What to know about the Karen Read murder trial

BBC News, Washington

The prosecution of Karen Read, who is accused of murdering her police officer boyfriend in January 2022, has garnered massive internet attention and drawn crowds to the Massachusetts courthouse where her trial was held.

After a mistrial last July, Ms Read is once again going to court to face a new trial and jury.

The case surrounds the death of Boston police officer John O'Keefe, who was found unresponsive in the snow outside a colleague's suburban home in January 2022 and later pronounced dead.

His girlfriend, Ms Read, was charged in his murder - though she maintains her innocence and says she is being framed by police.

She faces multiple charges and is accused of dropping Mr O'Keefe off at a fellow police officer's home after a night of drinking, hitting him with her car and driving away from the scene.

Here is everything else you need to know about the case.

Supporters of Karen Read routinely gather outside the courthouse

Who are Karen Read and John O'Keefe?

Before the case, Ms Read, 44, worked as an adjunct professor at Bentley University and an equity analyst at Fidelity Investments.

She and Mr O'Keefe were together for about two years before his 2022 death, but the latter part of the pair's relationship was troubled, prosecutors said during her first trial.

Mr O'Keefe, who died at age 46, spent 16 years with the Boston Police Department.

Ms Read faces multiple charges, including second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death.

If she is found guilty of second-degree murder, she could face a maximum sentence of life in prison under Massachusetts law.

She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

A recap of the prosecution's first case

Prosecutors allege the couple were drinking the evening before Mr O'Keefe's body was found.

Ms Read allegedly dropped her boyfriend off at a house party. When leaving she made a three-point turn and struck Mr O'Keefe and then drove away, according to prosecutors.

She returned to the party a few hours later with two other women and found Mr O'Keefe in a snowbank.

His cause of death was later determined to be blunt force trauma to the head and hypothermia, NBC News reported.

Throughout their case, prosecutors alleged the couple had a rocky relationship.

They claim Ms Read intentionally struck her then-boyfriend with her car because of their relationship problems.

Mr O'Keefe's brother, Paul O'Keefe, was among the people called to the stand who detailed the couple's disagreements.

John O'Keefe's brother, Paul O'Keefe, was among the people who testified during the murder trial

A recap of the defence's case

Ms Read did not take the stand as part of her defence.

Instead, her lawyers argued that she was framed, and that investigators had inappropriate relationships with witnesses and others involved in the case.

The defence claimed Mr O'Keefe was beaten inside the house party and later dragged outside where he was found.

Much of the case they presented focused on what the defence called a poorly done investigation into O'Keefe's death by local law enforcement.

Some of the investigators who oversaw the case knew the police officers who attended the house party that January night, the defence claimed.

For example, the lead investigator, Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, admitted he was friends with the the Boston police office who hosted the party where Mr O'Keefe died.

Ms Read was a "convenient outsider" who was targeted to ensure investigators did not look at other suspects, the defence alleged.

Among the witnesses who took the stand as part of the defence's case was a retired forensic pathologist, Dr Frank Sheridan.

He claimed that Mr O'Keefe's body would have had more bruising if it were hit by a heavy vehicle, according to the Associated Press.

What is the case's current status?

After a nine-week trial and five days of deliberations, a jury was unable to reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared. During that trial, 70 witnesses testified and more than 600 pieces of evidence scrutinized.

On Tuesday, jury selection will begin for her second trial. Officials said that up to 2,000 potential jurors will be screened, and around 20 ultimately selected.

Ahead of the second trial, Norfolk County Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone banned Ms Read's defense team from calling a law enforcement expert to criticise the government's investigation.

Protesters have been banned from the areas around the courthouse, to reduce the risk of influencing the jurors.

Much attention will be on the witness list, which includes a state trooper who was fired after he disclosed during the first trial that he used unprofessional language to describe Ms Read, and two other policemen who were formally disciplined after the first trial.

Ms Read gave several media interviews after declining to take the stand in her first trial. She also gave permission to HBO to create the mini-series, A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read, which has been watched by millions.

"I have nothing to hide," Ms Read told Boston 25 News in February. "My life is in the balance, and it shouldn't be. The more information the public has, the more they understand what we already know."

Many Karen Read supporters believe she was framed for her former boyfriend's murder

Who is "Turtleboy"?

Aidan Kearny, also known as "Turtleboy", is an intriguing character to have come out of this trial.

He now faces charges for allegedly intimidating witnesses involved with the trial.

Mr Kearny runs the website "TB Daily News" where he writes under the name "Turtleboy".

He has asserted that Ms Read is innocent and has followed the case closely.

His writing frequently questions the investigation into Mr O'Keefe's death and he often publicly confronts witnesses about the case.

During the case, prosecutors shared several examples of witness intimidation with the jury.

Aidan "Turtleboy" Kearney, who covers the case for a local website, believes Karen Read is innocent

Mr Kearny was charged with witness intimidation in October 2023 and later pleaded not guilty.

"They will never shut me up, they will never, ever, ever stop me from reporting the truth about what happened to John O'Keefe," Mr Kearney told reporters after his 2023 arraignment. "Reporting the news is not harassment. Asking questions is not harassment."

In December, he was indicted again. This time on 16 new charges that include witness intimidation and conspiracy to intimidate witnesses.

Prosecutors alleged Mr Kearny and Ms Read were in communication and she was sharing information from the case that was not yet public.

Judge Cannone, who is overseeing the case, ruled Mr Kearny would have to leave the courtroom when certain witnesses testified because of the witness intimidation charges brought against him.