DEDHAM, Mass. (WPRI) — The long-awaited Karen Read murder trial is set to open Monday with opening statements.

 

Read, 43, of Mansfield, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe.

 

Prosecutors said O’Keefe was found unresponsive in a snowbank outside of a Canton home in January 2022. O’Keefe, a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department, was rushed to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

 

Investigators believe Read dropped O’Keefe off at the Fairview Road home and hit him as she was leaving, according to prosecutors.

 

Prosecutors said Read told officers the two had been out drinking with friends prior to the incident, adding that she dropped him off and went home because she was not feeling well.

 

Meanwhile, Read’s defense says she is the victim of a coverup. They believe that O’Keefe was beaten inside the home, bitten by a dog, and left outside.

 

Read more at wpri.com.