Karen Read’s parents have expressed that they no longer live in constant fear that their infamous daughter might spend her life in prison, following her acquittal in the case of her Boston police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe’s death.
More than three years have passed since their daughter was accused of hitting her 46-year-old boyfriend with her Lexus SUV while allegedly intoxicated and leaving him to die outside a party in Canton, Massachusetts, back in January 2022. Now, Bill and Janet Read can finally exhale in relief.
“The overwhelming fear of potentially losing Karen to incarceration due to the charges has finally lifted,” Bill shared with WBZ-TV, noting that he and his wife hadn’t emotionally prepared for the possibility of a guilty verdict.
“We always said let’s not go too far out in our thoughts, let’s keep day to day,” Janet said.
“We feel like we should know how we feel but we don’t.”
The financial analyst was only convicted of drunk driving Wednesday, dodging more serious charges like second-degree murder and manslaughter in her second trial in the high-profile case.
Karen Read’s first trial, which drew national attention and was riddled with controversy, ended in a mistrial.
The grateful parents, who were in the courtroom everyday, said they drew their strength from their 45-year-old daughter, praising her as the defense’s “fifth lawyer” for relentlessly chasing down every lead.
“She’s determined, she’s focused, very bright, she got us through this,” Bill told the outlet, adding that the murder case’s notoriety and “dehumanizing” comments from spectators forced them to live a more secluded life.
“From this day forward, we recognize we are fortunate but we were blessed by the almighty that this, we were able to have this and now it’s imperative that others need help, that we can speak out.”
The supportive parents also admitted that their lives — and their daughter’s — will never be the same after the years-long courtroom spectacle, but said they are now focused on getting back to normal.
Janet hopes her daughter will channel her wit and experience into writing a book.
“She’s an excellent writer, she’s always been,” Janet said.
“I always thought she should go into journalism and she wanted finance.”
