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Juror No. 1 in the murder trial of Karen Read is speaking out about the decision to find the financial analyst not guilty of the hit-and-run death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe.
The juror, who declined to reveal his identity, sat for an interview with NBC’s TODAY, stating, “Karen Read is innocent, and she didn’t do this crime,” according to NBC News. His words reflect the Wednesday, June 18, 2025, verdict in which Read, 45, was found not guilty of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident but guilty of driving under the influence.
The decision came nearly one year after a hung jury caused a mistrial, a cause célèbre that divided the public and those involved in the 2022 case.
Why did the jury acquit Read on the more serious charges?
The jury foreman told TODAY that “no one could prove” Read used her Lexus to fatally strike O’Keefe on the blizzardy night of January 29, 2022. That night, the couple enjoyed a night of drinking with friends, and after visiting multiple bars, Read said she dropped O’Keefe off to continue partying at the Canton home of Brian Albert, a now-retired Boston police sergeant.
Hours later, O’Keefe was found clinging to life on Albert’s lawn, later succumbing to hypothermia and the blunt force trauma prosecutors alleged came from being struck by Read’s vehicle.
In both trials, the defense claimed law enforcement officials attending the party brutally beat O’Keefe and left him in the cold to die. A bungled investigation and a lead investigator’s suspension from the State Police only helped support those in Read’s camp.
Party guests claimed the victim never made it inside the home.
“I looked at her from day one as an innocent woman that needed to be proven guilty, and I don’t think any of that was shown in this process,” the juror told TODAY. “Everyone felt good about the decision that we all collectively came together with.”
He claimed the jury found no “solid evidence” to prove O’Keefe was hit by a car at all.
Others continue to doubt Read’s innocence
Meanwhile, special prosecutor Hank Brennan said he was “disappointed” by the verdict, according to his statement to Boston NBC affiliate WBTS-CD. Brennan offered his “heartfelt condolences” to the many who loved O’Keefe, as part of a lengthy release.
“After an independent and thorough review of all the evidence, I concluded that the evidence led to one person and only one person,” the statement read, in part. “The campaign of intimidation and abuse that has been waged, funded, and promoted in public and on social media is the antithesis of justice.
“If this type of conduct becomes commonplace, it will threaten the integrity of our judicial system, affecting both victims and [the] criminally accused. We cannot condone witness abuse causing participants to worry for their own safety or that of their families.”
Brennan’s hope to see “witnesses and their families left alone” has been upended by some of the radical support from loyals who’d loudly petitioned over Read’s innocence. Sources reported to TMZ that those on Team Karen continue to harass O’Keefe’s family home, which consists of the victim’s parents and the young niece and nephew John O’Keefe raised as his own up until his death.
One security video showed a woman dancing in what has been perceived as a celebration over the verdict just outside the O’Keefe home.
A “Justice for John” sign remained posted on the mailbox.
“The harassment of the innocent victims and family members is deplorable and should never happen again in a case in this Commonwealth,” Brennan continued in his statement.
For the drunk-driving charge, Read was sentenced to one year of probation.
