Karen Read’s First Post-Trial Interview
In her first interview since being acquitted of murder charges in June, Karen Read is speaking out about her life, the trial, and her future. During an emotional appearance on Howie Carr’s radio show on Thursday, August 28, 2025, Read had sharp words for Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey, who prosecuted her case. “You lost,” Read stated. “You lost big time, and you know what you did. You know what you’ve done.”
Read, 45, was found not guilty on June 18, 2025, of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. A jury convicted her only of a misdemeanor charge for driving under the influence, for which she was sentenced to one year of probation. Describing her life after the intense legal battle, Read said it hasn’t been an instant return to normalcy. “I was expecting a switch to be flipped … but it’s been more like a dimmer — that the lights are coming on a little brighter each week,” she explained.
The trial took a significant personal and financial toll. Read revealed she sold her house and lost her positions as an equities analyst at Fidelity Investments and as a finance professor at Bentley University to cover the mounting legal fees. “You realize when you have to sacrifice to make something happen, to fight for your life, you pull every lever you can,” she said.
The Case Hits Hollywood
The high-profile case, which captivated the nation, is now drawing interest from Hollywood. It was recently reported that actress Elizabeth Banks is set to portray Read in an upcoming limited series from Prime Video and Warner Bros. Television. However, Read clarified that she is not involved with this project. “I have nothing to do with that; it’s not authorized by me in any way,” she said. “There’s a lot more to it than what I think Elizabeth Banks knows at this point.”
Read and her defense attorney, Alan Jackson, are working on their own projects to tell her side of the story, including a potential book and a separate scripted screen adaptation. “At the end of the day, this is Karen Read’s story to tell,” Jackson commented. “It’s not Hollywood’s story to make up and to fill in the blanks that they want to fill in.”
Legal Battles Continue
Though the criminal trial is over, Read’s legal challenges are not. The family of John O’Keefe has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her. Attorney Alan Jackson, who successfully defended her in the criminal trial, has officially joined her legal team for this civil case. Furthermore, Jackson hinted at the possibility of Read filing her own civil complaint against the authorities who prosecuted her.
“I’m back for a reason. It’s not just a pleasure tour,” Jackson teased, confirming that Read’s civil attorneys are exploring options at both state and federal levels. When asked about potential damages, Jackson posed a series of rhetorical questions: “How much is a life worth? How much is her reputation worth? … Her reputation has been dragged through the mud because of these allegations, and these are things that no citizen righteously should ever have to suffer.”
A Recap of the Case
The case centered on the death of John O’Keefe on January 29, 2022. He was found dead in the snow outside the Canton home of a fellow Boston police officer. The prosecution argued that after a night of drinking, Read intentionally backed her SUV into O’Keefe and left him to die. Read’s defense team countered with a theory of a wide-ranging cover-up, alleging O’Keefe was beaten inside the home and that Read was framed by individuals at the party, some of whom had connections to law enforcement.
The initial trial in the spring of 2024 ended in a hung jury, leading to a mistrial on July 1, 2024. The subsequent retrial concluded with the June 2025 acquittal on all major charges, a verdict that stunned many who had followed the case closely. As reported by digitaltrendstoday.com, the case has had significant repercussions, including the firing of the lead state police investigator for misconduct.
