What comes next for Karen Read? Acquitted of murder and exalted to social media stardom... but not free from the courtroom just yet
Karen Read is not going to jail for the murder of her Boston cop boyfriend John O'Keefe, but she's far from out of the woods or out of the courtroom when it comes to the controversial case.
Read 45, sobbed on Wednesday after being acquitted of murder for her police officer boyfriend in a retrial that has gripped and divided America.
But the happy tears in the Massachusetts criminal courtroom merely closed a chapter on the ordeal rather than the whole book with Read still a long way from returning to a normal life.
Now legal eagles and PR executives have weighed in on what comes next for the financial analyst.
DUI Conviction
While Read was cleared of the most serious charge stemming from the January 29, 2022 death she still faced some legal repercussions.
The financial analyst was convicted on the lesser charge of drunk driving, which carries a maximum penalty of 2.5 years for a first offense.
However, at sentencing she was handed one year of probation and ordered to take alcohol awareness classes.
Probation for the offense in Massachusetts typically includes 30 hours of community service.
The penalty is the standard one handed down to a first time offender.
Many high-profile defendants walk away with book deals to give a first-person account of what really happened behind the scenes.
Although it is unclear if Read has been offered one, or if she's even interested in one, it could continue to help her star rise after becoming a household name due to the trial.
Netflix and HBO have already covered her trial in documentaries, leaving the window wide open for Read to join one.
Criminal jurors have already started coming forward with their takes and opinions on the case and Read could very much do the same now that she can no longer face a murder charge for O'Keefe's death.
However, if Read does choose to step into the spotlight further, any money she makes off the endeavors could be garnished if she loses her upcoming civil case with O'Keefe's family and has to pay damages.
Civil Case
Read's acquittal is far from the end of the grueling legal process and she is now facing another round in court.
Read and her legal team are gearing up for a civil trial - a $50,000 wrongful death lawsuit filed by O'Keefe's family against her and two local bars.
'After a not-guilty verdict against Read, a civil case is all the family has left if they want to seek justice,' New Mexico-based lawyer, John W. Day, told DailyMail.com.
'The O'Keefe family will want this civil trial to move forward quickly while people are still talking about the verdict.'
No date has been set for the trial yet, as it was put on pause while Read dealt with her criminal case.
The case was filed against Read and two local bars - CF McCarthy's and Waterfall Bar and Grille - in August 2024 in the Plymouth Superior Court in Brockton and the family is seeking at least $50,000 in damages for O'Keefe's death.
They argue Read engaged in reckless conduct that resulted in O'Keefe's death and that the bars, 'negligently served alcohol to an intoxicated person.'
Many experts told Daily Mail that it would be beneficial for Read to push through the civil case as early as possible as her stronger-than-ever fanbase is ready to defend her.
Tom Flaws, a Boston-based lawyer with the firm Altman Nussbaum Shunnarah, told Daily Mail that the O'Keefe family has a 'much lower bar to prove' that Read killed their son compared to the state in the criminal case.
But that doesn't mean it will be an easy win for the heartbroken family, especially as Read's fanbase stays strong and criminal jurors continue to come out and cast doubt that the 45-year-old did it.
'That's a problem for the plaintiffs of the civil case,' Flaws said.
Whereas, in a criminal trial, the State of Massachusetts had to prove Read performed a criminal act beyond a reasonable doubt.
In the civil case, the O'Keefe family only has to prove that their version of events is plausible based on the preponderance of the evidence. If they can prove there is a more than a 50 percent chance of probability, they can win.
'It's a much lower burden,' Flaws, who has 20 years experience in the field, said.
'It's a bigger challenge for her [Read],' Florida-based lawyer, Emmanuel Galimidi, told DailyMail.com.
Galimidi, who owns his own firm Galimidi Law, also believes the criminal jurors' opinions will influence her civil case.
'I don't see how they don't,' he said. 'That would influence me.'
Considering how big the case became, Galimidi thinks there will be a good chance the local jurors picked for the civil trial will have at least heard of or be familiar with the case and will know the verdict of the criminal trial.
'Jury selection in very important,' the lawyer, who has 22 years of law experience and worked both on the plaintiffs and defendants' sides, said. 'In this one, it's much more important.'
He also expects, regardless of the verdict, there will be an appeal made 'due to the nature of the case.'
Tom Flaws, a Boston-based lawyer, told DailyMail.com that the O'Keefe family has a 'much lower bar to prove' that Read killed their son compared to the state in the criminal case. Eric Schiffer said Read needs to rapidly change her reputation before entering another courtroom
Obstacles
The biggest difference - and perhaps an obstacle for Read - will be her deposition.
Unlike her criminal case, she will have to take the stand and it will be the first time jurors and crime junkies alike will hear her side of the story directly from the source.
Just because prosecutors couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Read hit O'Keefe with her car, it does not mean she did not.
Her late boyfriend's law enforcement officer status only increased scrutiny on her actions.
'It plays a role [in her reputation],' Schiffer said. 'It's hard to undo.'
Schiffer said Read will need to be 'extremely' careful while on the stand during her deposition to keep her reputation intact.
'She's probably better off doing [the trial] now, coming off the win,' Eric Schiffer, who helps high-profile people fix their reputations, told DailyMail.com.
'She needs to take every word seriously. Things can go boom.'
Despite the buzz around her upcoming deposition, Galimidi doesn't expect to hear anything he hasn't already.
'I don't expect there to be any big revelation here,' he said.
Damages
Although the O'Keefe family filed for at least $50,000 in damages, they could be awarded a far higher sum.
The question comes down to who can pay it for both the bars and Read.
Although a jury can decide how much each defendant has to pay, if they don't have it, the family could be chasing it for years, especially with Read, who is a private citizen.
'Remember that this is how the Goldman family and Nicole Simpson's family went after OJ Simpson after he was acquitted or murder,' Day told DailyMail.com. 'They got a $33million judgment against OJ, but then had to try to collect on it.'
'One issue the family could face: What can they get from Karen Read, or is she judgment-proof? Meaning, what assets does she have that the family could get in a civil judgment?'
A potential asset they family could garnish from is if Read is offered a book deal. They could tap into her royalties for years.
Another way they could get money from Read, if she doesn't have the damages amount, is to garnish her wages. There are state limitations on what percentage can be taken out of her paychecks.
'You can try and garnish,' Galimidi said. 'That's entirely possible.'
Galimidi suspects the O'Keefe family may or may not have bought in the two bars as collateral, as the establishments more than likely have insurance plans that will help cover them and offer a higher damages amount to the family.
However, the locally-owned establishments might not have much in insurance, compared to big-named chained.
'There's a difference suing IBM versus Joe's Computer Shop [down the street],' the Florida lawyer said.
He also believes the family has a good case against the bars for serving her an abundance of alcohol.
'It's a strong case against the bars,' he told DailyMail.com. 'It's a strong one for the plaintiffs because of her blood-alcohol [level].'
However, Flaws said the plaintiffs still have to 'prove that she hit him' to prevail.
Reputation Rehabilitation
As the verdict was read out on Wednesday, cheers were heard outside the courthouse from her hoard of supporters, however experts warn Read has a long way to go before she can shake off the controversy.
Read made headlines throughout the trial for her outlandish behavior during the case, which included winking at cameras and laughing and joking with her counsel in court.
Schiffer said Read's name is a 'punch line' at the moment and she absolutely have to fix her public image before stepping back in the court.
'She's been shredded online,' Schiffer told DailyMail.com.
He thinks it's 'critical' for Read to rapidly patch up the 'scraps' of her reputation prior to her civil trial as the burden of proof is much, much lower compared to a criminal case.
'That's her biggest challenge,' he said.
If she loses the civil case, Schiffer said her reputation will experience 'spontaneous combustion.'
'It's not a death blow, but it will hobble her,' he said.
And even if she wins, her reputation won't magically pop back either as many will accuse her of being of being 'famous for the wrong reasons,' he said.
'It's a good case, but it could be worse,' Galimidi said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Vance attacks Newsom and LA mayor and misnames senator arrested by Ice
JD Vance, the vice-president, on Friday accused California governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass of encouraging violent immigration protests as he used his appearance in Los Angeles to rebut criticism from state and local officials that the Trump administration fueled the unrest by sending in federal officers. Vance also referred to US senator Alex Padilla, the state's first Latino senator, as 'Jose Padilla', a week after the Democrat was forcibly taken to the ground by officers and handcuffed after speaking out during a Los Angeles news conference by homeland security secretary Kristi Noem on immigration raids. 'I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question,' Vance said, in an apparent reference to the altercation at Noem's event. 'I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn't a theater. And that's all it is.' He added: 'They want to be able to go back to their far-left groups and to say, 'Look, me, I stood up against border enforcement. I stood up against Donald Trump.'' A spokesperson for Padilla, Tess Oswald, noted in a social media post that Padilla and Vance were formerly colleagues in the Senate and said that Vance should know better. 'He should be more focused on demilitarizing our city than taking cheap shots,' Oswald said. Vance's visit to Los Angeles to tour a multi-agency federal joint operations center and a mobile command center came as demonstrations calmed down in the city and a curfew was lifted this week. That followed over a week of clashes between protesters and police and outbreaks of vandalism and looting that followed immigration raids across southern California. Trump's dispatching of his top emissary to Los Angeles at a time of turmoil surrounding the Israel-Iran war and the US's future role in it signals the political importance Trump places on his hard-line immigration policies. Vance echoed the president's harsh rhetoric toward California Democrats as he sought to blame them for the protests in the city. 'Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass, by treating the city as a sanctuary city, have basically said that this is open season on federal law enforcement,' Vance said after he toured federal immigration enforcement offices. 'What happened here was a tragedy,' Vance added. 'You had people who were doing the simple job of enforcing the law and they had rioters egged on by the governor and the mayor, making it harder for them to do their job. That is disgraceful. And it is why the president has responded so forcefully.' Newsom's spokesperson Izzy Gardon said in a statement: 'The vice-president's claim is categorically false. The governor has consistently condemned violence and has made his stance clear.' In a statement on X, Newsom responded to Vance's reference to 'Jose Padilla', saying the comment was no accident. Jose Padilla also is the name of a convicted al-Qaida terrorism plotter during George W Bush's administration, who was sentenced to two decades in prison. Padilla was arrested in 2002 at Chicago O'Hare airport during the tense months after the 9/11 attacks and accused of a 'dirty bomb' mission. It later emerged through US interrogation of other al-Qaida suspects that the 'mission' was only a sketchy idea, and those claims never surfaced in the terrorism case. Responding to the outrage, Taylor Van Kirk, a spokesperson for Vance, said of the vice-president: 'He must have mixed up two people who have broken the law.' Federal immigration authorities have been ramping up arrests across the country to fulfill Trump's promise of mass deportations. Todd Lyons, the head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has defended his tactics against criticism that authorities are being too heavy-handed. The friction in Los Angeles began on 6 June, when federal agents conducted a series of immigration sweeps in the region that have continued since. Amid the protests and over the objections of state and local officials, Trump ordered the deployment of roughly 4,000 national guard troops and 700 marines to the second-largest US city, home to 3.8 million people. Trump has said that without the military's involvement, Los Angeles 'would be a crime scene like we haven't seen in years'. Newsom has depicted the military intervention as the onset of a much broader effort by Trump to overturn political and cultural norms at the heart of the nation's democracy. Earlier Friday, Newsom urged Vance to visit victims of the deadly January wildfires while in southern California and talk with Trump, who earlier this week suggested his feud with the governor might influence his consideration of $40bn in federal wildfire aid for California. 'I hope we get that back on track,' Newsom wrote on X. 'We are counting on you, Mr Vice President.' Vance did not mention either request during his appearance on Friday.
