(NewsNation) — Jury selection has begun for the retrial of Karen Read, a Massachusetts woman accused of killing her police officer boyfriend in 2022.
She is accused of hitting John O’Keefe, 46, with her vehicle and leaving him for dead during a snowstorm. Read’s 2024 trial ended in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a decision.
John O’Keefe dies
Jan. 28, 2022: Both prosecution and defense maintain that Read and O’Keefe, among others, were drinking together before she dropped him off at a fellow police officer’s home in Canton, Massachusetts.
Jan. 29, 2022: Around 4 a.m., Read wakes up and realizes O’Keefe has not yet returned home. She begins searching for him with the help of O’Keefe’s friend, Kerry Roberts, and his sister-in-law, Jennifer McCabe, USA Today reports.
Read finds O’Keefe unresponsive in a snowbank outside the home of his colleague, Brian Albert, around 6 a.m. O’Keefe is pronounced dead at a local hospital after suffering from hypothermia and a head injury, officials said
Karen Read arrested
February 2022: Days after her boyfriend’s death, Read is arrested and charged with manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision causing death. She pleads not guilty.
Karen Read indicted for second-degree murder
June 9, 2022: Read is indicted by a Norfolk County grand jury on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Read again pleads not guilty.
She makes her $100,000 bail and is released.
‘How long to die in cold’ Google search released
April 12, 2023: The defense releases a Google search allegedly made at 2:27 a.m. by Jennifer McCabe, the woman with Read when O’Keefe was found.
Later in the trial, Jennifer McCabe would say that the search was done at Read’s request.
Karen Read’s defense attorney alleges she was framed
May 2023: Read’s defense team alleges that Read was framed, possibly by the police. Attorneys Alan Jackson and David Yannetti claim O’Keefe’s death didn’t follow a strike from Read’s vehicle but a beating sustained at Albert’s home.
The defense argues that O’Keefe was hurt inside the home, bitten by a family dog and left outside in the snow. They point to injuries sustained by O’Keefe as evidence.
Karen Read’s murder trial begins
April 16-24, 2024: The jury is selected over the course of more than a week.
April 29 – May 7, 2024: Witnesses testify. The court hears from O’Keefe’s brother, Paul, and sister-in-law, Erin, and Canton authorities — including responding police officers, paramedics and firefighters.
Jurors also hear 911 calls made on the day O’Keefe’s body was located.
May 10, 2024: Albert, whose home was the site of O’Keefe’s death, testifies that neither Read nor O’Keefe came inside that night.
The judge rules that social media personality Aidan Kearney, who runs the “Turtleboy News” website, cannot be in the courtroom during certain witness testimony. Kearney was arrested in October 2023 for witness intimidation in the case but had since been released.
May 14-28, 2024: More witnesses are called forward. They include:
- Collin Albert, who could have fought with O’Keefe inside Albert’s home
- Jennifer McCabe, the woman with Read when O’Keefe was found
- ATF agent Brian Higgins, who was exchanging messages with Read prior to O’Keefe’s death
Until the trial’s June 20 conclusion, Read’s broken taillight is a constant refrain, with prosecution pointing to it as evidence of her hitting O’Keefe and the defense arguing that evidence had been planted on the vehicle.
Karen Read’s murder trial ends
June 25-28, 2024: Jurors deliberate but are unable to make a unanimous decision.
Jurors send a note to presiding Judge Beverly Cannone telling her they are deadlocked, but she urges them to continue deliberations.
Mistrial declared in Karen Read case
July 1, 2024: After four days of deliberations, the jury remained hung. A mistrial is declared, putting Read’s case on ice.
She is neither convicted nor acquitted of the charges, as the jury wasn’t able to reach a verdict one way or the other.
O’Keefe’s family sues Karen Read
August 2024: In their civil lawsuit obtained by NewsNation local affiliate WWLP, members of O’Keefe’s family allege that Read hit O’Keefe with her vehicle and fled, despite knowing about an “impending blizzard.”
Read knew, or should have known, “that leaving (O’Keefe) outside in the blizzard would likely result in serious injury or death,” the family said.
Also named as defendants in the court filing are two Canton bars — C.F. McCarthy’s and Waterfall Bar & Grille — that Read and O’Keefe went to before he died. Both establishments, family members said, “negligently served alcohol” to Read, despite her already being intoxicated.
Karen Read to get retrial
July 22, 2024: Judge Cannone set Read’s retrial to begin on Jan. 27, 2025. In the months before and after Cannone’s decision, she repeatedly refused to dismiss charges against Read.
November 4, 2024: Prosecution and defense teams requested Read’s retrial to be rescheduled for April 1, 2025.
March 19, 2025: The case’s lead investigator, Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor, is relieved of his duties. The board found Proctor guilty of unsatisfactory performance and consuming alcoholic beverages while on the job, state police said.
Proctor sent “derogatory, defamatory and disparaging and/or inappropriate text messages” about Read while leading the investigation into her.
Jury selection begins in Karen Read’s trial
April 1, 2025: Jury selection begins for Read’s retrial.
April 15, 2025: Jury selection continued for the 10th day as the jury has been stalled at 16 people for almost a week, according to CBS News. Judge Beverly Cannone wants to reach 18 jurors before the trial begins.
However, 16 is the minimum number of people needed for a trial to start. But the judge reportedly wanted the extra two jurors in case something happens during the trial. As of Tuesday, April 15, there are 54 people being considered for the jury. This means there have been 591 people considered in the past two weeks, according to CBS News.
April 23, 2025: Witnesses are called forward to testify. They include:
- Kerry Roberts, a friend of O’Keefe’s who was with Read
- Margaret O’Keefe, O’Keefe’s mother
- Massachusetts State Police Trooper Nicholas Guarino
- Daniel Whitley, a firefighter and paramedic with the Canton Fire Department
In her testimony, Roberts said Read pointed out damage to the taillight on her vehicle and confirmed that Read asked her if she thought she hit O’Keefe.
NewsNation’s Jeff Arnold, Cassie Buchman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.