Karen Read sued by family of boyfriend she is accused of killing

The family of a Boston police officer whose death is at the center of the Karen Read murder case has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her and two Massachusetts bars where they visited before her death.

John O'Keefe III, 46, was found dead the morning of Jan. 29, 2022, outside a home in Canton, Massachusetts, police said. The civil complaint, filed Monday, alleges that his girlfriend, Read, hit him with her car while she was intoxicated and left him for dead.

The lawsuit, which includes O'Keefe's brother, parents and niece as plaintiffs, sues Read and two bars — CF McCarthy's and Waterfall Bar and Grille — for unspecified damages, alleging wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Read's attorney told ABC News that his defense team is not commenting on the trial at this time.

Contacted by ABC News, a representative for CF McCarthy's declined to comment. ABC News was unable to reach the owner of Waterfall Bar and Grille.

The lawsuit comes after a judge last month declared a mistrial against Read, who is charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of a fatal crash. She had pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors said she hit O'Keefe with her car and left him to die in the middle of a snowstorm after the two had an argument earlier in the day.

Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial on July 1 after the jury said it had failed to reach unanimous consensus on the fifth day of deliberations. The Norfolk County District Attorney's Office said it plans to retry the case, with the new trial scheduled to begin on Jan. 27, 2025.

Last week, Cannone rejected a request to dismiss two of Read’s charges — second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident — at the retrial. Read’s attorneys had argued in court papers that retrying her on those charges would violate double jeopardy protections because, based on subsequent statements from four jurors, the jury unanimously acquitted Read of the charges.

In his decision released Friday, Cannone concluded that double jeopardy was not an issue “because the defendant was not acquitted of any charges and defense counsel consented to the court's declaration of a mistrial.”

Read has vigorously denied the allegations, and his lawyers have said a fellow officer was involved in O'Keefe's death and collaborated with others to cover up the case.

The complaint alleges that Read and O'Keefe's relationship had “deteriorated” in the months leading up to her death, during which time Read “was arguing, experiencing jealousy and delusions of infidelity.”

Read drank seven alcoholic drinks in about an hour and a half while she was at CF McCarthy’s with O’Keefe on the night of Jan. 28, 2022, and “displayed signs of intoxication,” the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit then alleges she took her drink with her and drove to Waterfall, where she was served a shot and a mixed alcoholic drink, before leaving with O’Keefe shortly after midnight and driving him to a residence in Canton.

The complaint alleges the two men got into an argument and she “drove her SUV and struck” O’Keefe, then fled the scene and went to O’Keefe’s home. The complaint claims Read returned to the residence later that morning and saw him “lying on the ground, buried in the snow, where she had left him to die earlier.” O’Keefe suffered traumatic injuries before becoming hypothermic, the complaint says.

The lawsuit alleges that both bars negligently served alcohol to an intoxicated person and that Read “intended to behave recklessly” [O’Keefe’s] injuries/deaths.”

The complaint also alleges that Read “intentionally and/or recklessly inflicted severe emotional distress” on O'Keefe's 14-year-old niece, who he had custody of. Read allegedly came home, woke the teenager up and told her that something had happened to her uncle, that “she had hit her uncle or that a snowplow had hit her uncle,” according to the complaint.