Karen Read files motion to dismiss O’Keefe wrongful death suit

Posted at 3:38 PM, July 10, 2025

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (Court TV) — Weeks after she was acquitted of charges that she murdered her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, Karen Read has filed a motion to dismiss the O’Keefe family’s civil suit against her.

Karen Read listens to the cross examination

Karen Read listens to the cross examination by Robert Alessi of expert accident witness Dr. Judson Welcher while seated at the defense table with her attorneys Alan Jackson and David Yannetti during her retrial at Norfolk Superior Court, Wednesday May 28, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)

A jury cleared Read of charges that she murdered O’Keefe after prosecutors had said she hit him with her Lexus SUV and left him to die in the snow after a night out drinking. While Read no longer faces any criminal charges related to O’Keefe’s death, his family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2024 naming her and the bars the couple attended as defendants.

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The case was put on hold pending the outcome of Read’s criminal trial, which concluded in June, after Read stated that being forced to participate in the case would violate her Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

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Following her acquittal, Read added three new attorneys to her defense team: Aaron Rosenberg, Charles Waters and Damon Seligson. On Wednesday, Read’s team filed a notice of motion to dismiss the case against her.

The full motion has not yet been filed with the court and is not available for public review. No hearing has been scheduled.

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