A Massachusetts judge has agreed to bar references to an unrelated, botched murder investigation in Karen Read’s second trial on murder and other charges in the 2022 death of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O’Keefe. Police in Canton, a suburb about 20 miles south of Boston, initially inaccurately determined the Feb. 4, 2021 death of Sandra Birchmore, 24, was a suicide before federal investigators revealed she had been strangled and charged a Stoughton officer with her murder. The FBI arrested former Stoughton Police Officer Matthew Farwell, 38, in August in Birchmore’s murder. He is accused of grooming her since she was a teenager, maintaining a sexual relationship for years, and then killing her when she told him she’d become pregnant, staging the murder to look like a suicide.
Canton Police were also the first to respond after O’Keefe was reported unresponsive outside another Boston Police officer’s house Jan. 29, 2022, during a blizzard. Local police collected bloody snow evidence in red Solo cups and placed them in a Stop and Shop grocery bag. A Canton lieutenant used a leaf blower to move snow from where O’Keefe’s body had been found. Witnesses were interviewed informally, off camera, and not at the police station. State police took over the investigation later that day, but their involvement was not without controversy. The lead detective was fired earlier this year after an internal investigation into unprofessional text messages revealed in court during Read’s first trial, which ended in a mistrial.
Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and criminal justice professor, stated that Governor Maura Healey should have ordered the revamping of police training in the state after the debacle in Karen Read’s first trial. He emphasized the need for proper procedures in crime scene responses, evidence collection, and handling. The two cases prompted town residents to demand an audit into their own police department, leading the town board to hire a firm called 5 Stones Intelligence (5Si) for an independent review. The firm’s 206-page report, released April 1, the same day jury selection started, found no evidence of conspiracies to frame Read but recommended improved protocols for future death investigations, including advanced training for detectives and the equipping of patrol vehicles with crime scene kits.
The federal investigation into the handling of O’Keefe’s death also continues, with Read remaining the only person charged. She faces charges of second-degree murder, drunken driving manslaughter, and fleeing a deadly accident for allegedly striking O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV during an argument and leaving him for dead around 12:30 a.m. She and two friends returned at 6 a.m. and found O’Keefe on the ground, covered in snow. An autopsy found his cause of death was trauma to the head and hypothermia, with the manner of death undetermined.
Read has denied striking O’Keefe and pleaded not guilty, suggesting she is being framed by local police and their allies. The retrial has already faced procedural challenges, including evidence mishandling and delays in report production. Special prosecutor Hank Brennan, known for his work on high-profile cases, has led the retrial, while defense attorneys have sought to highlight inconsistencies in the evidence. Despite these challenges, the case has drawn national attention, raising questions about the reliability of law enforcement procedures and the need for systemic reforms.