Trial starts in conspiracy

DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — The trial of a Massachusetts woman who prosecutors say killed her Boston police officer boyfriend by intentionally driving her SUV into him begins Monday amid allegations of a vast police coverup.

Karen Read, 44, of Mansfield, faces several charges including second degree murder in the death of John O’Keefe, 46, in 2022. O’Keefe, a 16-year police veteran, was found unresponsive outside a home of a fellow Boston police officer and later was pronounced dead at a hospital. Read has pleaded not guilty and is free on bond.

As the case unfolded, the defense’s strategy has been to portray a vast conspiracy involving a police coverup. It has earned Read a loyal band of supporters - who often can be found camped out at the courthouse — and has garnered the case national attention.

The couple had been to two bars on a night in January 2022, prosecutors alleged, and were then headed to a party in nearby Canton. Read said she did not feel well and decided not to attend. Once at the home, O’Keefe got out of Read’s vehicle, and while she made a three-point turn, she allegedly struck him, then drove away, prosecutors said.

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