As Karen Read’s second trial gets underway, she compares her case to O.J. Simpson’s in a new Vanity Fair interview. We analyze the similarities and differences.
Karen Read continues to speak publicly about the accusations against her and a new article from Vanity Fair lays out her perspective on her case and the key players in her prosecution.
Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, by hitting him with her SUV in January 2022. Read denies the allegations and contends she is the victim of an elaborate law enforcement coverup. Her first trial last year ended in a mistrial. She is now being retried on three charges – second-degree murder, leaving the scene of a deadly accident, and manslaughter.
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WATCH HEREIn an article titled “Karen Read’s Second Murder Trial is Already a Spectacle,” Vanity Fair correspondent Julie Miller offers more observations from Read about the lead-up to the second trial.
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SIGN UP Read rips on former Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Proctor
Michael Proctor was the lead investigator on Read’s case, but his bias and behavior were called into question when his testimony in the first trial revealed he sent offensive and unprofessional text messages about Read. These were sent to colleagues, family and friends, and ranged from disparaging her medical condition to implying that he was searching her phone for nude photographs.
The resulting fallout included an internal investigation into multiple troopers involved in the case and Proctor losing his job, a decision he intends to appeal. His sister and wife have defended him, claiming in a statement that he was the victim of defamation by Read’s defense. But Read questioned how his behavior could be defendable.
“All the statement did was put his vile behavior back in the news cycle. And he had to use two women to do it?” Read told Vanity Fair. “Can’t he speak for himself?”
Read compares Proctor to a character from The Departed
Read said these days when she watches movies about Boston corruption, she sees concerning similarities to her case, pointing to Matt Damon's character in "The Departed." Damon portrayed a corrupt state trooper.
Read has found new insight on the O.J. Simpson trial
Read told the magazine that her experience has her paying closer attention to allegations of law enforcement corruption in fiction and in real life, pointing to O.J. Simpson’s 1995 trial and explaining how she’s begun to rethink his prosecution and guilt.
“I’m not saying I believe O.J. was innocent, but I believe that it was not a completely above-board investigation. Now that I am smarter, I would’ve cheered at that acquittal. You have to hold cops accountable,” Read told Vanity Fair.
"There is no doubt that law enforcement in both cases hurt the cases significantly by their actions," NBC10 Boston legal analyst Michael Coyne said.
Both cases include allegations of sloppy police work and investigators with what seem to be axes to grind. Coyne compared Proctor's role to that of Mark Fuhrman in the Simpson investigation.
"Fuhrman was more generalized racist behavior, where Proctor is specifically targeting Ms. Read with his comments, and her medical condition," Coyne said.
Read doesn’t think Hank Brennan will give her a fair trial
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office brought in Hank Brennan, the storied defense attorney who represented James “Whitey” Bulger in 2013, as a special prosecutor in this case. Read said she never expected to receive a fair trial,
“If you notice Brennan’s language, it has evolved from wanting ME to get a fair trial to ‘the COMMONWEALTH deserves a fair trial,’ which is not a right I’ve ever heard of. But it doesn’t matter—I shouldn’t even be on trial,” Read told the magazine.
She points to the gag order requested by Brennan and approved by Judge Beverly Cannone, and other arguments, as sources of frustration. It's also worth noting that Brennan has gone after previous interviews Read has done with the media, requesting raw interview footage and notes.
Read has questions about the federal investigation
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has not made any statements about a federal investigation into Read’s case, but other sources have confirmed an investigation. Brennan, in court, and Canton Police Chief Helena Rafferty have said the investigation is complete, but Read says the lack of an investigation does not amount to findings of innocence or guilt.
It could be a matter of a new administration choosing not to pursue it. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Massachusetts is now under Leah B. Foley, who replaced Joshua Levy with the new presidential administration.
“But everyone should note which side of my case is celebrating the federal investigation supposedly being closed and which side isn’t. That will tell you which side of this case is culpable and therefore worried about a possible federal indictment,” Read said.
Jury selection in Read's second trial is underway, with 16 selected. Cannone has said she plans to continue jury selection, now aiming for 18 seated. Read has said she expects opening statements to begin next week.
