Karen Read Murder Trial: Inside TikTok’s Newest True-Crime Obsession

On Jan. 29, 2022, Massachusetts woman Karen Read went to a bar with her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, dropping him off at the home of a fellow police officer Brian Albert just after midnight. Six hours later, O’Keefe’s body was found outside in the snow, kickstarting what has become one of the most divisive murder trials in Massachusetts history — and the current fixation of TikTok’s true crime community. 

Following the discovery of O’Keefe’s body, Read, 44 was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. She pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Prosecutors have stated they believe Read drunkenly backed into her boyfriend that night, then fled the scene, and his body, to go home. 

Read’s trial began April 16 at Dedham, Massachusetts Norfolk Superior Court. Both the testimony and arguments from counsel focused mainly on the six hours after O’Keefe stepped out of Read’s car and the defense’s belief that a “third party” was responsible for O’Keefe’s death — likely the officers inside the house party. On TikTok, where true crime has an active, growing, and sometimes outright harmful community, Read’s trial has become a staple for dissection and commentary — garnering thousands of videos with millions of views over the last week. 

According to court documents and trial testimony, Read and O’Keefe’s relationship had rocky hallmarks, with multiple text messages and voicemails indicating strain. According to NBC Boston, text messages shared in court revealed the couple were fighting the day before O’Keefe’s death. ”Sick of always arguing and fighting,” read one message from O’Keefe. “If you tell me you’re interested in someone else, you will never hear from me again. You can have all the space in the world,” read a later reply from Read.

Around 4:23 a.m. on January 29, O’Keefe’s niece placed a call to Albert’s home, telling his sister-in-law, Jennifer McCabe, that Read had called her worried because O’Keefe hadn’t returned home and she couldn’t remember much because she had been so inebriated when she dropped him off. When the three met up to search for him, they discovered O’Keefe’s body in the snow and called first responders. But converging accounts began immediately after O’Keefe was found. According to testimony from officers, Read said “I hit him” repeatedly while crying to EMT, but her defense has argued that she asked the statement as a question, saying “Did I hit him?” On Feb. 2, 2022, Read was arrested. 

While the trial length and sheer amount of evidence made deliberation difficult for the jury, the specifics around Read’s case have only drawn in more viewers online. The prosecution said Read backed into him, breaking her tail light, leaving his DNA on her car, and littering the ground with broken pieces of glass that were later found. The defense agreed that O’Keefe’s DNA was on the vehicle, but claimed an independent federal investigation showed damage on the car “inconsistent” with the theory of Read hitting O’Keefe.

An autopsy ruled O’Keefe’s cause of death as blunt impact injuries to the head and hypothermia, with no “obvious” signs of a fight. Read’s defense pushed back against this claim, saying wounds on O’Keefe’s arms imply he was beaten inside the house, bitten by a dog, and then dumped outside to freeze. CBS News reported that the Google search “hos (sic) long to die in cold,” was made on McCabe’s phone. During the trial, McCabe testified that she made the search at Read’s request after O’Keefe’s body was found around 6:23 a.m., while the defense showed data saying the search was made hours earlier, at 2:27 a.m. McCabe claims the timestamp shows a 2 a.m. search because she used a tab that was opened at 2 a.m. to make the search.

While the intricate details of Read’s case can be difficult to parse, what’s easy to explain is why people watched in the first place. Jeffrey Lin, a criminology professor at the University of Denver, previously told Rolling Stone that the fascination with true crime often comes from a psychological pull to control things that feel out of control and to play into a heroic narrative that crime dramas have popularized. “We have this intense desire to help and be heroic, and yet we have no opportunity to do so. Most of us are not able to become high-level researchers [for the FBI] but we can get on TikTok and look for [Brian Laundrie’s] van,” Lin said. “This is just the fulfillment of the fantasy that’s been presented to us for decades.” 

On July 1, Judge Beverly J. Cannone declared a mistrial in the case after the 12-person jury was unable to come to a unanimous verdict. The decision came after the jury told the judge they couldn’t agree for the second time and were given one last chance to deliberate. “The divergence in our views are not rooted in a lack of understanding or effort but deeply held convictions that each of us carry, ultimately leading to a point where consensus is unattainable,” the jury wrote in a note. The next court date to determine next steps has been set for July 22. It’s unclear whether the case will be retried.