“John, I f—ing hate you,” Karen Read reportedly exclaimed to her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, the moment she entered his house without him.
It was the morning he died, and she had just driven there from the crime scene, according to Massachusetts investigators.
Special prosecutor Hank Brennan presented a series of voicemails purportedly left by Read after officials claimed she hit him with an SUV and abandoned him to succumb in a snowstorm.
Massachusetts State Trooper Nicholas Guarino resumed the stand on Tuesday, reviewing text messages and phone call exchanges between Read and O’Keefe from the night of Jan. 28, 2022, into the next morning when Read was among the three women who discovered him.
Records show Read’s phone connected to the Wi-Fi at O’Keefe’s home at 12:36 a.m. on the 29th, Guarino said. Read made more than 50 calls to O’Keefe that morning but did not leave a voicemail every time.
Karen Read is shown during her trial on May 6, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald via AP/Pool)
Also taking the stand was Massachusetts State Police Lt. Kevin O’Hara, whose search team recovered O’Keefe’s shoe from the scene after 5 p.m. on Jan. 29. They also found a half dozen pieces of broken taillight, he testified.
O’Hara’s team prioritized searching the street, worried that a plow could come by and disturb evidence. They left without searching the lawn due to weather conditions and other factors, but he offered to return later. He did not receive a callback, he said.
Under cross-examination, O’Hara testified that the scene was not secured at the time he arrived and that members of the Canton Police Department arrived during the search. However, he said they did not take part.
John O’Keefe (Boston Police Department)
Robert Gilman, a forensic meteorologist, explained the blizzard conditions and heavy snowfall recorded between Jan. 28 and Jan. 29.
Canton Police Lt. Charles Rae testified as Brennan played dashcam video from a wellness check he performed at O’Keefe’s address around 8:23 a.m. on Jan. 29; it appeared to show damage to Read’s taillight, which was parked in the driveway in front of his marked vehicle when he arrived.
Read has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, manslaughter and fleeing the scene, and she has denied striking O’Keefe entirely. She could face life in prison if convicted.
