BOSTON — Karen Read tries one wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of her boyfriend, a Boston police officer, until her criminal trial in his death is completed.
The lawsuit filed last month blames Read for John O’Keefe’s death, as well as what it describes as negligence by bars that continued to serve her drinks despite signs she was drunk. It says the first bar served her seven alcoholic drinks in about 90 minutes on the night of January 28, 2022, and that Read took the last drink to the second bar, where she was served a shot and a mixed alcoholic drink within an hour.
Read’s attorneys filed a motion Wednesday to delay arraignment on the lawsuit until after her criminal trial. Read is accused of running into John O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him for dead during a snowstorm in January 2022. Her two-month trial ended in July when a judge declared a mistrial. A second trial is scheduled for January 27.
“A stay is appropriate here because continuing this civil action at the same time as the criminal action will adversely affect Ms. Read’s Fifth Amendment rights and her ability to vigorously defend herself against criminal charges ” her attorneys wrote in the motion, adding that her requested stay is “minimal and not prejudicial” as the wrongful death lawsuit is not expected to conclude until August 2027.
But an attorney for O’Keefe’s brother, Paul, and other family members who filed the lawsuit pushed back against any delays, suggesting that the Fifth Amendment appeal ignored the fact that she has spoken publicly about her case several times in the media and will be the subject of a lawsuit. at least one upcoming documentary.
“Ms. Read consistently and willingly ignores her Fifth Amendment privilege as she attempts to craft her own narrative and poison the jury pool for both her criminal and civil cases,” wrote Paul O’Keefe’s attorney, Marc Diller. In light of her open willingness to speak publicly, Ms. Read’s current reliance on her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent appears to be less about avoiding self-incrimination and more about controlling the narrative so that it interests her.”
The lawsuit Paul O’Keefe filed in Plymouth Superior Court in Massachusetts on behalf of his family and the estate of his brother, Read, the Waterfall Bar & Grill and CF McCarthy’s as suspects. A jury trial is requested.
Read has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting a new trial Jan. 27 on charges of manslaughter, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Her criminal trial lasting two months ended in July when the judge a mistrial declared after jurors said they were deadlocked. The judge rejected arguments that jurors later said they unanimously agreed that Read was not guilty of the charges of murder and leaving the scene.
After the bar visit, Read — a former adjunct professor at Bentley College — dropped off O’Keefe, a 16-year member of the Boston Police Department, at the home of another police officer in Canton. His body was found in the front yard. An autopsy revealed that O’Keefe died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma.
Read’s attorneys argued that O’Keefe was murdered in the house and that those involved chose to frame her because she was an “easy outsider.”
The lawsuit says Read and O’Keefe had been arguing and that she knew she had hit him with her SUV before returning to his home. It is alleged that she woke his 14-year-old niece several hours later and said something had happened to O’Keefe and that he may have been hit by her or a snow plow.