Witnesses Take the Stand: Inside Karen Read’s High-Stakes Murder Retrial

Witnesses Take the Stand: Inside Karen Read’s High-Stakes Murder Retrial

Karen Read returned to Norfolk County Superior Court in late April 2025 for a second trial on charges she struck and left her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, to die in a January 2022 nor’easter.

After a hung jury in June 2024, both sides have doubled down—prosecutors emphasizing forensic and digital evidence while the defense hammers witness credibility and alternative theories.

Over the first two weeks, key witnesses Jennifer McCabe and Kerry Roberts recounted a frantic search in blizzard conditions and reported statements by Read at the scene.

As cross-examinations intensify and forensic experts prepare to testify, the case remains mired in conflicting narratives and procedural challenges.