25 Investigates: Prosecutors to disprove woman who says she’s wrongly charged in death of Boston cop

BOSTON — Prosecutors say they will disprove explosive allegations by a Massachusetts woman who says she was wrongly charged in the death of a Boston police officer last year.

Karen Read, the former girlfriend of late Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, was charged with backing over her boyfriend outside a home in Canton in January 2022 and leaving him to die in a blizzard.

Read’s defense team says newly unveiled cell phone data calls into question the prosecution’s case against Read.

But David Traub, spokesperson for the Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrisey, tells Boston 25 Investigates that the district attorney will file a response in court on May 3.

“While prosecutors are ethically constrained in the statements that can be made outside the courtroom, the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office is in receipt of the motion filed last week and it is our expectation to have a detailed response to the court May 3 that refutes the assertions in that motion,” Traub said in an email.

O’Keefe was found in the snow outside a Canton home – owned by another Boston police officer – where a party took place the previous night.

The homeowner and his relatives told investigators that O’Keefe never came inside the party – and they never saw him. Some of the party attendees are witnesses for the prosecution.

Read’s defense team has called the partygoers’ narrative illogical and questioned the independence of law enforcement’s investigation into O’Keefe’s death.

According to Read’s defense filing submitted last week, a relative of the homeowner searched on Google “ho[w] long to die in cold” hours before O’Keefe’s body was allegedly discovered.

And according to the defense, that Google search and a number of texts were deleted from the phone before it was turned over to police.

The defense also claims autopsy photos suggest O’Keefe was severely beaten.

Traub, the spokesperson for the Norfolk District Attorney’s office, initially said it’s unclear whether Read’s team interpreted the cellphone “raw data correctly.”

Last week, Traub said in an email: it “has not yet been determined that defense has interpreted the raw data correctly. The Norfolk District Attorney’s office has asked the defense repeatedly during the pendency of this matter to provide any actually exculpatory evidence to support their claims.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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