Karen Read’s parents speak out after acquittal

DIGHTON, Mass. — 24 hours after their daughter, Karen Read, was acquitted of her most serious charges, Bill and Janet Read spoke with 25 Investigates reporter Ted Daniel, expressing profound relief and a sense of liberation.

“I feel like I’m floating,” Janet Read shared, her voice filled with emotion, reflecting the jury’s decision to acquit Karen Read of her most serious charges, including 2nd degree murder.

She added, “I feel really physically great today, like I didn’t for the last two days. I have a very nervous stomach but, I feel very happy now.”

The interview took place at the Reads’ Dighton home, where Karen Read has been residing. The family moved to the home when Karen Read was 18-years-old.

The parents had just returned from Boston, where they spent the night celebrating until 2 AM with their daughter, her legal team, and friends following the highly anticipated verdict.

Bill Read said he got a boost right before the jury’s decision from one of his daughters’ attorneys. “Alan Jackson came up to me moments before the jury came in and he squeezed my hand and he looked at my wife and said, ‘You guys, we got this.’”

“It just made me feel good because I know he’s been at other big trials… he has a sense that I don’t have,” Bill Read said.

The cheers from the crowd outside the courthouse did not go unnoticed by Bill. “When they erupted, it made me proud to be an American, you know, that people were behind us, and when it erupted, it filtered through the courtroom,” Bill Read stated, clearly moved by the public support.

Janet Read shared her raw emotion upon hearing the verdict. “I knew that I only had to hear one not guilty. And I knew it was going to be okay. And I grabbed Bill and Nathan. They were sitting on the side of me just to hold them, and their arms were both shaking.”

The O’Keefe family maintains a starkly different perspective, firmly believing Karen Read got away with murder. Boston 25 made multiple attempts to reach out to the family for comment about the verdict, everyone we spoke with acknowledge this is a very emotional time for the family and have declined to comment at this time.

Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey issued a statement today saying, “The jury has spoken.”

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