Karen Read Crime Scene Photos: Revisit the Site Where Boston Cop John O'Keefe Mysteriously Died as Ex-Girlfriend Stands Trial AGAIN For His Murder
Read is accused of hitting John O'Keefe with her SUV and leaving him outside to die as a blizzard approached.
May 8 2025, Published 6:00 p.m. ET
As Karen Read stands retrial for the murder of her boyfriend John O'Keefe, RadarOnline.com revisits the crime scene photos where the Boston police officer was found lifeless in the snow outside a Canton, Massachusetts home.
Prosecutors argued Read intentionally hit O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV while driving intoxicated and left him to die outside as a blizzard approached.
Read's defense team claimed she's the victim of a biased investigation and has been framed by police.
Read and O'Keefe Prepare For Snowstorm With a Night Out Drinking
O'Keefe was a Boston cop who was found dead.
On January 28, 2023, as a snowstorm approached the area, O'Keefe and Read visited two local bars, C.F. McCarthy's and the Waterfall Bar & Grill, where they met up with several friends, including fellow officer Brian Albert.
Albert invited the couple to attend an afterparty at his home, located at 34 Fairview Road in Canton.
The couple agreed and drove to the Alberts' home in Read's vehicle.
The Afterparty at 34 Fairview Road
The Alberts home where O'Keefe's body was discovered outside in the lawn.
Read maintains when they arrived at the home, it looked quiet and dark. Unsure if the afterparty was still happening, Read claimed O'Keefe went inside to check.
She alleged she watched her boyfriend enter the home through a side door and after several minutes of waiting in her car for him to emerge, decided to leave.
Witness Jennifer McCabe, the sister of Brian Albert's wife, testified to thinking she saw Read's car briefly parked outside the home.
A Frantic Search For O'Keefe Ensues
Police dash camera footage caught the moment Read, Jennifer McCabe, and third woman discovered O'Keefe's body outside the following morning.
The following morning, Read claimed she woke up at O'Keefe's home and discovered he had not come back from the Albert's. She recalled calling him several times to no avail.
McCabe testified to receiving a phone call early in the morning, during which an erratic Read could be heard in the background. She suggested they search O'Keefe's home before driving around to look for him.
After they were unable to find O'Keefe at his home, McCabe, Read, and a third woman, Kerry Roberts, decided to return to 34 Fairview Road, where O'Keefe was spotted laying in the snow in the front yard.
O'Keefe's Body is Discovered in the Snow
Image of the front yard at 34 Fairview Road where O'Keefe's body was found.
McCabe testified to Read acting "erratic" during their search for O'Keefe.
When they discovered his body outside her brother-in-law's home, Read said she jumped out of the vehicle and tried to perform CPR. McCabe then called 9111.
The witness claimed she overheard Read tell a first responder "I hit him" multiple times.
O'Keefe was transferred to Good Samaritan Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Hypothermia was later listed as a contributing factor in his death.
Hypothermia Listed a Contributing Factor in Cop's Death
O'Keefe sustained numerous lacerations to his body, two black eyes and a skull fracture.
A medical examiner announced O'Keefe sustained several abrasions to his right arm, two black eyes, lacerations to his face and a skull fracture.
Read has alleged O'Keefe may have been involved in an altercation inside the Alberts' home; however, several witnesses, including police officers who were at the afterparty, maintain O'Keefe never entered the home.
Retired Lt. Paul Gallagher later testified to not separating witnesses when first gathering statements about the night of January 29 and early morning of January 29.
Defendant Claims Evidence Was 'Planted' at the Crime Scene
A piece of a broken taillight found outside 34 Fairview Road.
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The defendant has additionally alleged police planted evidence, including fragments of her car's taillight, at the crime scene. Initial sweeps of the area did not turn up the bright red pieces.
At trial, Gallagher was pressed by Read's attorney Alan Jackson on the handling or alleged mishandling of evidence collected before the area was deemed a crime scene.
Gallagher testified to collecting snow marked with "pink spots" in unsealed red Solo cups, which were transferred to the station in a brown grocery bag.
A neurosurgeon testified to O'Keefe's head injuries on Wednesday, May 21.
Defense Attorney Argues Evidence Handling Was 'Recipe For Cross-Contamination'
Some of the evidence was collected in red solo cups.
Jackson flashed photos of the evidence Gallagher collected.
A white "rag" or "paper towel" could be seen in the bottom of the photo near the rear right side of Read's vehicle, the same side prosecutors argued struck O'Keefe. The white object was seen nearby the cups containing the blood splattered snow.
He pressed Gallagher on whether or not the handling of the unsealed evidence could be a "recipe for cross-contamination" which Gallagher disagreed with.
