Karen Read murder case is ‘a circus,’ says girlfriend who claims she killed police officer’s boyfriend (Exclusive)

Karen Lees is accused of killing her boyfriend John O’Keefe in 2022, but she claims she is the victim of a massive police cover-up

With its surprising revelations and countless twists, the Karen Read murder case has been a wild ride for anyone keeping an eye on the sensational case in the Boston area.

Read, 44, of Mansfield, Massachusetts, is accused of crashing her Lexus SUV into her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, 46, in the early morning hours of January 29, 2022, while intoxicated, killing him to be left to his fate. die in the snow, prosecutors allege.

Read and her lawyers claim that something else happened at the house party in Canton, Massachusetts, where she dropped O’Keefe off that evening: that O’Keefe was allegedly beaten up there by someone with whom he had a long-standing dispute. Read’s defense argues that she is the victim of a massive cover-up among the local and national law enforcement community.

“Karen Read was framed,” attorney David Yannetti said during opening remarks in April. “She didn’t cause his death, and that means someone else did.”

Related: Massive woman accused of fatally running over cop boyfriend — her lawyers say she was framed in cover-up

For months, diehard supporters of both parties gathered every day at the Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham with signs. Those supporting Read hold signs reading “Framed,” while opponents shout, “Police Killer!” with her.

“A circus has emerged,” O’Keefe’s friend, Sean Hickey, tells PEOPLE. “People are shouting ‘Free Karen Read’ at his parents, who are seniors. It is a shame. Everyone has forgotten that someone lost their life, regardless of how good a person they were.”

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For her part, Read, a financial analyst who worked as an adjunct professor at Bentley University, says she loved O’Keefe and did not kill him. “I have never damaged a hair on John O’Keefe’s head.” she told ABC News in August 2023.

The prosecutor disagrees and states in court that she confessed to an acquaintance when she heard him say at the scene: ‘I hit him’. She and her lawyers claim that she didn’t know if she was going to hit him, and that she actually said, “Did I hit him?”

O’Keefe’s injuries were not consistent with being hit by a car — especially his two black eyes and deep claw-like marks on his right arm, her lawyers argue. Yannetti believes O’Keefe may have been attacked by a dog at the home of retired Boston police officer Brian Albert, who hosted a meeting that evening that O’Keefe may or may not have attended, a major point of contention in the case. (The dog has since been rehomed.)

Read’s attorneys argue that the theory of a police cover-up is further fueled by a series of so-called “butt dials” between Albert and ATF agent Brian Higgins, who was there that night, and which Read’s sister-in-law Albert, Jennifer McCabe, went to O’Keefe before he was found unconscious and bleeding in the yard.

Read’s attorneys cite a group text between people who attended the party as further evidence of a cover-up.

“Tell them the man never entered the house,” reads one message from a partygoer.

Albert would respond: “Exactly,” according to Read’s lawyers.

They also point to a Google search McCabe reportedly conducted at 2:27 a.m. to find out how long it takes to die in the cold.

Read’s longtime friend Jon Silveira hopes Read is found innocent. Calling her “very honest, very generous and a great friend,” he tells PEOPLE, “I’m honored to know her and honored to defend her in this whole mess she’s dealing with.”

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