Karen Read will not be deposed in a civil case against her until the conclusion of her second criminal trial, which is scheduled to begin in January, a judge ruled Thursday.
The family of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, filed a wrongful death suit against Read and the two Canton, Massachusetts, bars they visited on the night he died.
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Read's lawyers want the civil case to be put on hold until after her second criminal trial next year, a request backed by the other defendants — Waterfall Bar & Grill and C.F. McCarthy's — in their own motions. In the criminal case, Read is accused of hitting O'Keefe with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm. She faces charges of second-degree murder, knowingly leaving the scene of an accident and involuntary manslaughter.
Judge William White agreed with an argument from Read's team that she could face the risk of self-incrimination, or be forced to exercise her 5th Amendment rights, during discovery in the civil case, which could impact the criminal one. Therefore, he ordered that any deposition of Karen Read or discovery from Read be held until the criminal case is done.
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However, he denied the request that discovery be halted completely, meaning discovery concerning the other defendants and witnesses can begin.
Retired Judge Jack Lu, who is not involved in the case, said the judge made the right call considering what's at stake.
"As a technical manner, we don't want people talking themselves into prison," Lu said.
It wasn't a full victory for Read though, with the judge allowing some discovery to continue.
"You expect the plaintiffs will focus on those closest to her, and gather the information from her father and brother and get access to their cell phone records, they will still move forward," Lu explained.
Members of O'Keefe's family expressed disappointment over the timeline.
"Karen Read has told many stories about the 2022 death of our beloved John O'Keefe in extensive interviews for two-hour network news specials, a two-part series in a glossy national magazine, many local news stories and to bloggers and social media posters," the family said in a statement shared by attorney Marc Diller. "But while she makes herself endlessly available to anyone who publishes what she says, we must wait months or even years before she will have to answer our questions under oath. We watch and read these ever changing stories that don't square with what we know is true. We mourn John, holding out hope for justice through the courts."
"We respect the court's decision and its legal rationale for staying a civil matter during a pending criminal case against Karen Read. While the court ruled that Read's Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination is paramount, it acknowledged the media campaign that Read has mounted," Diller added in a statement of his own. "The judge decided that the campaign to influence the jury pool will not harm the O’Keefe estate’s right to an impartial jury in its wrongful death suit. But the hypocrisy remains: Read openly offers to answer any media questions and varying versions of the night John O’Keefe was left to die in the snow. As long as she does not have to do so under oath."
NBC10 Boston has reached out to Read's attorney in the civil case, but did not immediately hear back.
Read's criminal case is scheduled to begin on Jan. 27, 2025, and is expected to last no longer than three months, according to the court. Her first criminal trial ended in mistrial on July 1 of this year.
