The body lay in the snow outside for hours in the cold of freezing. It was a night of drinking and the cop was dead.
John O’Kife was found to lie on the grass that morning in January 2022. Autopsy blamed Blunt, injuries to head impact and hypothermia.
Authorities joined a suspect for days: his girlfriend again-friend Karen Rid was arrested, accused of supporting him with her SUV and then left him dead.
He followed a carefully watched performance, far beyond the dream city of New England, where it unfolded, a real criminal feeling, attracting attention from YouTubers, Tiktokers and the Internet monitors and serves as a feed for podcasts, movies, television shows.
Prosecutors claim that the couple had entered into a dispute and reads, a 45-year-old former assistant professor, was angry and jealous. They cited as evidence of angry voicemail messages, which she left for him on the day he died, accusing him of cheating. The defense supports someone else to defeat O’Kife to death and read that he was placed.
The case hung a jury and is now heading for a second, as the jury’s choice began this week for re -examination in Deadham, Massachusetts, where a judge prevented supporters from both sides to demonstrate within 200 feet of the Court of Justice or wear clothes associated with the case inside.
Proponents organize honors throughout the country. How does death in a small town capture national imagination? Experts say the merger of the factors can be played.
The many twists and turns in the case, since the reflection – from the dismissal of the lead investigator on charges of intimidating witnesses against a blogger – also nourishes the ongoing media coverage. And the allegations of police coverage and a lot of evidence have set speculation in online communities where viewers can play a detective and conspiracy theories can thrive.
“This has all these elements of what anyone would like to watch on television in the courtroom drama and for that reason. People just have these really strong opinions on it,” says Shira Diner, an instructor at the University of Boston.
What happened to John O’Kife?
A heavy snowstorm, a canton glued, Massachusetts, on January 28, 2022. O’Kefe, a cop in Boston, somehow went out for a night of drinking with Read and some friends and colleagues.
After midnight, the group headed to the home of already officer of Boston Brian Albert. Between 12:15 and 12:45, many witnesses said they had seen a dark all -terrain vehicle parked outside the home, but no one went inside.
Prosecutors say they read Rammed O’Kefe with Lexus SUV and escaped. They quoted evidence, including the destroyed backlight where O’Kife’s DNA was found.
Hours later, the reading went with the daughter-in-law of Albert and another friend to look for him. He was found in the snow in about 6 o’clock in the morning
According to an assistant, the district prosecutor Adam Lally, the first responded and witnesses to the scene, who heard, read repeatedly to say “I hit him.” She continued to incriminate herself this morning, Lali said, including, saying, “It’s all my guilt.”
Boston police officer John O’Kife, a native of Brantry, was found dead in front of Canton, Massachusetts, home in the middle of Norver on January 29, 2022. His funeral was in the church of St. Francis in Brants on Monday, February 7, 2022.
Time line: What happened in the case of Karen’s reading? Here are the main moments in the John O’Ciff’s murder process
The defense challenged these allegations, offering a different theory of what happened tonight.
Defense lawyer Alan Jackson claims that reading has dropped O’Kefe and then a deadly battle broke out at Albert’s home. He says the participants covered him, planted his body on the front lawn, and framed read.
The defense pointed out several potential suspects at the home at the time, including Albert, his nephew and their friend, an agent at the American Alcohol Bureau, Tobacco, Fire Weapons and explosives that exchanged flirting text messages with Read. However, a judge ruled that the Read defense team could only use part of this protection in it in re -examination, citing insufficient evidence, WCVB reported.
Read’s lawyers say O’Kefe’s injuries showed signs of beating and animal attack, suggesting that a family dog, a German shepherd named Chloe, was involved.
Karen reads conversations with one of her lawyers, Alan Jackson, in the Norfolk Supreme Court in Deadham, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, February 25, 2025.
The defense pointed to Google Search Albert’s sister, who is said to have asked: “HOS (SIC) to die in a cold for a long time.”
The defense said the search was carried out at 2:27 am long before the authorities were notified of O’Kife’s death. But prosecutors claim that this happened around 6:23 pm after O’Cif was found. Prosecutors also said the swabs taken from O’Kife’s clothing near his injuries did not contain dog DNA.
