Karen Read gives life update, shares message for Norfolk DA in 1st public interview since acquittal

DEDHAM, Mass. — During her first public interview since being acquitted in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, Karen Read on Thursday shared an update on her life, delivered a message for Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey, and hinted at a possible lawsuit.

Read and her lead attorney, Alan Jackson, made an appearance on “The Howie Carr Show” on Thursday.

Read, who was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter in the death of John O’Keefe in June, told Carr that she’s been living with her parents after her two criminal trials cost her her career, car, house, and freedom.

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The 45-year-old Mansfield woman said that even after being acquitted, her life may never go back to the way it was.

“It’s not quite as I expected. I was expecting a switch to be flipped, the opposite of the one that got flipped on me at 6 a.m. Jan. 29, 2022,” Read told Carr. “But it’s been like a dimmer where the lights are coming on a little brighter each week. There are moments I have every day, I have these little epiphanies of, ‘Wow, this is the first time I’ve done, fill in the blank, in the last four years that I wasn’t living with this nightmare.’”

Over the course of two trials, prosecutors alleged that Read hit O’Keefe with her SUV and left him to die in a blizzard outside the home of fellow Boston officer Brian Albert, at 34 Fairview Road in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking.

Ultimately, Read’s lawyers successfully painted a sinister picture of police misconduct and theorized that O’Keefe was, in fact, killed by colleagues, followed by a vast cover-up.

Carr at one point asked Read if she had a message for Morrissey, the lead prosecutor, who released only a four-word statement after the conclusion of her second murder trial.

“You lost,” Read said. “You lost. You lost big time.”

Jackson also told Carr that Read and the legal team are “considering all options” when it comes to filing a civil lawsuit over her prosecution.

“I’m back here for a reason; it’s not just a pleasure tour,” Jackson explained. “We’ve met with the legal team back here dealing with the civil issue. There’s obviously a lot to unpack where that’s concerned.”

Read, Jackson, and other lawyers are now gearing up to fight a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the O’Keefe family.

Read says she is looking forward to publishing a book on her ordeal. Multiple other projects are also in the works, including a streaming show featuring actress Elizabeth Banks, a native of Pittsfield.

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