DEDHAM, Mass. (Court TV) — Even as they await the continuation of a hearing that could have “profound impacts” on their defense, Karen Read‘s attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss the charges against her, citing “extraordinary governmental misconduct.”
Karen Read appears in court during a pretrial hearing on Feb. 25, 2025. (Court TV)
Read is charged with second-degree murder and other charges in the death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, who was found dead in the snow outside of a friend’s home after a night out drinking. Prosecutors say Read hit O’Keefe with her SUV and left him to die, while Read’s team has maintained her innocence and has accused prosecutors and local police of framing her in a wide-ranging conspiracy.
Read’s first murder trial in 2024 ended with a mistrial when jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Ahead of her retrial, scheduled to begin on April 1, Read’s attorneys have launched attacks on multiple fronts in an attempt to have the case and charges dismissed altogether.
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A motion filed on Thursday asks Judge Beverly Cannone to dismiss the case against Read on the basis of “extraordinary governmental misconduct,” citing several issues that the defense claims have “severely prejudiced” Read. The 147-page motion is heavily redacted, with many pages entirely blacked out.
Heavy redactions in a 147-page motion to dismiss have left some pages entirely blacked out. (Court TV)
The motion accuses prosecutors of violating rules of discovery and court orders, referencing a video showing Read’s car in the sallyport at the Canton Police Department. The video, shown in the first trial, was revealed to have been inverted. The motion suggests that “this video evidence was intentionally manipulated and inverted by the Commonwealth and its agents … in an effort to defraud the jury.”
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Read’s defense also accuses the prosecution of withholding evidence throughout the first trial, including a video of Brian Higgins at the Canton Police Department as well as other surveillance video and logs.
The motion was filed after Massachusetts’ highest court refused to dismiss the charges against Read on the grounds that the jury had, in fact, reached a consensus; Read’s attorneys have taken their argument to federal court.
This filing comes as Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan accuses Read’s defense of its own discovery violations as well as misleading the court about expert witnesses who testified in the first trial. Both sides are scheduled to resume a hearing for those issues on Tuesday, March 4.
