A Massachusetts woman is facing manslaughter charges after her boyfriend—a longtime Boston police officer—was found dead with signs of head trauma during a raging snowstorm.
Officer John O’Keefe, a 16-year veteran of the force, was found outside a Canton home early Saturday as a major storm dumped up to 20 inches of snow in the area, according to The Boston Globe. He and a woman identified in local media as his girlfriend, Karen Read, had reportedly spent the night before drinking in at least two bars. She told investigators she had left him at the home on Fairview Road and then headed home herself because she didn’t feel well.
But prosecutors have now charged Read, 41, with manslaughter, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision causing death and motor vehicle homicide, the Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey’s office announced.
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During her arraignment on Wednesday, prosecutors said Read had been overheard saying, “Could I have hit him? Did I hit him?” after returning later to the residence where O’Keefe had been found in the snow.
She reportedly also told investigators she’d noticed her car had a broken taillight the next morning, and that she’d been unable to reach O’Keefe, WCVB reports.
Read’s defense attorney told the court she was diagnosed with a brain tumor last summer, and also suffers from multiple sclerosis and colitis.
On Wednesday, she posted $50,000 bail and was released.
Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Gregory Long issued a statement following Read’s arrest. “At this time, we are stunned and saddened and offer whatever support we can to John’s family,” he said, calling O’Keefe “a kind person, dedicated to his family” and someone who will be “greatly missed.”
