Woman charged with manslaughter in death of boyfriend, a Boston Police Department Officer
Karen Read, 41, from Mansfield, Massachusetts, was charged with manslaughter this week after being arrested in connection with the death of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, a police officer with the Boston Police Department. Read and Officer O’Keefe have been together romantically for the past two years. During the recent blizzard that slammed the Northeast, O’Keefe was found outdoors and unresponsive.
Reportedly, when O’Keefe was found near death along a suburban Boston roadside in Canton, his body had been battered and was hypothermic. He was transported to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton where he was later pronounced deceased, according to ABC News.
At her court hearing this past Wednesday, Read was accused by prosecutors of causing O’Keefe’s death by striking him with her car in Canton on or around the evening of Friday, February 28, according to NBC.
Read, 41, allegedly asked a witness: “did I hit him, did I hit him?” and investigators said they seized her vehicle and found a shattered tail light and other evidence of O’Keefe’s injury, according to NBC 10 Boston .
NBC in Boston also reported that Read and O’Keefe were together and had been drinking on the evening leading up to his death. She reportedly drove him to a house party in Canton on the Friday night before he died. The next morning, O’Keefe was found clinging to life outside in the snow. He had been with the Boston PD for 16 years.
Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Gregory Long released this statement regarding the loss of Officer O’Keefe:
“The Boston Police Department continues to grieve over the tragic loss of our brother Police Officer John O’Keefe. John was a kind person, dedicated to his family, and will be greatly missed by his coworkers and anyone who had the privilege of meeting him. Today, the Massachusetts State Police and the Norfolk County District Attorney‘s Office arrested the person responsible for John’s death.
The Boston Police Department extends our sincere thanks to the members of the Canton Police Department, Canton Fire Department, Massachusetts State Police and Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office for their efforts from the initial response under difficult conditions to today’s arrest.
Image credit: Boston Police Department
At this time, we are stunned and saddened and offer whatever support we can to John’s family. Boston Police Peer Support will be available to assist department members in need of emotional support.”
Read entered a plea of not guilty to her charge of vehicular homicide and manslaughter and was freed from prison on a $50,000 bond. She is scheduled for a March 1 probable cause hearing.
A wake is being held today for O’Keefe; and his funeral is being held tomorrow. As of this writing, A GoFundMe page has collected slightly more than $234,000 in Officer O’Keefe’s name.
For more on the story, see the video accompanying this article.
~ Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter
