Karen Read’s Next Chapter: Acquitted of Murder and Rising as a Social Media Star, But Her Legal Battles Are Far from Over

Karen Read will not be sentenced to prison for the killing of her boyfriend, Boston policeman John O’Keefe. However, her legal troubles are far from over, and she still has a journey ahead in the courtroom regarding this contentious matter.

Read 45, sobbed on Wednesday after being acquitted of murder for her police officer boyfriend in a retrial that has gripped and divided America. 

The emotional relief felt in the criminal court in Massachusetts marks the end of one chapter in the saga. Nevertheless, Read is still a long way from resuming a normal life amidst the ongoing legal proceedings.

Now legal eagles and PR executives have weighed in on what comes next for the financial analyst.

DUI Conviction

 While Read was cleared of the most serious charge stemming from the January 29, 2022 death she still faced some legal repercussions.

The financial analyst was convicted on the lesser charge of drunk driving, which carries a maximum penalty of 2.5 years for a first offense.

However, at sentencing she was handed one year of probation and ordered to take alcohol awareness classes.

Probation for the offense in Massachusetts typically includes 30 hours of community service. 

The penalty is the standard one handed down to a first time offender. 

Book Deals, TV Shows, and More Podcasts

Many high-profile defendants walk away with book deals to give a first-person account of what really happened behind the scenes. 

Although it is unclear if Read has been offered one, or if she’s even interested in one, it could continue to help her star rise after becoming a household name due to the trial. 

Netflix and HBO have already covered her trial in documentaries, leaving the window wide open for Read to join one. 

Criminal jurors have already started coming forward with their takes and opinions on the case and Read could very much do the same now that she can no longer face a murder charge for O’Keefe’s death. 

However, if Read does choose to step into the spotlight further, any money she makes off the endeavors could be garnished if she loses her upcoming civil case with O’Keefe’s family and has to pay damages. 

Civil Case

Read’s acquittal is far from the end of the grueling legal process and she is now facing another round in court.

Read and her legal team are gearing up for a civil trial – a $50,000 wrongful death lawsuit filed by O’Keefe’s family against her and two local bars. 

‘After a not-guilty verdict against Read, a civil case is all the family has left if they want to seek justice,’ New Mexico-based lawyer, John W. Day, told DailyMail.com. 

‘The O’Keefe family will want this civil trial to move forward quickly while people are still talking about the verdict.’ 

No date has been set for the trial yet, as it was put on pause while Read dealt with her criminal case. 

The case was filed against Read and two local bars – CF McCarthy’s and Waterfall Bar and Grille – in August 2024 in the Plymouth Superior Court in Brockton and the family is seeking at least $50,000 in damages for O’Keefe’s death. 

They argue Read engaged in reckless conduct that resulted in O’Keefe’s death and that the bars, ‘negligently served alcohol to an intoxicated person.’ 

Many experts told Daily Mail that it would be beneficial for Read to push through the civil case as early as possible as her stronger-than-ever fanbase is ready to defend her. 

Tom Flaws, a Boston-based lawyer with the firm Altman Nussbaum Shunnarah, told Daily Mail that the O’Keefe family has a ‘much lower bar to prove’ that Read killed their son compared to the state in the criminal case. 

But that doesn’t mean it will be an easy win for the heartbroken family, especially as Read’s fanbase stays strong and criminal jurors continue to come out and cast doubt that the 45-year-old did it. 

‘That’s a problem for the plaintiffs of the civil case,’ Flaws said. 

Whereas, in a criminal trial, the State of Massachusetts had to prove Read performed a criminal act beyond a reasonable doubt. 

In the civil case, the O’Keefe family only has to prove that their version of events is plausible based on the preponderance of the evidence. If they can prove there is a more than a 50 percent chance of probability, they can win. 

‘It’s a much lower burden,’ Flaws, who has 20 years experience in the field, said. 

‘It’s a bigger challenge for her [Read],’ Florida-based lawyer, Emmanuel Galimidi, told DailyMail.com. 

Galimidi, who owns his own firm Galimidi Law, also believes the criminal jurors’ opinions will influence her civil case. 

‘I don’t see how they don’t,’ he said. ‘That would influence me.’ 

