John O’Keefe’s Brother Felt ‘Harassed’ During Verdict Deliberations

As the jury deliberations drag on in the trial of the Massachusetts woman who allegedly killed her cop boyfriend John O’Keefe, the victim’s family has been at court showing support, providing testimony and feeling “harassed”.

Paul O’Keefe, John’s brother, said his family has felt ‘harassed’ while waiting for Read’s verdict since Tuesday.

The O’Keefe family was gathered at a location in Dedham, near the courthouse, when 25 to 30 people showed up wearing pink, similar to Read’s supporters, and took pictures of the family.

Karen Read, 44, is charged with murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

Read has been on trial for two months for murdering John O’Keefe on Jan. 29, 2022 with her car after he was found dead in a fellow police officer’s driveway after a night out drinking.

The O’Keefe family has been seen among the other spectators, stoically waiting for the jury as deliberations continue into the fourth day after 18 hours of trying to determine Read’s fate.

The family has not publicly spoken since the start of the trial.

Who was John O’Keefe?

The Boston Police Department remembered O’Keefe as a “kind person, dedicated to his family,” in a Facebook post in 2022.

He grew up in Braintree and graduated from Northeastern University. O’Keefe also earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from UMass Lowell.

O’Keefe was a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department.

He lived in Canton, where he was raising his niece and nephew since his sister and brother-in-law’s death.

Flags, flowers and mementos have been placed at O’Keefe’s grave at Blue Hill Cemetery in Braintree, Mass.

“Goodbyes are not forever. Goodbyes are not the end,” one heart-shaped memorial reads. “They simply mean I’ll miss you until we meet again.”

The family’s testimony

Paul and Erin O’Keefe, John O’Keefe’s brother and sister-in-law, were the first witnesses to take the stand for the prosecution during the trail.

Paul testified that he and his wife used to socialize occasionally with his brother and Read.

“I thought we had a good relationship,” Paul said about Read. “I held her in very high regard. I thought she was a good influence on my niece and nephew.”

Paul noted he once served as a “referee” of sorts after an “intense” verbal spat between his brother and Read. He called it “typical couple’s fighting” though.

John O’Keefe’s niece and nephew also testified during the trial. John had raised the two children after his sister and brother-in-law died. His nephew, who was not named in court, said his uncle and Read had “lots of disagreements and arguments.”

The couple, who began dating in 2019, had a strained relationship, according to court documents. There were cheating allegations on both sides, as shown through text messages and voicemails.

“Things haven’t been great between us for awhile,” O’Keefe wrote at one point.

Erin O’Keefe said Read indicated at one point that if she and John ever broke-up “she hoped that she and I would stay friends.”

What happened to John O’Keefe?

Read and O’Keefe along with a group of friends went to the Water Bar and Grill in Canton on Jan. 28, 2022. After a night of drinking, according to prosecutors, Read drove O’Keefe to Boston police officer Brian Albert’s home.

Around 1 a.m. on Jan. 29, Read allegedly left O’Keefe a voicemail that called him an “f—ing loser.” Read allegedly told O’Keefe “John, I f—ing hate you.”

A few hours later at 4:23 a.m., O’Keefe’s niece called Albert’s sister-in-law, Jennifer McCabe, telling him Read was “distraught” because O’Keefe did not come home and wasn’t answering his cellphone.

The O’Keefe family has been seen with Brian Albert and Jen McCabe entering court. Read supporters have called this a “disgrace.”

Around 5 a.m., Read called another woman whose husband was friends with O’Keefe.

“What if he’s dead? What if a plow hit him?” Read allegedly said, according to the prosecution. “I don’t remember anything from last night, we drank so much I don’t remember anything.”

Read and two women went looking for O’Keefe shortly after 5 a.m.

Around 6 a.m., Read saw O’Keefe lying in the snow outside of Albert’s home. An emergency responder said Read was hysterical and inconsolable and kept repeating “I hit him.”

Erin O’Keefe testified that she called Read the morning of Jan. 29, 2022 after learning John was dead.

Paul O’Keefe had not spoken with Read or her relatives when they were at her brother’s house the morning of Jan. 29.

He saw his brother’s body at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton. He described his brother’s eyes as swollen like ping-pong balls.

“He was pretty banged up,” Paul said.

His brother had a breathing tube as well. He also mentioned Read was “being restrained by hospital employees” and screaming “Is he alive?” on repeat.

“I actually blew her a kiss,” he said, adding that he thought Read “was a good influence on my niece and nephew. I appreciated all the help that she was providing my brother with the kids.”

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