Karen Read case and the story behind the high-profile Massachusetts murder trial: Explained in 10 points

Closing arguments are set to begin Friday in the second murder trial of Karen Read, who is charged with killing her Boston police officer boyfriend. The prosecution of Karen Read has garnered massive internet attention and drawn crowds to the Massachusetts courthouse where her second trial began in April.

Karen Read's first trial stemming from the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, collapsed in July 2024 after the jury could not reach a verdict.

Here are ten things you need to know in Karen Read's trial:

-She and 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.


-Prosecutors have accused Read of hitting O’Keefe, a Boston police officer, with her SUV in January 2022 during a night out drinking with friends. They allege she struck O’Keefe while driving in reverse and left him to die outside a home in Canton, Massachusetts.

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-Karen Read was charged with murder, although she maintains innocence and argues she is being framed by police. She faces multiple charges and is accused of dropping 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.

-During the first trial, her defense argued that other police officers who saw O'Keefe that night are complicit in his death and trying to frame Read for the murder.

-The prosecution, on the other hand, painted the picture of Read as an angry girlfriend whose strained relationship with O'Keefe led her to kill him.

-Read, 45, has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene. A mistrial was declared last year after jurors said they were at an impasse.

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-Google's search, Karen Read's alleged confession, broken taillight and O'Keefe's injuries are some of the key evidence that have come forward during the hearing of trial.

-Read's second trial began in early April, and the first witnesses testified on April 23. So far, witnesses that have testified in the second trial include McCabe, O'Keefe's mother, police officers and paramedics involved in the case.

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-Karen 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.

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