Paul O’Keefe reflects on mistrial in WBZ interview

Despite the vast conspiracy theories surrounding her case, Karen Read “knows exactly what she did,” according to the brother of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, the man Read allegedly struck and killed on a snowy night in Canton two years ago. 

“She knows exactly what she did, and she’s trying to buy and lie her way out of this,” Paul O’Keefe told WBZ following Read’s mistrial. “You know, refusing to take accountability for her actions. Not only that, but pointing the finger and blaming innocent people.”

Read, 44, is accused of drunkenly and intentionally backing her SUV into John O’Keefe — her boyfriend of two years — after a night out with friends in January 2022. Prosecutors say Read left O’Keefe to die in the snow outside a fellow Boston police officer’s home in Canton, but Read’s lawyers have pointed the finger at other afterparty guests, alleging a widespread coverup.

Speaking to WBZ’s Kristina Rex in an extensive interview, Paul O’Keefe backed up prosecutors’ version of events, including their theory that the couple’s deteriorating relationship and Read’s jealousy drove her to kill. 

“We know what happened,” O’Keefe said. “We know that Johnny and Karen were arguing. It was kind of towards the end of their relationship. Things weren’t well. They were drinking and arguing and fighting, and … in an intoxicated state of rage and jealousy, she just decided that she was going to do something about it and put the car in reverse and ran him down and left him there to die.”

He said his family “figured it out” soon after John O’Keefe’s death, even before speaking with investigators. He pointed specifically to statements Read allegedly made to his wife, Erin O’Keefe, soon after John O’Keefe died. 

Erin O’Keefe testified that in a phone call on Jan. 29, 2022, Read told her she “had to remember the bad times,” adding, “I don’t think I’m ever going to see you guys again.” 

“We put the pieces together on our own, and that just really solidified it,” Paul O’Keefe told WBZ. “You know, why would somebody say that? … If you didn’t do anything, why would you say you’re never going to talk to us again? Or why do you have to remember the bad times? Almost, like, justifying what she did.”

After Read’s lawyers went public with their theory that someone else was responsible for killing John O’Keefe, “a lot of the public was misinformed because they were only getting one side of the story,” Paul O’Keefe said. 

He noted that several witnesses implicated in the defense team’s coverup theory continue to face harassment, as do members of the O’Keefe family. According to Paul O’Keefe, the behavior ranges from “yelling, screaming, calling us names” to online messages labelling him a “moron” and “stupid” for continuing to side with prosecutors. 

“I don’t really care what people say to me, because this isn’t about me — this is about my brother,” he said. “And I like to think I know a little bit more of what’s going on in the case than people that are just reading stuff on the internet.”

He later added: “I think people just don’t want to admit that they were wrong or duped.”

O’Keefe also reflected on some of the weaker points in the prosecution’s case, including Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor’s crude texts about Read and the Canton Police Department’s use of plastic Solo cups to collect evidence from the scene. 

He said investigators “improvised the best they could” while processing a crime scene during a blizzard. O’Keefe also agreed Proctor’s comments were unprofessional, though he noted they only came to light due to a federal probe into the state’s handling of Read’s case. 

“An FBI investigation was launched due to cherry-picked evidence … or pieces of discovery that was only provided by the defense. This is unheard of,” O’Keefe said. 

He said Joshua Levy, the acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, “has a lot of questions that need to be answered,” and he plans to reach out to Levy for a meeting. 

O’Keefe further accused Read of smirking at him throughout the trial — tension that eventually boiled over into a brief interaction following Judge Beverly Cannone’s declaration of a mistrial. As he filed out of the courtroom Monday, O’Keefe recalled turning to Read and saying, “You’re not done yet.” 

Prosecutors have said they intend to retry their case against Read, and O’Keefe said he’s prepared to sit through another trial. Noting the toll on his parents, however, he added: “I’ll do it 10 more times if I have to, but I hate the fact that they have to go through this all again.”

According to O’Keefe, the investigation into his brother’s murder has “turned into the Karen Read Show.” 

“She walks through a crowd that cheers her on. She goes out in public, takes pictures, signs autographs. She’s just living her life like nothing’s ever happened, and meanwhile my brother’s been gone for almost two-and-a-half years,” O’Keefe said. “And I just want people to go back to who the victim is in this. It’s not her; it’s my brother.”

Watch Paul O’Keefe’s full interview with WBZ: