Mom Recalls Shock as Police Officer Son Allegedly Killed by 'Karen Read' Found in Snowbank

During an emotional testimony, the mother of a Boston police officer described finding her son unconscious in a pile of snow and refuted remarks made about her during media interviews by Karen Read. who prosecutors allege murdered the officer.

On Wednesday, Peggy O'Keefe stated that she received a phone call at approximately 6 a.m. on January 29, 2022, from one of her son John O'Keefe's friends. This individual was accompanying Read when they found the unconscious police officer on the front yard of Brian Albert, who was serving as a sergeant for the Boston Police Department at that time.

Peggy O'Keefe remembered, "She mentioned 'John was discovered in a snowbank.' I was confused and asked her, 'Can you explain?' She responded, 'They found him in the snow; they aren’t sure what occurred.'"

Peggy O'Keefe did not take the stand during Read’s highly publicized initial trial, which concluded with a hung jury last summer.

The individual named Read, aged 45, faced charges including second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter due to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, and fleeing the scene after causing a fatal accident.

In opening statements Tuesday , prosecutors charged Read with lethally hitting John O'Keefe, 46, and abandoning him near Albert's house in suburban Boston during a snowy morning in January 2022.

Defense attorney Alan Jackson blamed the killing on others who were at the home and said Read was the victim of police misconduct and a cover-up.

On Wednesday, as Peggy O'Keefe remembered, her son's friend arrived with the book "Read" in his car and then drove both of them to the hospital where John O'Keefe had been admitted.

At one point during the drive, she testified, she asked Read what happened to her son. Read responded that they’d gone to a party and she left him there.

“You just left him there?” Peggy O’Keefe recalled asking her. “She said, ‘Yes, I just left him there.’”

Prosecutors have said that Read dropped John O’Keefe off at Albert’s house and began driving away, but then put her Lexus SUV into reverse and fatally struck him.

According to the defense’s account, there was no collision and Read watched John O’Keefe enter Albert’s house, where he was likely beaten and bitten by Albert’s dog. (During the first trial, Albert testified that John O’Keefe did not enter his home.)

Peggy O’Keefe testified that Read did not tell her if she left John O’Keefe inside or outside Albert’s home.

At the hospital, according to Peggy O'Keefe's testimony, staff members were guiding her through the emergency department when she spotted Read.

Peggy O'Keefe remembered her saying, "Was he dead?" as she began shouting.

Near the conclusion of Peggy O'Keefe's roughly 20-minute testimony, special counsel and chief prosecutor Hank Brennan mentioned an interview Read did for a documentary produced by Investigation Discovery.

Brennan aimed to introduce Read’s statements made on "Investigation Discovery" and "20/20" regarding Peggy O'Keefe, as these remarks demonstrate her "awareness of culpability," according to him.

The Norfolk County Superior Court judge, Beverly Cannone, did not make an immediate decision regarding the issue.

The Investigation Discovery segment featured Read recounting her observations of Peggy O'Keefe in the kitchen of the mourning mother shortly following their visit to the hospital. Read remembered Peggy O'Keefe bending towards a kitchen counter and remarking, "It seems like he was struck by a vehicle."

Brennan questioned Peggy O'Keefe with, "Have you ever found yourself leaning against a kitchen counter remarking, 'It seems as though he was struck by a vehicle?'"

“I don’t remember talking to her that morning,” she replied.

Jackson didn’t challenge Peggy O’Keefe, but he argued that the clip shouldn't be allowed as evidence since it merely depicts Read reciting “what someone else uttered.”

He stated that the clip is clearly and deliberately being employed to portray his client as villainous with an issue that is entirely unrelated.

Brennan, on the other hand, stated that it was not just pertinent but "an exceptionally powerful piece of evidence indicating guilt."

This piece was initially published on The News Pulse