Karen Read admitted to adding extra alcohol to her drinks at a local Massachusetts bar just hours before her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, was found dead outside a police officer’s home. The confession, shown in court Thursday during her retrial for O’Keefe’s murder, came from a 2024 documentary interview.
Read explained she was dissatisfied with the “weak” vodka tonics being served at McCarthy’s bar and took matters into her own hands. “The drinks that they were pouring me… were the weakest vodka tonic,” she said in the recorded interview. “It tasted just like all soda water with lime.” Following a suggestion from O’Keefe, she began ordering extra shots and pouring them into her drinks, effectively doubling the alcohol content.
Prosecutors introduced the clip as part of an attempt to portray Read’s drinking habits on the night of O’Keefe’s death. Massachusetts State Trooper Nicholas Guarino also read a series of tense text messages exchanged between Read and O’Keefe earlier that day. The messages highlighted friction in their relationship, with O’Keefe expressing frustration over arguments and asking Read to give him space while he cared for his niece and nephew.
Despite multiple unanswered calls from Read that afternoon, the two eventually agreed to meet later in the evening. Text messages read aloud in court showed O’Keefe growing increasingly annoyed, accusing Read of “jonesing to drink.”
Defense attorneys argued the texts painted a picture of a troubled relationship but did not indicate motive for murder. Legal analyst Linda Kenney Baden commented that the prosecution’s evidence may have inadvertently helped Read by suggesting O’Keefe was controlling and that Read was emotionally distressed, rather than vindictive.
After visiting McCarthy’s, the couple moved to a second location, the Waterfall Bar and Grill, before O’Keefe was later found unresponsive in the snow outside a fellow officer’s home.
The defense continues to argue that O’Keefe’s injuries were not consistent with being struck by Read’s SUV but could have resulted from a fight at the gathering he attended. Prosecutors maintain that Read struck him with her vehicle after an argument.
Court was adjourned early Thursday after confusion around witness testimony. Jurors are scheduled to visit the crime scene in person when the trial resumes Friday.