Albert’s lawyer, Gregory D. Henning, told the USA Today that it had nothing to do with the death of John O’Kif. There was no battle. John O’Kife was never in their home. ” The daughter -in -law’s lawyer did not return messages.
“Lady in Disaster” or “Calculation of a killer?”
Reading supporters can often be seen outside the Court of Justice. They remove “free karen” signs and often wear pink. Other demonstrators call for John justice.
Medved said that part of the charm with reading and others like Casey Anthony or Amanda Knox comes from the relatively rarity of a woman facing accusations of murder.
“I think America is often fascinated by the idea of women who kill,” he said. “For some people, it’s like a girl in trouble, as this woman is framed, like this poor woman, she loses her boyfriend, and the police just accumulate her on her and partly to cover up men who have done something wrong. For other people she is like,” Oh, come on, she is a calculating killer, “he added.
Experts said the cases of real crimes involving white women often receive disproportionate attention-especially young, attractive blondes such as Gabby Petito and Natalie Holloway.
According to Diner, wealth and class have also played a role. Read was released on a $ 80,000 warranty and has a high -profile defense team, including Jackson, who represents Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, among other big namesS This helped her share her country of history in media interviews and Garner’s support.
“I think the relative privilege that the defendant in this case has is a really important part of analyzing and understanding what is happening and why it happens,” Diner said.
Accusations of theorists to cover the conspiracy conspiracy
Medud said police errors in the investigation and complex cover proposals make the case on a fertile basis for online conspiracy theorists.
“Every time you put a microscope on a case, you will see holes, but I don’t think you need a microscope to see the holes in this one, right?” said Medud. “They are just quite cursed.”
Police use red solo glasses to warm up bloody snow and put them in paper bags to get at the station, defense lawyers said. Audit found that the police also failed to properly shoot O’Kife’s body, record an interview and maintain the crime scene.
Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan talks about invoices sent to the defense by witnesses to the prosecutor’s office at the Supreme Court of Norfolk in Deadham, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, February 25, 2025.
The leading investigator in the case was fired last month. He had sent rough text messages to read friends and fellow state troops during the investigation. Read lawyers cited the announcements as evidence that police preventedly decided on her fault.
Massachusetts state police said investigator Michael Proctor was fired for unrelated accusations. His lawyer Daniel J. Monuyan did not answer a message looking for a comment from USA Today. WGBH reported that Moynihan had promised to appeal, saying that Proctor had been terminated after Mistrial of Read.
Karen Company supporters gather before the Supreme Court of Norfolk in Deadham, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, February 25, 2025.
The federal investigation processing probe ended without charges.
Norfolk District Prosecutor Michael Morrisi called the cover of “unfounded” and “conspiracy” allegations in a statement in 2023.
“The idea that numerous police departments, EMT, fire staff, medical specialist and the prosecutor’s office are joining or accepting, a huge conspiracy should be seen for what it is – completely contrary to the evidence and a desperate attempt to reassure the guilt,” he said.
“Justice for John”
Proponents of the accused killer Karen read a position outside the court as a reading, and her lawyers appear in the Supreme Court of Norfolk in Deadham, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, February 25, 2025.
Despite the Justice for John campaign, the tragedy of what happened to what happened to the 46-year-old, dedicated uncle, is often lost in the brawl, said Medved, a common problem when the public fixes on a certain case.
Some of Read’s supporters have thrown insults to O’Kefe’s relatives when they attended the first trial, a friend of the late officer wrote in a piece for Boston magazine. One of the supporters of Read, blogger Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney, is facing accusations of intimidating witnesses after colliding with witnesses in the camera case. He denied all the accusations against him.
“There is a feeling that with all the game, with all kinds of rooted views of guilt or innocence and many of the attacks of vitriol and ad Hominem and a very personal nature of John O’Kife’s loss is somehow lost,” Medud said.
Contribution: Mary Walrat-Holdridge, Kidge Mace-osterman and Caris Wadik, USA today; Peter Bladino, Rin Velasco, Brad Retishen and Jessica Trefant, USA Today Network – New England
This article originally appeared in USA Today: Karen Read Murder Tist: How did the case become a mania for real crime