The high-profile trial of Karen Read continues as her re-trial has kicked off ten months after her initial one.
Prosecution claims that Read fatally hit her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, with her Lexus SUV in January of 2022. Read’s attorney claims that Read has fallen victim to a wide-scale law enforcement cover-up and that she had no responsibility in O’Keefe’s death.
This trial,drew significant attention the first time last spring, due to allegations of police misconduct and potential corruption. That first trial ended in a mistrial, requiring a new trial, because the jury in that trial couldn’t come to a decision regarding Read’s guilt.
One key allegation (and the reason this court case became so popularized) is that of police misconduct, mainly rega
rding Trooper Micheal Proctor’s inappropriate texts. As the investigation began last year, texts written by Proctor and shared over a group chat with other officers, revealed derogatory and unprofessional messages regarding Read. Specifically, Proctor referred to her as a “whackjob c$$t” and expressed a desire to see her behind bars as well as saying he’d wish Read would “kill herself”.
These texts were read aloud at the trial, and may have been why the jury could not come to a unanimous decision, due to the nature of the texts.
Read’s initial trial began in late April of 2024, yet after a trial spanning three months, the jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict.
After the failed trial, the defense argued for the case to be thrown out entirely, yet attempts fell short as a new jury of 18 wa
s selected and a retrial kicked off with opening statements on April 22nd of this year.
As the second week of the retrial concluded, forensic scientists were let go for the weekend in order to return Monday with a cross examination*. The examination was an attempt to determine the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of Read on the morning O’Keefe’s body was found.
Overall, as Read’s trail continues, we can only hope that with the help of the jury justice can be found for O’Keefe.
