O'Keefe had been dropped off the night before by his girlfriend, Karen Read, to join a party hosted by Brian Albert and Jennifer McCabe.
Four months later, on June 9, 2022, she was indicted by a grand jury for second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence, and leaving the scene of a deadly crash.
[3] Read pleaded not guilty again and her defense attorney, David Yannetti, accused the Massachusetts State Police of manufacturing evidence in the investigation.
He also alleged that the lead investigator, Trooper Michael Proctor, had a conflict of interest due to his family's relationship with some of the prosecution's witnesses.
He also earned a master's degree in criminal justice from UMass Lowell[8] and had lived in Canton since 2014, where he was raising his niece and nephew following his sister and brother-in-law's deaths.
[10] John O'Keefe's former partner, the deceased Pat Rogers, was featured on the reality television show, Boston's Finest.
Rogers' then-girlfriend Laura Sullivan, who had a child with him, was also long-time friends with John; she met Karen during a trip to Aruba and testified as a witness for the Commonwealth.
John's brother Paul, also a witness for the Commonwealth, was Captain and Quarterback of the Stonehill College Football team and teammates with Lieutenant Brian Tully, Michael Proctor's supervisor at the Norfolk Country District Attorney Mass State Police Investigative Unit.
Shortly after midnight Albert invited a group of people, including the couple, back to his home on Fairview Road in Canton.
After he did not respond to calls or texts, she contacted an acquaintance from that night, Jennifer McCabe, who agreed to join her and another woman, Kerry Roberts, in looking for him.
[14] A medical examiner later reported that O'Keefe had abrasions to his right arm, several lacerations to the face, two black eyes, and skull fractures which would have contributed to brain bleeding.
He produced a series of written reports (Case # 2022-112-0033) to Detective Lieutenant Brian P. Tully of the Massachusetts State Police.
[9] She was charged with manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, and leaving the scene of a collision in the lower Stoughton District Court on February 2, 2022.
[1][20] Evidence showed that Brian Albert sold his house and got rid of his dog after the incident, and Jennifer McCabe made a Google search "hos[sic] long to die in cold" at 2:27 a.m.[9] In November 2023, residents of Canton voted to mount an independent investigation into the town's police department.
[24] On February 2, 2022, Read was arraigned in Stoughton District Court on charges of manslaughter, leaving the scene of a serious accident, and motor vehicle homicide.
[25] In June 2022, a Norfolk County grand jury indicted Read for second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter, and leaving the scene of a collision.
[28][29] The judge denied the motion on March 26 due to "extensive evidence supporting the indictments", such as O'Keefe's DNA being found on the broken taillight of Read's car.
[30][31] In early April 2024, ahead of the trial date, the prosecutors filed a motion requesting special restrictions during the trial to keep demonstrations back at least 500 feet (150 m) from the courthouse to maintain an unbiased jury pool; Judge Cannone ruled that 500 feet was excessive, and ordered a 200-foot (61 m) buffer zone with no protesters allowed.
This ruling came after the ACLU filed a memorandum opposing the prosecution's request, citing freedom of speech, and urged the court to consider more narrowly tailored restrictions.
[36][37][38][39] Prosecutors previously asked the Judge to block Read's lawyers from arguing that others are to blame for O'Keefe's death, also known as third-party culprit defense.
Yuriy Bukhenik, Massachusetts State Police[75] Trooper Michael Proctor, Massachusetts State Police[76][75] Trooper Joseph Paul, Crash Analyst, Massachusetts State Police[77] Trooper Nicholas Guarino, Cellphone Data Analyst, Massachusetts State Police[78][79] Justin Rice, Emergency Room Doctor, Good Samaritan Hospital[80] Nicholas Roberts, Alcohol Testing Member, Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab[80] Dr. Renee Stonebridge, Medical Examiner[81] Dr. Irini Scordi-Bello, Medical Examiner[82] [nb 1] Brian (Lucky) Loughran, Snow Plow Driver[85] Richard Green, Forensic Expert[82] Dr. Frank Sheridan, Retired Forensic Pathologist and Former Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Marie Russell, Retired Emergency Room Physician and Forensic Pathologist Dr. Daniel Wolfe, Accident Reconstruction Expert, ARCCA Dr. Andrew Rentschler, Biomechanics Expert, ARCCA[86][nb 2] [nb 3] The prosecution argued that Karen Read intentionally ran over her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, with her SUV after a night of heavy drinking on January 29, 2022.
[94] The defense argued that Karen Read was being framed as part of a law enforcement coverup to protect the real perpetrators, suggesting that O’Keefe was beaten inside the house of another Boston police officer, Brian Albert, and then left outside to die in the snow.
The defense exposed the lack of integrity of the investigation, highlighting the use of Solo cups and Stop & Shop grocery bags during evidence collection[95][50][96] and the inappropriate text messages about Read between Trooper Proctor and his coworkers.
[101] Read's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss two of the charges, second-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident, saying that several jurors have reached out after the mistrial was declared.
In July 2023, a "rolling rally" of around 50 cars in support of the coverup theory drove through Canton, stopping at the homes of key figures relating to the case and protesting with a bullhorn.
[1][110] Local blogger Aidan Kearney, nicknamed Turtleboy, has covered the case extensively on his website under the headline "Canton Coverup" since the defense released their affidavit in April 2023.
[112] Shortly after the trial ended, Kearney also found a dead turtle hanging outside his parent's home in Worcester, and the local police are investigating the incident as harassment and animal cruelty.
[114] Following the mistrial declared on July 1, 2024, Trooper Proctor was relieved of duty and formally transferred out of the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office State Police Detective's Unit due to sending inappropriate and offensive text messages about Read to family and friends.