There are very few criminal cases in recent memory as complex and attention-grabbing as the trial of Karen Read. On January 29, 2022, Karen’s boyfriend, John O’Keefe, was found dead in the snow after a Massachusetts Nor’Easter and a long night of documented drinking with Karen and some casual friends in their New England cop circle. Karen dropped John off at the home of a fellow cop and acquaintance, Brian Albert, for an after party to keep drinking, but when she woke up to John still not being home in the early hours of the morning, she got worried and went out looking for him, eventually finding him murdered in the freezing cold.

There were injuries on John’s body that police say indicated a hit-and-run incident. First responders and fellow cop wives Karen invited to help her search for John noted Karen’s “hysterical” reaction to the discovery after an evening where Karen had admitted they were arguing and that she had drunk so much she couldn’t remember everything.

After finding alleged evidence of broken taillights from Karen’s SUV, the police began to build a case against Karen Read and arrested her on February 2, 2022, on charges of manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision causing death. And yet, with all of the police’s evidence and an aggressive case by the prosecution, Karen Read’s defense has not gone for a plea.

Because her lawyers, David Yannetti and Alan Jackson, have argued that both Karen and John are the victims of a “coverup” that Karen alleges is “spearheaded” by Brian Albert and the Massachusetts State Police, “every single one of them.” At the end of Karen’s trial in July 2024, the result was a mistrial. But after further admission from multiple members of the jury that Karen was actually partially acquitted on two charges by the end of their deliberation, Karen’s team has taken her case to the Supreme Court to appeal that those charges be dropped. Her appeal was accepted for review, though it has not stopped her retrial on the original charges, which began on April 22, 2025.

Here is a recap of the evidence that makes some people believe Karen is innocent.

Karen Read Trial: Theories On Her Innocence

Who else could have killed John O’Keefe?

Karen Read

Karen’s team has presented a number of alleged inconsistencies from the Massachusetts PD’s investigation, which they claim is evidence of a cover-up. The biggest piece of their argument is their alternative killer theory. Her lawyers argue that Brian Albert, his nephew Colin, and their friend, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Fire Arms Agent Brian Higgins, had the means and motive to kill John O’Keefe instead.

The night John was killed, he was out partying with Karen, Brian Albert, Brian Higgins, and other law enforcement (many of whom were punished, suspended, or relieved of duty following the results of the first trial due to misconduct, according to police standards). On security camera footage, the men are seen rough-housing with John and drinking with Karen in a Canton, Mass bar. The defense found this significant given the men’s claim they didn’t know John or Karen well or speak to them that night, and because Brian Higgins had a secret romantic relationship with Karen, who had a reportedly rocky relationship with John.

Brian Higgins and Karen had sent months of flirty texts and kissed, which her boyfriend John was suspicious of. Since Karen had recently stopped answering Brian Higgins’ texts, her defense argues that the men turned on John in Brian Albert’s basement, where they killed him, and dumped him outside to cover it up.

What evidence does Karen have to prove she’s innocent?

Karen Read Pre-Trial Hearing

To aid this theory, Karen’s defense and many of her supporters point out that Brian Higgins and Brian Albert shared a 2 a.m. phone call (which the prosecution says was a butt dial). Both men also got new phones, destroying their old ones’ data ahead of the judge’s order to turn the phones over for evidence. Brian Albert also sold his longtime family home months after John O’Keefe was found, which he says was completely unrelated. Brian and his family members and friends who were at the party claim that they did not hear the alleged hit and run of John that night, or see him lying in the snow when they left, even though John was 220 pounds and some recall seeing Karen’s car. Karen’s defense finds this suspect, as well as the fact that Brian Albert did not never came outside when the police arrived on the crime scene, which was his house.

As for physical evidence, Karen’s defense claims John’s injuries were consistent with defensive wounds from dog bites and points to the Alberts’ family dog, not a hit and run. They also dug up pictures of bloody injuries on Colin Albert’s hands consistent with beating someone up (along with old videos of Colin fighting people), even though Colin said he had no injuries at the time. When confronted with the evidence, Colin said he fell on the ice while skating.

The defense also alleges that the police planted the pieces of Karen’s taillight. The police shared video footage of Karen’s car being untouched on the side of the broken headlight while in their possession, meant to exonerate them of this claim, but during the trial, the defense proved that the video was manipulated. The video was flipped backwards, so that the side of the car that the headlight piece came off of was actually out of view. The defense was able to convince the jury that this was done intentionally, while the police claimed it was a “camera setting.”

In the video, the investigator assigned to the case, State Trooper Michael Proctor, is seen standing by the relevant side of the car. Trooper Proctor was previously exposed to have sent inappropriate texts about Karen Read during his early investigation of her, calling her derogatory names and expressing his “hopes” for Karen to “kill herself.” Proctor also received gifts from the Albert family after Karen was charged. Karen’s defense argues that all of this is evidence of the police’s blatant bias against Karen Read, which, coupled with Trooper Proctor’s access to her car, contributes to their cover-up theory.

Additionally, a blood test on the tail light pieces was negative for John O’Keefe’s blood. Police did find forensic evidence of John’s DNA on the car, which Karen’s team finds implausible given that her car was towed for many miles in a snowstorm.