A cop dead in the snow, a girlfriend on trial. Why Karen Read is a true-crime obsession

The body laid in the snow outside for hours in the freezing cold. It had been a night of drinking, and a cop was dead.

John O’Keefe was found laying on the lawn that morning in January 2022. An autopsy blamed blunt, impact injuries to his head and hypothermia.

Authorities zeroed in on a suspect within days: His on-again-off-again girlfriend Karen Read was arrested, accused of backing into him with her SUV and then leaving him for dead.

What ensued has been a closely watched spectacle far beyond the sleepy New England town where it unfolded, a true-crime sensation, attracting attention from YouTubers, TikTokers and internet sleuths and serving as fodder for podcasts, movies, televisions shows.

Prosecutors say the couple got into an argument and Read, a 45-year-old former adjunct professor, was enraged and jealous. They cited as proof angry voicemail messages she left for him on the day he died accusing him of infidelity. The defense maintains someone else beat O’Keefe to death and Read was framed.

The case hung one jury and is now heading for a second, as jury selection began this week for a retrial of Read in Dedham, Massachusetts, where a judge has barred supporters of either side from demonstrating within 200 feet of the courthouse or wearing clothes related to the case inside.

Across the nation, supporters have been organizing standouts. How does a death in a small town capture the national imagination? Experts say a confluence of factors may be at play.

The many twists in the case since the mistrial − from the firing of the lead investigator to charges of witness intimidation against a blogger − have also fueled ongoing media coverage. And allegations of a police cover-up and a trove of evidence stoked speculation in online communities where spectators can play detective and conspiracy theories can thrive.

“It sort of has all these elements of what someone would want to watch on TV in a courtroom drama and for that reason, and people just have like these really strong opinions on it,” said Shira Diner, an instructor at Boston University School of Law.

What happened to John O’Keefe?

A heavy snowstorm walloped Canton, Massachusetts, on Jan. 28, 2022. O’Keefe, a Boston cop, went out anyway for a night of drinking with Read and some friends and coworkers.

After midnight, the group headed to the home of now-former Boston Police Officer Brian Albert. Between 12:15 and 12:45, multiple witnesses said they saw a dark SUV parked outside the home but no one went inside.

Prosecutors say Read rammed O’Keefe with the Lexus SUV and fled. They cited evidence, including a busted taillight where O’Keefe’s DNA was found.

Hours later, Read went with Albert’s sister-in-law and another friend to search for him. He was found unresponsive in the snow around 6 a.m.

According to Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally, first responders and witnesses at the scene heard Read repeatedly say “I hit him.” She continued to incriminate herself that morning, Lally said, including saying, “This is all my fault.”

Timeline: What happened in the Karen Read case? Here are the key moments in John O’Keefe murder trial

The defense has disputed these claims, offering a different theory about what happened that night.

Defense lawyer Alan Jackson contends Read dropped O’Keefe off and then a deadly fight broke out inside the Albert home. He says those involved covered it up, planted his body on the front lawn, and framed Read.

The defense pointed to several potential suspects at the home at the time, including Albert, his nephew and their friend, an agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives who had been exchanging flirty text messages with Read. However, a judge has ruled that Read’s defense team can only use a portion of this defense in her the retrial, citing insufficient evidence, WCVB reported.

Read’s attorneys argued O’Keefe’s injuries showed signs of beating and an animal attack, suggesting the family dog, a German Shepherd named Chloe, had been involved.

The defense pointed to a Google search Albert’s sister-in-law allegedly made asking, “hos (sic) long to die in cold.”

The defense said the search was made at 2:27 a.m. long before authorities were notified of O’Keefe’s death. But prosecutors say it happened around 6:23 a.m. after O’Keefe was found. Prosecutors have also said swabs taken from O’Keefe’s clothing near his injuries did not contain canine DNA.

An attorney for Albert, Gregory D. Henning, told USA TODAY he had “nothing to do with the death of John O’Keefe. There was no fight. John O’Keefe was never in their home.” A lawyer for his sister-in-law did not return messages.

‘Damsel in distress’ or ‘calculating killer?’

Read supporters can frequently be seen outside the courthouse. They wave “Free Karen” signs and often wear pink. Other demonstrators are calling for “Justice for John.”

Medwed said part of the fascination with Read and others like Casey Anthony or Amanda Knox comes from the relatively rarity of a woman facing murder charges.

“I think America is often fascinated with the idea of women who kill,” he said. “For some people, it is like damsel in distress, like this woman is being framed, like this poor woman, she lost her boyfriend and the police are just piling it on her and in part to cover up men who did something wrong. For other people, it’s like, ‘oh, come on she’s a calculating killer,'” he added.

Experts have said true-crime cases involving white women often garner disproportionate attention − particularly young, attractive blondes like Gabby Petito and Natalee Holloway.

Wealth and class have played a role, too, according to Diner. Read was freed on $80,000 bail and has a high-profile defense team including Jackson, who has represented Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, among other big names. That has helped her share her side of the story in media interviews and garner support.

“I think the relative privilege that the defendant in this case has is a really important part of sort of analyzing and understanding what is happening and why it’s happening,” Diner said.

Accusations of a coverup fuel conspiracy theorists

Medwed said police missteps in the investigation and suggestions of an elaborate cover-up make the case fertile ground for online conspiracy theorists.

“Whenever you put a microscope to a case, you’re going to see holes, but I don’t think you need a microscope to see the holes in this one, right?” Medwed said. “They’re just pretty darn glaring.”

Police used red Solo cups to scoop up bloody snow and put them in paper bags to take to the station, defense attorneys said. An audit found police also failed to properly photograph O’Keefe’s body, record an interview and maintain a presence at the crime scene.

The lead investigator in the case was fired last month. He had sent crude text messages about Read to friends and fellow state troopers during the investigation. Read’s lawyers pointed to the messages as evidence police preemptively decided on her guilt.

Massachusetts State Police said the investigator, Michael Proctor, was fired for unrelated charges. His attorney, Daniel J. Moynihan, did not respond to a message seeking comment from USA TODAY. WGBH reported Moynihan has pledged to appeal, saying Proctor was wrongfully terminated after Read’s mistrial.

A federal probe into the handling of the investigation ended without charges being filed.

Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey called accusations of a coverup “baseless,” and “conspiracy theories,” in a 2023 statement.

“The idea that multiple police departments, EMTs, fire personnel, the medical examiner, and the prosecuting agency are joined in, or taken in by, a vast conspiracy should be seen for what it is − completely contrary to the evidence and a desperate attempt to reassign guilt,” he said.

‘Justice for John’

Despite the “Justice for John” campaign, the tragedy of what happened to the 46-year-old, devoted uncle is often lost in the fray, Medwed said, a common problem when the public fixates on a particular case.

Some of Read’s supporters hurled insults at O’Keefe’s loved ones as they attended the first trial, a friend of the late officer wrote in a piece for Boston Magazine. One of Read’s supporters, blogger Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney, is facing charges of witness intimidation after confronting witnesses in the case on camera. He has denied all charges against him.

“There is a sense that with all the gamesmanship, with all the kind of entrenched views about guilt or innocence and a lot of the vitriol and ad hominem attacks and very personal nature of the loss of John O’Keefe is sort of being lost a little bit,” Medwed said.

Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Cybele Mayes-Osterman and Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY; Peter Bladino, Rin Velasco, Brad Petrishen, and Jessica Trufant, USA TODAY Network – New England

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Karen Read murder trial: How the case became a true-crime obsession