The controversial John O'Keefe murder case will be featured on an upcoming episode of NBC's "Dateline," the network revealed Monday.
A portion of an exclusive interview with Mansfield, Massachusetts resident Karen Read and "Dateline" correspondent Dennis Murphy aired on Monday's "TODAY" show on NBC, a day before she is scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial hearing. She is charged with second-degree murder in the death of O'Keefe, her boyfriend and a Boston police officer.
Karen Read exclusive airs on 'TODAY'
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In the segment, Read, who is charged with second-degree murder, tells Murphy she and O'Keefe were "happy, having fun, laughing, just very normal" on the night of his death -- Jan. 29, 2022. She said she dropped him off at a house party in Canton after they left the bar they were at earlier that night, and waited in her SUV and watched him go to the door.
"I texted him, I called him, and within minutes of him exiting my car is not answering his phone," she said. "Minutes. So I left."
She drove home and went to sleep. When she woke up the next morning and realized O'Keefe wasn't there, she said she drove back to the home where she had dropped him off and found him in the snow in front of the home.
"His eyes were swollen shut. He had blood dripping out of his nose," Read said.
O'Keefe was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Massachusetts State Police concluded Read hit him with her SUV after an argument. They said they found broken pieces of a taillight at the scene.
An autopsy found several abrasions to O'Keefe's right forearm, two black eyes, a cut to his nose, a two-inch laceration to the back of his head and multiple skull fractures. Hypothermia was also believed to be a contributing factor in his death.
Attorney says John O'Keefe was set up
Read's attorney, Alan Jackson, said he believes O'Keefe was set up that night, and alleges a large-scale coverup, pointing to evidence on O'Keefe's body and a search they did of a cellphone that belonged to someone else at the party as proof.
"I have an innocent client, period," Jackson told NBC. "John walked into an element of hostility in that house. John O'Keefe got out of a car, walked into the house, was sucker punched, fell, hurt himself, and then ultimately his body was moved."
The full story of the Karen Read case, which "Dateline" has dubbed, the "Taillight Murder," will appear in a future episode of the show. No specific air date was mentioned.
