Karen Read’s Attorneys Ask Court to Dismiss Part of O’Keefe Family’s Wrongful Death Lawsuit

“The days of Karen Read being on the defense are over.”

That is what Read’s lawyer, Alan Jackson, said outside a Massachusetts courtroom on Monday, Sept. 22, as his client prepared for yet another trial, this time in civil court.

Read, a former equity analyst and college professor at Bentley University, is preparing to once again defend herself against the allegation that she killed her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, in January 2022.

A jury acquitted Read of O’Keefe’s murder earlier this year, but she is currently facing a wrongful death lawsuit in Plymouth Superior Court. At the Sept. 22 hearing, attorneys for Read asked the court to dismiss part of the suit, per the Associated Press.

In the courtroom, Read’s legal team argued that the plaintiffs “don’t have standing to pursue emotional distress damages because they didn’t witness O’Keefe’s death or see his body until after he had been declared dead at the hospital,” per the AP.

The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 26, 2024, on behalf of O’Keefe’s estate by his brother, Paul O’Keefe, who is one of the four listed plaintiffs, alongside the deceased’s parents, Margaret O’Keefe and John O’Keefe II, as well as the deceased’s niece.

At the time of his death, O’Keefe had been raising his niece and nephew for eight years. He gained custody of the two in 2014 after their mother and father both died in the span of just a few months from a brain tumor and a heart attack, respectively.

Only the niece was home on the night O’Keefe died, while his nephew was away at a friend’s home.

During her appearance, Read announced that she also plans to file multiple lawsuits in the wake of her two criminal trials, the first of which ended in a hung jury.

Read’s attorney, Damon Seligson, informed the judge that her legal team planned to file lawsuits against the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) and three of the individuals involved in the investigation – Lt. Brian Tully, Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik and Trooper Michael Proctor.

Seligson accused the MSP and those three employees of violating Read’s civil rights and conspiracy.

In the wake of the trial, the MSP terminated Proctor and transferred Tully and Bukhenik.

Seligson also said that Read intends to file lawsuits against Brian Higgins, Brian and Nicole Albert and Jennifer and Matthew McCabe.

In the criminal case, Read’s attorneys had previously argued that she was being framed in court motions, one of which alleged that “the actual perpetrators of this crime are Jennifer McCabe and Brian Albert.”

Albert is the owner of the home where O’Keefe was found dead in the front yard. Jennifer McCabe was with Read when she discovered her boyfriend’s body outside the home.

Brian’s wife Nicole initially told police that she first learned about O’Keefe when her sister Jennifer came into her bedroom shortly after they discovered the body and woke her up with the news, said the defense in their motion.

However, cell phone records obtained by the defense show that McCabe “actually made two calls to her sister, Nicole Albert’s cell phone at 6:07 a.m. and 6:08 a.m., both of which were answered by someone and were subsequently deleted,” according to the motion.

The defense also argued in that same motion that the deceased’s injuries were not consistent with a person being backed into by a car, which is how prosecutors claimed Read had killed O’Keefe.

“Contrary to the Commonwealth’s theories, photographs of O’Keefe suggest that he was beaten severely and left for dead, having sustained blunt force injuries to both sides of his face as well as to the back of his head,” said that motion. “In addition to suffering numerous defensive wounds on his hands consistent with a brutal fight, O’Keefe also suffered a cluster of deep scratches and puncture wounds to his right upper arm and forearm.”

The defense argued in the motion that Jennifer assisted in the alleged cover-up when she “inserted herself into the ‘search,’ making every effort to delay Ms. Read in returning to the Albert Residence to look for him and ensuring that she was in control of the narrative provided to police when O’Keefe’s body was discovered.”

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Jennifer then allegedly called 9-1-1 after Read discovered the body, at which time a trooper arrived on the scene, who is close friends with both the McCabe and Albert families, the defense alleged in its motion.

“Thus, Brian and Nicole Albert were among the first individuals to be notified that O’Keefe was lying unresponsive mere feet away on their front lawn, and in spite of being in such close proximity, made no effort to go outside and assist or otherwise investigate the emergency that was unfolding on their doorstep,” the defense wrote in its motion.

“Either Nicole is lying, or Jennifer McCabe was on the phone with her husband, Brian Albert,” the defense continued. “Either way, Brian and Nicole Albert chose to sequester themselves in their home— distancing themselves from the investigation—rather than check on O’Keefe, assist in life-saving efforts, speak with responding officers, or otherwise investigate the circumstances surrounding the fact that their family member had just discovered the body of a Boston Police Officer on their front lawn.”

This alleged conspiracy is acknowledged in the wrongful death suit.

“Read chose to speak publicly. She knowingly and deliberately changed her story and fabricated a conspiracy knowing the same to be false. She publicly communicated this false narrative thereby frustrating justice for [O’Keefe],” the lawsuit reads.

Read, who was convicted of operating under the influence of alcohol on the night of O’Keefe’s death, is due back in court for another pre-trial hearing on Nov. 21.