Karen Read, who was exonerated from murder charges last month concerning the passing of her ex-boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, is now requesting a Massachusetts court to dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit initiated by his family, as stated in a new court document.
The O’Keefes named Read and two bars the couple visited in the hours before his death in a lawsuit seeking an unspecified sum of more than $50,000.
For the civil proceedings, Read has retained a different group of attorneys compared to the prominent criminal defense team that secured her acquittal. Her civil legal representatives informed the court on Wednesday that a motion to dismiss had been delivered to all relevant parties.
On May 19, 2025, Bill Read and his spouse Jenny are seen accompanying their daughter Karen Read, as they head into Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. (Hans Pennink for Fox News Digital)
The burden of proof is held to a lower standard in lawsuits. In the 1990s, former NFL star O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman but found civilly liable for their deaths.
Read is accused of “knowingly and deliberately” changing her story, concocting “a conspiracy” and publicizing a “false narrative, thereby frustrating Justice for JJ.”
JJ was O’Keefe’s nickname, and the family alleges Read’s narrative caused them “aggravated emotional distress.”
