Some previously sealed documents in Karen Read case will be made public ahead of murder trial

DEDHAM, Mass. — The Karen Read murder case returned to court Tuesday afternoon for a motion hearing ahead of her trial, which is slated to get underway next week.

Read, of Mansfield, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, in Canton. She’s accused of running over him in reverse and leaving him to die in a January 2022 snowstorm.

Read herself didn’t make an appearance inside Norfolk Superior Court but Judge Beverly Cannone announced plans to release some of the files the Boston Globe requested to unseal in a previous motion from the defense to dismiss the murder case.

Cannone agreed to release a memorandum in support of Read’s legal team’s motion to dismiss, as well as the Commonwealth’s opposition to that motion to dismiss. Those documents could be released as early as Wednesday morning as Cannone directed the state to redact personal information involving those connected to the case.

In late March, Cannone denied a motion to dismiss Read’s second-degree murder indictment, effectively squashing her hope of avoiding a trial.

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Fatal hit-and-run: Karen Read, 41, of Mansfield, Mass., is charged with manslaughter in the Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, death of Boston police Officer John O’Keefe. O'Keefe, 46, was off duty at the time of his death. (Boston 25 News, Boston Police Department)

Just last week, Cannone ordered a 200-foot buffer zone around the courthouse while the high-profile case plays out during the trial.

Read’s lawyers claim she is being framed in a massive cover-up, and that feds have been investigating the probe into O’Keefe’s death.

Read’s trial begins on April 16.

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

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