Girlfriend Free On $50,000 Bail In Death Of Boston Police Officer

STOUGHTON - A Mansfield woman was released on $50,000 bail Wednesday morning after being charged in the death of a Boston Police officer during the weekend blizzard.

Karen A. Read, 41, pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning in Stoughton District Court, where she charged with manslaughter, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision causing death and motor vehicle homicide, according to a report on CBS Boston.

She was released on $50,000 cash bail at about 11:30 a.m., according to a spokesperson from the Stoughton Distict Court. A probable cause hearing will be held on March 1.

In that report, the prosecutor said Read and John O’Keefe, who was off-duty at the time, were at a bar early Saturday morning and left to go to a home on Fairview Road home in Canton. Read told investigators she dropped O’Keefe off around 12:45 a.m., made a three-point turn and left, but did not see O’Keefe go inside the house.

During the hearing, David Yannetti, her attorney said she became worried and tried to phone O'Keefe several times around 4:30 a.m. Sunday. She asked a friend to drive to the home, where they found O’Keefe in the snow with cuts on his arm, eyes swollen shut and bleeding from the nose and mouth.

Read allegedly said, “Could I have hit him? Did I hit him?” as they tried to figure out what happened to O’Keefe, according to the CBS 4 report.

Multiple sources confirmed that Read's car had a broken taillight when invesitagors arrived.

Patch confirmed that Read is a faculty member in the finance department at Bentley University.

"Karen Read is an adjunct lecturer at Bentley," said Helen Henrichs, Bentley's director of news and public relations. "The university cannot comment further on an active investigation. Our thoughts go out to Officer O’Keefe’s family and loved ones."

Her attorney requested a $5,000 bail, noting that she has medical issues. The judge set bail at $50,000, adding that "she has plenty of reasons to flee."

Read was arrested Tuesday night by Massachusetts State Police homicide detectives on a manslaughter warrant "after several days of intensive investigation," the Norfolk County District Attorney's office said. She was processed at the Blue Hills State Police Barracks.

A Twitter post said that Read was O'Keefe's girlfriend, which was confirmed in a report by WCVB-TV Wednesday morning. They were driving to the home of another BPD officer.

"John was a kind person, dedicated to his family, and will be greatly missed by his coworkers and anyone who had the privilege of meeting him," said BPD Superintendent-in-Chief Gregory Long said in a statement released yesterday. "The Boston Police Department extends our sincere thanks to the members of the Canton Police Department, Canton Fire Department, Massachusetts State Police and Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office for their efforts from the initial response under difficult conditions to [yesterday's] arrest."

Authorities investigating the death of O'Keefe during Saturday's blizzard had been looking into the possibility that he was struck by a vehicle and "suffered a serious head injury," according to an investigative report on Boston News 25 earlier Tuesday evening. His body was found in a snow bank outside of a Canton home Saturday night.

According to another Boston 25 report, Read "drove to the Fairview Road area with O'Keefe, possibly shortly after midnight."

According to the DA's office, O'Keefe knew the residents of the home on Fairview Road where he was found. His body was cold at the time he was discovered, as temperatures were in the teens.

An autopsy was performed Monday and did not officially determine the cause of death. At that point, foul play had not been ruled out.

Boston 25 reported that Massachusetts State Police and Canton police spent hours on the site Saturday gathering evidence during the blizzard.

O'Keefe was a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department "who served admirably in several assignments during his career," according to a statement from Long on Sunday.

"John will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues here at the Boston Police Department as we send our heartfelt condolences to his family, and loved ones during this difficult time," he said.

This is an ongoing story. Check back for updates.