Karen Read’s defense team introduced the possibility of new evidence arising from a altercation she had with her boyfriend John O’Keefe a month before she allegedly caused his death in a fatal hit-and-run incident while under the influence of alcohol. Prosecutors suggest that this evidence could portray the killing as a “domestic violence homicide,” indicating Read’s refusal to accept O’Keefe’s attempts to end the relationship, as per a recent court filing.
One of her attorneys, Alan Jackson, had Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik present a series of text messages exchanged between the accused and a potential romantic interest, ATF Agent Brian Higgins. The messages were from the night when Read and O’Keefe, a Boston police officer, were together at a bar and subsequent gathering, which was the last time O’Keefe was seen alive.
“In a scenario where the defendant has introduced this new aspect, it becomes crucial for the jury to be informed that it was actually the defendant who persistently rebuffed the victim’s wishes to end the relationship. The defendant continuously accused the victim of infidelity with hostility, displaying a consistent pattern of aggression in the period leading up to the tragic event,” noted special prosecutor Hank Brennan.Â
“This incident in Aruba seems to also be the turning point in the relationship as the defendant told Brian Higgins that her relationship with the victim was a ‘very f—ed up situation’ as she had observed the victim ‘all over [a] friend’s sister in the lobby of our hotel’ and accused the victim of ‘having hooked up with another girl.’”
Brennan said he plans to call four witnesses to the Aruba incident to testify.
Karen Read, front left, joins attorneys for a sidebar with Judge Beverly J. Cannone, right, during her murder retrial on May 12, 2025. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
“In a domestic violence homicide, evidence such as prior disputes are relevant to show the ‘volatile nature of the relationship,’” Brennan wrote.
He added that he expected their testimony to show Read’s “intent and state of mind toward the victim.”
“Brennan is smart,” said Linda Kenney Baden, a high-profile defense attorney who squared off with Jackson in 2007 when he was the lead prosecutor in the murder trial of music producer Phil Spector. “You don’t get to represent Whitey Bulger for eight years if you’re not.”
Still, she said, Jackson may have been prepared for it.
“I think even if the judge allows him to bring it in, Jackson is ready for it,” she said. “That’s why he had the Aruba text read in the whole Higgins outline.”
Read has pleaded not guilty, and her attorneys deny she ever struck O’Keefe with her vehicle.
Four weeks into the trial, prosecutors have yet to show O’Keefe’s autopsy findings to the jury or allege specifically how she intended to kill him.Â
“This feels desperate to get the intent,” said Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts defense attorney who has been following the case. “I don’t think the jury will care to hear more evidence that there were issues. No relationship is perfect.”
