What really happened on the snowy night in January 2022 when Boston police officer John O’Keefe was found dead outside a suburban home? That question has haunted the city—and the nation—for years.
But after months of debate, a high-profile trial, and one deeply polarized jury, Karen Read, the woman accused of killing her boyfriend, has been acquitted of murder.
One juror, who identified himself only as Jason, is now speaking out about what swayed their decision—and why reasonable doubt ultimately won the day.
A Case Full of Gaps and Questions
Jason, speaking to TMZ, didn’t hold back. He described the prosecution’s case as full of “holes,” lacking the concrete evidence needed to convict someone of such a serious crime.
The claim? That Read had drunkenly backed her SUV into O’Keefe, leaving him in the freezing snow to die. But Jason said the jury just wasn’t convinced.
“There was just too much doubt,” he explained. “I don’t know if there was corruption, but I do know there wasn’t enough solid proof to pin this on her.”
Not Guilty on the Big Charges, But Still Held Accountable
In the end, the jury found Read not guilty of both murder and leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death.
She was, however, convicted of driving under the influence, a charge for which she received probation.
This was Read’s second trial. The first ended in a mistrial after five days of jury deadlock.
During the more recent trial, the jury once again had differing opinions—some believed she was clearly innocent, others believed there was too much doubt, and a few initially thought she was guilty.
But eventually, they reached consensus: there just wasn’t enough to prove she killed O’Keefe.
A Key Piece of Evidence Didn’t Add Up
One moment that stuck with juror Jason was the video of Read’s SUV.
Despite prosecutors claiming broken taillight pieces were found near O’Keefe’s body, the video clearly showed that her taillight was still intact after the alleged collision.
“That was huge,” Jason said. He also added that while he can’t say for certain what happened to O’Keefe that night, he doesn’t believe Read hit him with her vehicle.
The only thing the prosecution proved beyond doubt, he noted, was that Read had been drinking.
A Complicated Timeline and a Tragic Ending
According to prosecutors, Read had been out drinking with O’Keefe and some of his friends at the Waterfall Bar and Grill before heading to an afterparty at Brian Albert’s house in Canton.
Read admitted she’d had a few drinks and claimed she dropped O’Keefe off at the party before returning home.
She later woke up around 4 a.m., realized O’Keefe wasn’t back, and went searching—only to discover his body outside the Albert home.
First responders claimed she told them she had hit him, but the defense argued this was said in a moment of panic and confusion.
The Defense Points to a Cover-Up
Read’s defense team offered a very different version of events.
They claimed O’Keefe was beaten, possibly bitten by a dog, and left outside to die in a setup orchestrated by police.
At the heart of their case was a dishonorably discharged state trooper, Michael Proctor, who led the investigation and later admitted to sending crude and misogynistic texts about Read.
In closing arguments, her attorney Alan Jackson hammered the idea of a botched and biased investigation.
“There was no collision,” he said. “Reasonable doubt abounds.”
Public Obsession and the Pink-Wearing Supporters
The case sparked a media storm, fueled by an HBO documentary and passionate social media commentary.
Read gained a devoted group of supporters who wore pink in solidarity and gathered daily outside the courthouse.
So disruptive were the crowds that the judge eventually banned pink clothing inside the courtroom and kept supporters at least 500 feet away.
Juror Jason admitted that the atmosphere was tense. “It made everything harder,” he said.
“All eyes were on us.” Still, he insisted the public pressure had no impact on the jury’s final decision.
Cheers, Tears, and a Divided Public
When the verdict was read, Read stepped out to a roar of cheers from her pink-clad supporters.
She thanked them and her legal team in a brief statement, saying, “No one has fought harder for justice for John O’Keefe than I have.”
But not everyone was celebrating.
O’Keefe’s Family Speaks Out
Members of O’Keefe’s circle—including some who were present at the party that night—called the verdict a “devastating miscarriage of justice.”
In a heartfelt statement, Brian Albert and his relatives said the trial had been corrupted by conspiracy theories and misinformation.
“Our hearts are with John and the O’Keefe family,” they wrote.
“They deserved better from our justice system.”
What Happens Next?
While Karen Read walks free on the most serious charges, questions about what really happened that night remain.
Will there be a new investigation? Will any of the officers involved face scrutiny? And perhaps the biggest question of all: will O’Keefe’s family ever get the answers they’ve been looking for?
This story might have reached a legal ending—but in the court of public opinion, the case is far from closed.