January 29, 2022: Read and O’Keefe go out drinking with friends. They’re seen on camera inside a bar but leave around midnight to go to Albert’s house. Albert is a friend of O’Keefe’s and worked as a Boston police sergeant at the time.
January 29, 2022 at 12:24 a.m.: Read and O’Keefe arrive at Albert’s house. The couple had been arguing earlier in the night, and Read leaves minutes later to go home. After arriving at her place, she calls O’Keefe 53 times and he doesn’t answer. She leaves several angry voice memos, including telling him that she hates him and calling him a cheating pervert.
January 29, 2022 at 2:27 a.m: According to Read’s defense team, Albert’s sister-in-law, Jennifer McCabe, Googles “how long to die in cold.” She was inside the house, at 34 Fairview Road, when O’Keefe arrived. She later argued the search wasn’t done until after O’Keefe’s body was found, and that the timestamp only indicated she opened her browser just before 2:30 a.m., not when she did the search. Read’s defense attorneys said the search proved their argument that O’Keefe was killed inside the home.
January 29, 2022, around 4:30 a.m.: Read wakes up and realizes O’Keefe isn’t home, and she calls O’Keefe’s niece. The niece calls McCabe.
January 29, 2022, around 5 a.m.: Reed calls another friend, and they go back to Albert’s house. An hour later, they, along with McCabe, find O’Keefe’s body lying in the snow-covered front yard and call 911. Read was accused of yelling, “I hit him” multiple times that evening.
January 30, 2022: Read’s blood-alcohol level more than eight hours after she left the bar is tested and is still above the legal limit.
January 31, 2022: The medical examiner rules O’Keefe’s cause of death as blunt impact injuries to the head and hypothermia.
February 1, 2022: Read is arrested and initially charged with manslaughter, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle causing death and motor vehicle homicide. She pleaded not guilty the next day. Prosecutors said Read’s car had a broken taillight and scratches.
June 10, 2022: A grand jury indicts Read on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Read pleads not guilty again and pays a $100,000 bail.
May 3, 2023: At a pretrial hearing, Read’s defense attorneys, Alan Jackson and David Yannetti, say they believe O’Keefe was involved in a fight inside Albert’s home, and his body was discarded outside. They say the wounds on his arm—which look like a dozen deep cuts and scratches—are consistent with a dog attack, not being hit by a car. The Alberts owned a German Shepherd that they rehomed after O’Keefe’s death.
May 24, 2023: At another pretrial hearing, Read’s attorneys start to build their claim that the case is a cover-up by police. “Certainly the Massachusetts State Police is involved. There are people that were in that house that are involved,” Jackson said.
“I tried to save his life,” she said. “I tried to save his life at 6 in the morning. I was covered in his blood. I was the only one trying to save his life.”
April 29, 2024: Opening statements in Read’s murder trial begin. The prosecution argued Read intentionally hit O’Keefe and killed him. They say his DNA was found on the broken taillight and that bits of broken taillight were found at the scene.
The defense argued their theory about the dog and a police coverup. They also reveal vulgar text messages from lead investigator Michael Proctor about Read while he was investigating O’Keefe’s death. One of the text messages included him saying he hoped Read would take her own life.
July 1, 2024: A jury fails to come to a verdict in the case, and a mistrial is declared. Read’s argument that the case should be dismissed is denied, and Norfolk County moves to a retrial.
March 19, 2025: Proctor is fired from the Massachusetts State Police after he is caught drinking alcohol on duty. An internal investigation into his work performance was opened after Read’s first trial exposed Proctor’s text messages about her.
April 1, 2025: Jury selection begins in Read’s second trial, which takes two weeks, during which time she appeals her case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
April 22, 2025: Opening statements begin in Read’s retrial. Her defense maintains that she was framed by O’Keefe’s friends. While the case unfolds in the courtroom, dozens of Read supporters listen outside while holding “Free Karen Read” signs and wearing her favorite color, pink.
June 18, 2025: Read is acquitted of second-degree murder but is found guilty of driving while under the influence. Her brother, Nathan, tells reporters that he hopes in time their lives will go back to normal.
