Cheers from her supporters, who had been waiting for an update across the street from the courthouse, could be heard inside the courtroom. 

For Read’s second trial, the commonwealth appointed a special prosecutor, high-powered defense attorney Hank Brennan, and Read added New York defense attorney Robert Alessi to a team that included Los Angeles’ Alan Jackson and Boston’s David Yannetti.

O’Keefe’s body was discovered face-up in the snow outside the Canton, Massachusetts, home of Brian Albert, a fellow officer, on Jan. 29, 2022.

His body was bruised and unresponsive with head trauma and signs of hypothermia.

The defense argued O’Keefe was attacked inside the house, and his death was potentially covered up by law enforcement people inside the party.

The prosecution argued that Read intentionally or recklessly struck O’Keefe with her SUV and left him for dead outside in a snowstorm and then tried to cover it up.

Karen Read and her lawyer, Alan Jackson, exit Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Mass., on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. Read was found to be not guilty of the murder of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe. (Richard Beetham for Fox News Digital)

Jack Lu, a retired Massachusetts judge and Boston College law professor, called the outcome “a stunning victory for the defense” that he said would also help Read in a civil lawsuit against her from O’Keefe’s family.

The investigation of Read’s case led to investigations into the investigators, an audit of the Canton Police Department and the firing of a state police homicide detective.

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz and Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.