A timeline of the Karen Read case
A look at the timeline of events in Karen Read's high-profile Massachusetts murder trial and retrial. Read was acquitted of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe.
Updated on: April 16, 2026 / 4:10 PM EDT / CBS Boston
Karen Read was found not guilty of the most serious charges in her high-profile Massachusetts murder retrial in June 2025. In their fourth day of deliberations, jurors acquitted Read of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe. She was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Read's first trial, which started in April 2024 at Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, ended months later in a mistrial due to a "starkly divided" hung jury.
After months of additional pretrial hearings following the mistrial, jury selection in Read's second trial began on April 1, 2025. The jury got the case and began deliberations on June 13, 2025.
Read was accused of hitting O'Keefe with her SUV in 2022 and leaving him to die. Defense attorneys argued she was the victim of an elaborate cover-up and was being framed by a group of people that included law enforcement.
Here is a look at the timeline of events in the Karen Read investigation and trials.