Karen Read's Parents Say the 'Fear We Could Lose' Her Has Gone Now That She's Been Acquitted of Murder

Karen Read’s parents are opening up about the relief they feel now that their daughter won’t be behind bars, following her acquittal in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe.

Speaking with local Boston CBS station WBZ-TV, Bill and Janet Read said they feel a mix of emotions after their daughter was found not guilty of second-degree murder when the verdict was read in court on Wednesday, June 18.

“We feel almost like we should know how we feel, but we don’t,” Janet told the outlet.

“Coming to grips with the idea that the fear that we could lose Karen to incarceration, given the charges, is now gone. That fear has abated,” Bill said.

“We always said, ‘Let’s not go too far out in our thoughts, let’s keep day to day,’ ” Janet added.

Karen, 45, was found not guilty of killing O’Keefe after two separate trials. She was acquitted of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, involuntary manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

However, she was found guilty of operating under the influence.

Karen was arrested in 2022 and was accused of killing her boyfriend of two years by drunkenly backing into O’Keefe with her vehicle during a winter storm following a night out together at the home of then-Boston police officer Brian Albert in Canton, Mass., in January of that year. He died from blunt force trauma and hypothermia, an autopsy revealed.

Karen, who worked in equity research at Fidelity, pleaded not guilty and vehemently denied having any involvement in the death. She also alleged that she was being framed as part of a police cover-up.

O’Keefe was found at about 6 a.m. local time in Albert’s front yard with two black eyes and deep cuts on the back of his head and right arm. Prosecutors claim that Karen dropped O’Keefe off outside Albert’s house, backed into him with her Lexus SUV while driving intoxicated and drove off.

Karen’s defense attorneys argued that O’Keefe, who allegedly had a longstanding disagreement with someone at the party, was severely injured during an argument at the party and may have been attacked by a dog, given the deep wounds on his arm.

According to her parents, Karen acted almost as a “fifth lawyer” in the case — and they said that her strength amid the allegations helped them to stay positive.

“She’s determined, she’s focused, very bright and she got us through this, she got herself through this,” Bill Read told WBZ-TV. “She was the fifth lawyer.”

Despite her perseverance in the case, Bill told the outlet that his daughter’s life will never be the same due to the notoriety of the case and negative attention.

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“Individuals who made misogynistic comments, dehumanizing her, objectifying her sexuality and the like,” Bill said, referring to some of the negative comments Karen received.

Karen and her parents are now looking toward the future, Janet told WBZ-TV. She said her daughter would “maybe” consider writing a book about the case.

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“She’s an excellent writer, she’s always been,” Janet said. “I always thought she should go into journalism, and she wanted finance.”

As for Janet and Bill, they hope to help others in need by speaking out and standing up for what’s right.

“From this day forward, we recognize we were fortunate, but we were blessed by the almighty that we were able to have this, and now it’s imperative that others need help, that we can speak out,” Bill said.