Considering how big the case became, Galimidi thinks there will be a good chance the local jurors picked for the civil trial will have at least heard of or be familiar with the case and will know the verdict of the criminal trial. 

‘Jury selection in very important,’ the lawyer, who has 22 years of law experience and worked both on the plaintiffs and defendants’ sides, said. ‘In this one, it’s much more important.’ 

He also expects, regardless of the verdict, there will be an appeal made ‘due to the nature of the case.’

Obstacles

The biggest difference – and perhaps an obstacle for Read – will be her deposition.

Unlike her criminal case, she will have to take the stand and it will be the first time jurors and crime junkies alike will hear her side of the story directly from the source. 

Just because prosecutors couldn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Read hit O’Keefe with her car, it does not mean she did not.

Her late boyfriend’s law enforcement officer status only increased scrutiny on her actions.

‘It plays a role [in her reputation],’ Schiffer said. ‘It’s hard to undo.’ 

Schiffer said Read will need to be ‘extremely’ careful while on the stand during her deposition to keep her reputation intact. 

 ‘She’s probably better off doing [the trial] now, coming off the win,’ Eric Schiffer, who helps high-profile people fix their reputations and CEO of Reputation Management Consultants, told DailyMail.com.

‘She needs to take every word seriously. Things can go boom.’ 

Despite the buzz around her upcoming deposition, Galimidi doesn’t expect to hear anything he hasn’t already. 

‘I don’t expect there to be any big revelation here,’ he said. 

Damages

Although the O’Keefe family filed for at least $50,000 in damages, they could be awarded a far higher sum.

The question comes down to who can pay it for both the bars and Read. 

Although a jury can decide how much each defendant has to pay, if they don’t have it, the family could be chasing it for years, especially with Read, who is a private citizen. 

‘Remember that this is how the Goldman family and Nicole Simpson’s family went after OJ Simpson after he was acquitted or murder,’ Day told DailyMail.com. ‘They got a $33million judgment against OJ, but then had to try to collect on it.’ 

‘One issue the family could face: What can they get from Karen Read, or is she judgment-proof? Meaning, what assets does she have that the family could get in a civil judgment?’ 

A potential asset they family could garnish from is if Read is offered a book deal. They could tap into her royalties for years. 

Another way they could get money from Read, if she doesn’t have the damages amount, is to garnish her wages. There are state limitations on what percentage can be taken out of her paychecks. 

‘You can try and garnish,’ Galimidi said. ‘That’s entirely possible.’  

Galimidi suspects the O’Keefe family may or may not have bought in the two bars as collateral, as the establishments more than likely have insurance plans that will help cover them and offer a higher damages amount to the family. 

However, the locally-owned establishments might not have much in insurance, compared to big-named chained. 

‘There’s a difference suing IBM versus Joe’s Computer Shop [down the street],’ the Florida lawyer said. 

He also believes the family has a good case against the bars for serving her an abundance of alcohol. 

‘It’s a strong case against the bars,’ he told DailyMail.com. ‘It’s a strong one for the plaintiffs because of her blood-alcohol [level].’ 

However, Flaws said the plaintiffs still have to ‘prove that she hit him’ to prevail. 

Reputation Rehabilitation

As the verdict was read out on Wednesday, cheers were heard outside the courthouse from her hoard of supporters, however experts warn Read has a long way to go before she can shake off the controversy.

Read made headlines throughout the trial for her outlandish behavior during the case, which included winking at cameras and laughing and joking with her counsel in court. 

Schiffer said Read’s name is a ‘punch line’ at the moment and she absolutely have to fix her public image before stepping back in the court. 

‘She’s been shredded online,’ Schiffer told DailyMail.com. 

He thinks it’s ‘critical’ for Read to rapidly patch up the ‘scraps’ of her reputation prior to her civil trial as the burden of proof is much, much lower compared to a criminal case. 

‘That’s her biggest challenge,’ he said.

If she loses the civil case, Schiffer said her reputation will experience ‘spontaneous combustion.’ 

‘It’s not a death blow, but it will hobble her,’ he said. 

And even if she wins, her reputation won’t magically pop back either as many will accuse her of being of being ‘famous for the wrong reasons,’ he said. 

‘It’s a good case, but it could be worse,’ Galimidi said.  

DailyMail.com has contacted Read’s lawyer for comment.