Road

Read and O'Keefe met up with friends and acquaintances during a night of barhopping, culminating in their arrival at the Fairview Road residence around midnight for a small post-party gathering. However, O'Keefe never set stepped foot inside the house, as relayed by Lally to the jurors.

"From all of those people within that house that evening, none of them at any point in time observed John O'Keefe come into that house," Lally stated. 

"They saw the vehicle pull away and they just assumed that they (O'Keefe and Read) left and that no one was coming."

The attorney questioned why none of the individuals present at the residence noticed O'Keefe's body in the yard upon their departure.

"Each of them walked out facing the front lawn, where the Commonwealth will tell you that a 6-foot-2, nearly 220 pounds, big man in dark clothing was sprawled on the front lawn and there was only a dusting of white snow on the ground. And not one of these people saw John O'Keefe laying there. Not one," Yannetti alleged.

"The police did no real investigation of this case. And you will question why."

Karen Read's account of tragedy

The crux of the case centers on the events leading up to the discovery of O'Keefe's body on that wintry night. Read maintains that she dropped her boyfriend cop off at the Fairview Road residence before driving to his home to rest as she was feeling unwell.

Upon waking up in the early hours and realizing that O' Keefe had not returned home, Read allegedly called up two female acquaintances. The three of them engaged in a frantic search through the snow-blanketed streets of Canton, ultimately discovering O'Keefe's lifeless body in the front yard of the Fairview Road residence.

The US Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts State Police have initiated investigations into Read's arrest and prosecution, with specific scrutiny on the involvement of State Trooper Michael Proctor, who has been accused by the defense of failing to disclose relationships with key witnesses.

Despite the ongoing investigations, Proctor maintains the integrity of his investigative work.

"Trooper Proctor remains steadfast in the integrity of the work he performed investigating the death of Mr John O'Keefe," his attorney Michael DiStefano claimed.

The trial is anticipated to span a minimum of six weeks.