Prosecutors allege Reed murdered John O'Keefe, but her defense argues she was entrapped.
Karen Reed is accused of murdering her boyfriend, a Boston police officer who was left in the snow. Her supporters argue she was the victim of a trap. Her trial, which began in April, has attracted intense media coverage, and jurors are charged with answering a key question: Did she kill him?
Ms. Reed's boyfriend, John O'Keefe, 46, was found dead in the snow outside a friend's home in Canton, Massachusetts, the morning after prosecutors said an intoxicated Ms. Reed had been struck by O'Keefe as she was backing out of her driveway. But Ms. Reed's lawyers continue to argue that she was wrongfully accused and the victim of a cover-up.
The trial, now in its fifth week, has featured several key testimonies shedding light on the twists and turns of the case.
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Karen Reed charged with second-degree murder
O'Keefe died on Jan. 29, 2022, after being dropped off at the home of friend and fellow police officer Brian Albert after a night of bar-hopping. Boston Magazine report.
When O'Keefe did not return home on the morning of the 29th, Reed and two friends began searching for her and found her in the snow outside the friend's house, bleeding around her nose and mouth and suffering from multiple wounds.
Reed was initially charged with manslaughter in connection with O'Keefe's death, but prosecutors later upgraded the charge to second-degree murder. She also faces charges of drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter for fleeing the scene of a crash that left people injured and killed. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Prosecutors allege O'Keefe committed lead hit during relationship troubles
As the trial progresses, prosecutors have argued that Reed was under the influence of drugs when he rear-ended O'Keefe before leaving the scene.
Prosecutors have suggested their relationship had deteriorated and that O'Keefe had been trying to end it before her death, the Associated Press reported.
Before the trial began, prosecutors said in filings that O'Keefe's DNA was found on Reed's broken taillight, which authorities cited as evidence she hit him with her car, according to Boston 25 News.
Boston Magazine “I hit him,” Reed allegedly told emergency personnel, according to the charging documents.
Defense argues Reid was victim of a cover-up
People magazine previously reported that in court documents, the defense argues that “photographs of O'Keefe show that he suffered blunt force trauma to both sides of his face and the back of his head, was severely beaten and left for dead.”
The defense's case was that O'Keefe was beaten in her Albert home, then attacked by dogs and left out in the snow. Boston Magazine report.
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What did the witnesses say?
According to the AP, ATF agent Brian Higgins testified at the trial, and the outlet reported that Reed exchanged flirtatious emails with Higgins, in which Reed reportedly wrote that his relationship with O'Keefe was “far from perfect.”
Higgins also testified that Reed kissed him after attending a football game with her and O'Keefe, according to the Associated Press.
According to WHDH, Jennifer McCabe, who was at Albert's house that night, was grilled by the defense on the stand about her Google searches the morning O'Keefe was found, in which McCabe reportedly made a typo and searched for how long it would take for someone to die out in the cold.
McCabe claimed she conducted the search after O'Keefe's body was discovered, WHDH reported, but Reed's attorney, Alan Jackson, countered, arguing she first conducted the search at 2:27 a.m.
“You were trying to cover your tracks,” Jackson reportedly said. “At 2:27 a.m. you searched again to overwrite your first search.”
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