The brother of Boston police officer John O'Keefe has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Karen Read and two bars in Canton, Massachusetts, which were among the last places O'Keefe was seen alive.
The civil suit was filed Friday in Plymouth Superior Court by Paul O'Keefe on behalf of his family and his brother's estate against Read, the Waterfall Bar & Grille and CF McCarthy's. In addition to wrongful death, the lawsuit also alleges negligent infliction of emotional distress.
You can read the full complaint below:
Read, 44, is accused of driving her SUV into a January 2022 snowstorm and leaving John O'Keefe for dead. Her two-month trial ended in July when jurors said they were hopelessly deadlocked and a judge declared a mistrial on the fifth day of deliberations.
After the trial was declared void, Read's defense tried to have the murder and leaving the scene of a crime charges dismissed, saying several jurors told them they had unanimously decided she was not guilty on both counts. Judge Beverly Cannone denied that request on Friday, setting the stage for Read's new trial on January 27, 2025.
Sue O'Connell was in Dedham to deliver opening statements in the highly anticipated trial of Karen Read and gave her impressions of the impact of the prosecutors and defense attorneys. She also analyzes the testimony of John O'Keefe's brother and sister-in-law and reports on the Norfolk Supreme Court.
Prosecutors said Read, a former adjunct professor at Bentley College, and O'Keefe, a 16-year Boston police officer, were drinking at CF McCarthy's and then at Waterfall before she dropped him off at a party at the home of Brian Albert, a fellow Boston police officer. They said she hit him with her SUV before driving away. An autopsy found O'Keefe died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma.
The defense portrayed Read as the victim, saying O'Keefe was actually killed in Albert's house and then dragged outside. They argued that investigators focused on Read because she was a “convenient outsider” who spared them from considering police officers as suspects.
Paul O'Keefe was one of more than 50 witnesses called by the prosecution during the two-month trial. His wife Erin also testified.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
