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Boston Massuchusetts Murder

A snowy night, a cracked taillight and a mystery: How a police officer's death divided a Boston suburb

By Faith Karimi, CNN
12 minute read
Published 8:30 AM EST, Sun December 10, 2023
CNN
—
In the pre-dawn hours of January 29, 2022,  a man was found dead in a blizzard outside a house in suburban Boston. He was wearing two shirts, blue jeans, socks and one black Nike sneaker. On the blanket of snow near his body were shards of glass and splotches of blood.

His name was John O'Keefe, and he was a Boston police officer.

O'Keefe and his girlfriend of two years, Karen Read, had been on a bar crawl earlier that night. Shortly after midnight, according to court documents, they climbed into her black Lexus SUV and headed to an afterparty at the home of a fellow Boston police officer on Fairview Road in Canton.

About six hours later, O'Keefe's body was spotted in the front yard of the house, covered in snow. But what happened during those six hours has sharply divided Canton, a town of 24,000 people about 15 miles southwest of Boston.

Residents of the town and neighboring suburbs have spent months debating two potential scenarios: Was O'Keefe beaten inside the house and tossed outside to die in the snow? Or did his girlfriend fatally strike him with her car?

Local prosecutors have made their position clear, charging Read with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a collision. She has pleaded not guilty, and her trial is set for March.

This undated photograph provided by the Boston Police Department shows officer John O'Keefe, 46, of Canton, Mass. O'Keefe died at an area hospital after being found lying in snow unresponsive outside his home on Saturday Jan. 30, 2022. Karen Read, 41, of Mansfield, Mass., was charged with manslaughter on Wednesday Feb. 2, 2022 after allegedly striking O'Keefe, her boyfriend, with her car. Read pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and other charges at her arraignment Wednesday. (Boston Police Department via AP)
Officer John O'Keefe in an undated photograph provided by the Boston Police Department. He would have been 48 this week.
Boston Police Department/AP
With both the trial and the two-year anniversary of O'Keefe's death looming, debate over the case has torn apart the tight-knit town.

Residents have stormed city council meetings, demanding answers. Some have accused the local police of a cover-up to protect those at the party on Fairview Road. Others have visited Facebook group pages and local blogs to discuss intricacies of that fateful night, turning what began as a local homicide case into a broader sensation.

At the heart of the controversy is a key question: Did O'Keefe enter the house on Fairview Road that night? The prosecution says no. The defense says yes.

"Those who've heard of the case have pretty much picked a side," said longtime Canton resident Jonathan Comeau, who recently moved to a nearby suburb. "There is the 'She is guilty' side and the 'There was a fight in that house' side. There is pretty much no one on the fence."

What Karen Read says happened that night
Read, 43, is out on bail awaiting her trial.

In court documents and in media interviews, she's said that she and O'Keefe went to two Canton bars that night. They mingled with friends, drinking beers and vodka sodas, before going to the home on Fairview Road.

Read said she dropped off O'Keefe outside the house, then returned to his place because she wasn't feeling well. She called and texted him throughout the night, she said, but there was no response.

About 4:30 a.m., Read woke up screaming when she realized O'Keefe had not come home, court documents said.

Dedham, MA - September 15: Karen Read in court with her attorney David Yannetti.  (Photo by Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
Karen Read and her attorney, David Yannetti, attend pretrial hearings in September. Read's trial is scheduled to start in March.
Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald/Getty Images
She called two female friends, including Jennifer McCabe, who had been drinking with her that night. Together, the three women drove through the streets of Canton in near white-out conditions, looking for O'Keefe and calling his name, court documents said.