Boston
AP
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Karen Read, who was discovered not guilty of charges within the dying of her boyfriend, has filed a lawsuit accusing members of the Massachusetts State Police and a number of other others of focusing on her and shielding the real killers.
Read walked out of courtroom earlier this yr after greater than three years and two trials over the dying of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, who was discovered on the garden of a fellow officer’s dwelling after an evening of heavy consuming.
“For three and a half years, plaintiff Karen Read was wrongly accused of homicide and subjected to suspicion, arrest, two prosecutions and public condemnation all resulting from the gross misconduct of the Massachusetts State Police — and those working in tandem with the MSP — to shield from liability the party or parties responsible for the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe III,” the lawsuit says
Read was accused of placing O’Keefe along with her SUV in 2022 and leaving him to die alone within the snow exterior of a home get together in Canton, a suburb about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Boston. She was been charged with second-degree homicide, manslaughter whereas working a automobile beneath the affect and leaving the scene.
A mistrial was declared final yr after jurors mentioned they have been at an deadlock and deliberating additional can be futile. In the second trial, a jury discovered her not responsible of second diploma homicide and manslaughter fees however did discover her responsible of a lesser cost of drunken driving.
Tuesday’s lawsuit was filed in opposition to a number of members of the state police and the general public on the home get together together with federal agent Brian Higgins, Nicole and Brian Albert, whose owned the home, and Jennifer and Matthew McCabe. It raises lots of the allegations Read’s protection group made throughout her two trials.
The lawsuit alleges O’Keefe was killed on the home get together throughout an “altercation during a late night house party with other defendants after a night of heavy drinking.” It says there was an enormous conspiracy by members of a well-connected and shut social group in the home to cowl up the crime. It additionally accused investigators of shoddy police work, manufacturing proof and failing to research the home for blood, DNA or different proof or interview anybody on the home.
“The House Defendants responsible for Mr. O’Keefe’s death — some of whom had professional experience with police investigations — concocted a plan immediately after the altercation to avoid culpability and frame Ms. Read,” the lawsuit alleges, including that state police investigators allowed these defendants to redirect the investigation away from themselves and towards Read.
In assertion from their attorneys, Higgins, the McCabes and the Alberts denied the allegations.
“The allegations made by Karen Read are entirely false, defamatory, and without merit,” they mentioned in an announcement. “Our clients categorically deny each and every claim. This lawsuit is nothing more than a continuation of a baseless conspiracy narrative that has caused significant harm to the reputations and lives of innocent people. Our clients acted responsibly, fulfilling their civic duty as witnesses, and have participated appropriately in the legal process from the outset.”
The lawsuit additionally alleges the investigation, led by former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, was biased from the beginning. Proctor was fired after sharing offensive and sexist texts about Read with associates, household and associates. During the second trial, Read’s protection lawyer Alan Jackson argued Proctor’s “blatant bias” tainted each side of the corrupt and flawed investigation.
In an announcement, the Karen Read Civil Team mentioned she “was dragged through a baseless criminal prosecution engineered by individuals who abused their authority, manipulated the investigative process, and trampled her rights.”
“Our complaint lays out, in stark detail, the malicious prosecution, the conspiracy, the civil-rights violations, and the intentional misconduct that these defendants visited upon an innocent woman,” the group added.
A spokesman for the Massachusetts State Police didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The lawsuit, amongst different issues, alleges malicious prosecution beneath the Fourth Amendment and conspiracy to deprive Read of her Fourth Amendment rights. Her attorneys are demanding a jury trial.