Woman accused of killing Boston police officer boyfriend was framed, attorneys say

BOSTON (AP) — A highly anticipated trial began in Massachusetts last week involving a woman accused of striking her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV and leaving him for dead in a snowbank.

John O’Keefe died in the Boston suburb of Canton on Jan. 29, 2022.

The case has garnered national attention because the defense alleges that state and local law enforcement officials framed Karen Read and allowed the real killer to go free.

A look at the facts and legal arguments:

THE DEFENSE: FAMILY CONNECTIONS UNDERMINED INVESTIGATION

For the past few days, Read’s defense team has focused heavily on connections between police and the family that owned the home in the Boston suburb of Canton where O’Keefe’s body was found. They are trying to argue that these relationships biased the investigation and blinded state and local law enforcement officials to the possibility that someone else killed the 46-year-old O’Keefe.