Karen Read teases her next high-risk move after claiming she is being framed for killing her Boston cop boyfriend
America’s ‘luckiest murder suspect’ Karen Read has said she is prepared to testify while accused of killing her Boston police officer boyfriend.
Read, 44, has long denied any involvement in the death of her boyfriend John O’Keefe in January 2022. Instead, she claims she is being accused by police of a massive conspiracy.
She now says she would like to prove her case herself.
“I would like to fill in some gaps and correct some lies,” Read told reporters outside the Norfolk County Superior Court on Tuesday, wearing a black blouse and a white patterned scarf as her hair blew in the wind.
“But it’s up to the lawyers and they’ll call – probably at 11 o’clock.”
“I’m either there or I’m not,” she continued. “I respect them.”
Karen Read, 44, told reporters Tuesday that she is ready to take a stand in her murder case
Smiling, Read went on to explain why she wanted to take the stand.
“I am an outspoken person and I have never been able to stand up for myself in my own defense except when it matters most,” she said.
“I have to rely on them and their expertise,” Read said of her defense team. “I’ll leave it to the lawyers.”
Read’s appearance outside the courthouse on Tuesday came as attorneys on both sides argued over whether certain defense witnesses should be admitted.
They subjected the potential witnesses to questioning without a jury, as the trial will continue and the prosecution will conclude the case on Thursday.
But Read scoffed at the arguments the prosecutor has made so far, telling reporters on Tuesday: “There is no case against me.
“After eight weeks, it’s smoke and mirrors, and it’s going through my private life and trying to create a motive that was never there.”
John O’Keefe, a 16-year-old Boston police officer, was found dead around 6 a.m. on January 29, 2022, at a house where Read had dropped him off for an after-party around 12:45 p.m.
Prosecutors allege that the relationship between Read and O’Keefe was on the rocks at the time
O’Keefe’s was found unconscious in a snowbank outside a home. Read dropped him off the night before, with skull fractures, swollen eyes and hypothermia, around 6 a.m. on January 29, 2022.
He and Read had previously gone out to celebrate his niece’s acceptance to a private school, and footage from one of the bars, CR McCarthy’s in Boston, showed her embracing O’Keefe – hugging and kissing the man she is accused of having been killed only a few hours ago. later on.
But prosecutors allege Read and O’Keefe’s relationship soured over allegations that he cheated and tensions over the two children in O’Keefe’s care: his orphaned niece and nephew.
They claim she hit O’Keefe with her SUV that night outside the house party and left him to die – pointing to fragments from her car left at the scene.
The two had gone out drinking at a bar in Boston before she dropped him off at the party
Prosecutors have also alleged that witnesses at the scene heard Read scream, “I hit him!” when she and two friends found his body, along with “this is my fault.” I did this.’
Read’s defense, however, managed to get police to acknowledge that they never heard her say she hit O’Keefe, a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department.
Defense lawyers also refuted the idea that there were problems with the relationship, with O’Keefe’s friends at the bar testifying that the couple seemed content that evening.
Instead, they claim O’Keefe was beaten up by people at the party and thrown outside, where he died on the lawn.
They allege that police subsequently failed to properly investigate O’Keefe’s death and have charged Massachusetts State Trooper Lt. Michael Proctor singled out because of his close relationship with a number of law enforcement agencies involved in the case – including the owner of the home where O’ Keefe was found, Brian Albert.
Michael Proctor of the Massachusetts State Police admitted last week to sending text messages that disparaged Read
Proctor, who led the investigation into O’Keefe’s death, has since admitted in court to sending text messages in which he belittled Read and denied that Albert would face any repercussions.
He called Read a “whack job” and a “cunt” and called her a “babe” without an “ass”, while in some text messages to friends he also made light of her “Fall River accent” while in others he joked about searching her phone for nude photos during the investigation.
In other messages, Proctor texted his friends that “some serious charges will be filed against the girl,” referring to Read.
He claimed in the messages that Read “confused him” and that “she hit him with her car.” according to the Boston Globe.
“We’re going to lock this crazy job down,” he wrote in one of the messages.
On the stand last week, Proctor repeatedly apologized for the text messages, calling it “bad language” that had “no impact” on the investigation.
He said that “these childish, unprofessional comments had no impact whatsoever on the facts, evidence and integrity of the investigation.”