Daily Mail
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Kanye West's wife Bianca Censori shocks again as she pulls dangerous move behind wheel of Porsche
Kanye West 's wife Bianca Censori has pulled yet another eye-catching stunt certain to leave the public in a state of astonishment. Ever since they secretly tied the knot in 2022, Bianca has consistently shocked fans with the flesh-flashing ensembles her husband styles for her. Now, however, her conduct behind the wheel of her gleaming Porsche convertible may be the cause of further comment from observers. Bianca, 30, was spotted staring open-mouthed at her phone while she was driving the jet-black vehicle through Beverly Hills this week. She appeared to be flouting the California Wireless Communications Device Law, which prohibits using a handheld cellphone while operating a motor vehicle. Bianca's sighting comes after Kanye experienced his own bout of car trouble, as a photographer snapped images of the rapper's custom Maybach being towed away from the Château Marmont on Tuesday. New images obtained by Daily Mail show the luxury car owned by the 48-year-old Runaway rapper being put on the back of a tow truck and hauled away from the hotel. The venue – where Saturday Night Live legend John Belushi tragically overdosed in 1982 - remains a favorite haunt of Hollywood celebrities, but parking remains limited. The Bully artist was spotted with partner Bianca Censori earlier Tuesday in Los Angeles, after traveling to New York City earlier this month to attend the trial of Sean ' Diddy ' Combs, who he has professed support for publicly on multiple occasions. Daily Mail has reached out to West's rep Milo Yiannopoulos and the tow company listed on the side of the truck for further comment on the item involving the vehicle. West has remained in the crosshairs of controversy for much of the year amid a torrent of tweets propagating antisemitism, though he renounced those beliefs in a tweet last month. 'I am done with antisemitism,' he said in a May 22 tweet that garnered 167,000 likes from the influential artist's network of more than 33.2 million followers. The stance came in stark contrast to Ye's controversial one four months earlier: He posted multiple images swastikas, and plastering them on a number of clothing items he intended to sell. On February 11, the shop on West's Yeezy Website - which he advertised with an expensive ad in the Super Bowl - was taken offline by Shopify after he was selling a white shirt with a black swastika in the center. West spoke more about the controversy in a series of tweets February 20 - promising to wear the swastika shirt onstage at the 2026 Super Bowl. 'Next year I'm performing at the superbowl wearing my wittle T shirt,' he said. 'People with money bought my wittle t shirt.' He added that Shopify 'gave [him his] account back' after taking down his store after controversy erupted over the shirts, but that he was 'not going to use it.' The Anti-Defamation League said in a post on X/Twitter February 10: 'As if we needed further proof of Kanye's antisemitism, he chose to put a single item for sale on his website – a t-shirt emblazoned with a swastika. 'If that wasn't enough, the t-shirt is labeled on Kanye's website as "HH-01,"which is code for "Heil Hitler." 'Kanye was tweeting vile antisemitism nonstop since last week. There's no excuse for this kind of behavior.' The organization added, 'Even worse, Kanye advertised his website during the Super Bowl, amplifying it beyond his already massive social media audience.' Tal-Or Cohen Montemayor, the founder and executive director of CyberWell, an online anti-Semitism watchdog group, told February 11 that the organization made efforts to go over West's head and have the page removed. 'CyberWell reached out Shopify's compliance and safety teams to alert them to flagrant abuse of Shopfiy's services by in violation of the terms of use,' Cohen Montemayor said. Podcaster Van Lathan, who famously clashed with West in a heated discussion in the TMZ newsroom in May of 2018, was critical of the rapper's latest series of tweets in a post on the platform February 20, calling him 'the slow kid in the Black community's class.' 'I'm glad you're rich,' Lathan wrote. 'It seems to be the only thing you care about. Money is dope you can do a lot of stuff with it. Sincerely. We need it, as a community. 'One thing that's more valuable than money is people. I'm sure you'd agree no dollar amount can measure North's laugh, I'm sure you'd go broke to bring your mother back. I would for my dad, who I lost in '21.' Lathan told West he was 'trapped in an infant's bubble, where [he] can be reckless and careless and people excuse it because of affection. 