PLYMOUTH, Mass. (Court TV) — The attorney representing the O’Keefe family in their civil action against Karen Read offered a rare apology to the defendant at a hearing on Friday after misquoting her in a motion.
“I want to acknowledge that I was mistaken when I interpreted her words to say, ‘I’m dead, I’m f-ing dead,” Marc Diller said.
Karen Read appears in court ahead of a hearing in her civil trial on March 6, 2026. (Court TV)
Diller misquoted Read in a motion he filed seeking custody of her cellphone, which has remained in the care of the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office since Read’s criminal trial. Read’s attorneys had maintained the quote was fabricated.
Read stood trial twice on charges she murdered her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, whose body was found outside of a friend’s home after a night of drinking. Prosecutors had accused Read of hitting O’Keefe with her car and leaving him to die in the snow, while her defense claimed that the friends at the property where he was found colluded with police in a cover-up to frame her for his death. Read’s first murder trial ended with a deadlocked jury; a second jury acquitted her of murder, but found her guilty of driving under the influence. A civil action filed by O’Keefe’s family accuses Read of being liable for his death. Read has filed her own lawsuit against the group she has accused of being the true killers.
In February, the O’Keefe family filed a motion asking for the court to issue an emergency restraining order for Read’s phone, claiming that if she got it back from the district attorney’s office, she might destroy evidence on it. The motion asked the court to allow the plaintiffs to search the phone before Read took custody of it.
Read’s attorneys opposed the order, saying there is no indication that anyone planned to destroy evidence. Read hasn’t had access to the phone for more than two years and noted that the plaintiffs did not attempt to discuss the issue with them before filing the motion.
On Friday, the plaintiffs withdrew the motion after reaching an agreement with Read’s attorneys to discuss how to move forward.