'We realize this, and try to ignore you, until the baby picks up something sharp like Nazism, domestic abuse, etc. then we gotta child proof things until you stop crying.' Lathan, who cohosts the podcast Higher Learning with Rachel Lindsay, continued, 'You're right about one thing, I am a slave to capitalism. We all are. Gotta work. 'But No one is more of a slave than the man who puts money over dignity. No one. So I'll be a slave, and you be what you are, which is the slow kid in the Black community's class. Keep eating boogers Kanye.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: Day of environmental setbacks across US after judicial and executive decisions
It was a day of environmental setbacks across the US on Friday after the Trump administration moved to keep two Michigan coal plants open and the US supreme court handed a win to fossil fuel firms in an emissions case. Already, the US Department of Energy (DoE) has ordered the JH Campbell coal plant on Lake Michigan to remain open beyond its 31 May closure date, while the administration is expected to prolong the life of the Monroe power plant on Lake Erie, scheduled to begin closing in 2028. The plants emit about 45% of the state's greenhouse gas pollution. Opponents say the order has little support in Michigan, could cost ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars and is ideologically driven. The state's utilities have said they did not ask for the plants to stay online, and the Trump administration did not communicate with stakeholders before the order, a spokesperson for the Michigan Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities and manages the state's grid, told the Guardian. Here are the key stories at a glance: Fossil fuel companies are able to challenge California's ability to set stricter standards reducing the amount of polluting coming from cars, the US supreme court has ruled in a case that is set to unravel one of the key tools used to curb planet-heating emissions in recent years. The conservative-dominated court voted by seven to two to back a challenge by oil and gas companies, along with 17 Republican-led states, to a waiver that California has received periodically from the federal government since 1967 that allows it to set tougher standards than national rules limiting pollution from cars. Read the full story Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil was released from US immigration detention, where he has been held for more than three months over his activism against Israel's war in Gaza. The release came after an order from a federal judge who said during a hearing on Friday that Khalil was not a flight risk and 'is not a danger to the community, period, full stop'. Read the full story A teenage student and soccer standout was arrested by immigration authorities four days after his high school graduation ceremony in Ohio and deported to Honduras this week, his family has said. Emerson Colindres, 19, had no criminal record and was attending a regularly scheduled appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Cincinnati when he was detained on 4 June, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Read the full story Elizabeth Warren has confronted the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, over reports that the state department is considering redirecting $500m from USAID to the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Israel- and US-backed Gaza food delivery group. Read the full story California's challenge to the Trump administration's military deployment on the streets of Los Angeles returned to a federal courtroom in San Francisco on Friday after an appeals court handed Donald Trump a key procedural win in the case. Read the full story The president failed to mark Juneteenth, commemorating the ending of slavery in the US, until he posted on Thursday night that there are 'too many non-working holidays' in the country. Read the full story Experts fear the US is now in worse shape to respond to a pandemic than before 2020 amid controversial dismissals at health agencies and lacklustre responses to the bird flu and measles outbreaks. The Trump administration has terminated 639 employees at Voice of America and its parent organisation in the latest round of sweeping cuts that have reduced the international broadcasting service to a fraction of its former size. The US supreme court declined to speed up consideration of whether to take up a challenge to Trump's tariffs even before lower courts have ruled in the dispute. Catching up? Here's what happened on 19 June 2025.
