PLYMOUTH, Mass. — Karen Read and her attorneys returned to court on Friday morning for a civil hearing in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of John O’Keefe, her former Boston police officer boyfriend.
A judge in Plymouth Superior Court heard arguments on whether Read should get her two iPhones back. The devices were seized in January 2024 as part of a witness intimidation investigation.
The O’Keefe family entered the hearing seeking an emergency motion to prevent the return of Read’s phones until the data can be preserved. Their legal team had alleged that there was incriminating evidence on the phones.
Moments after the hearing commenced, the judge called lawyers from both sides to the bench, and a long recess ensued. When the court returned, it was announced that an agreement had been reached.
Marc Diller, the O’Keefe family attorney, told the court they would be withdrawing the motion to prevent the release of the phones.
“The plaintiffs are going to withdraw the current motion that’s sitting before this court,” Diller said. “The parties have agreed to act in an expedited fashion towards either reaching a stipulation or some agreement as to how to deal with the issue for the phones on or before the date that they get released back into the custody of Karen Read.”
Diller had alleged that Read remarked to blogger Aidan Kearney, also known as Turtleboy, “I’m dead. I’m f****** dead,” because of what might be on the phones.
But during the hearing, Diller apologized for a misinterpretation of Read’s words.
“I also want to acknowledge to this court, and to Ms. Read, that I was mistaken when I interrupted her words to say, ‘I’m dead. I’m f****** dead,’ Diller said.
Read’s attorneys had argued that Diller mistook the word “again” for “dead” in a recording. Aaron D. Rosenberg, one of Read’s civil attorneys, told Boston 25 News that the allegation against his client is “completely inaccurate.”
Rosenberg, who appeared in court on behalf of Read alongside her longtime attorney Alan Jackson, confirmed his office would work in an “expedited fashion to come up with an agreement for how the phones will be accessed and searched.”
If the Read team can’t reach an agreement with the O’Keefe team on a protocol for reviewing and producing the phone extractions, they’ll return to court for further discussion.
A temporary order preventing deletions from the phones, which are currently held by the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, remains in place.
Outside of court, Jackson took a moment to speak with the media.
“There have been orders by two separate judges indicating that the Norfolk DA’s Office shouldn’t have her phones,” Jackson said. “There’s an appeal process, there are procedural roadblocks. Ultimately, Karen is going to get her phones back, as she should have had two years ago.”
Among those who attended the hearing were Read’s parents, Paul O’Keefe and his wife Erin, John’s brother-in-law and sister-in-law.
The O’Keefe family is suing her over “emotional injuries, severe physical pain, anguish, emotional distress, and other harm” in connection with his death in Canton on the night of January 29, 2022. They have been arguing that Read’s phones may have evidence that supports their claim of infliction of emotional distress.
Read had stood accused of striking O’Keefe with her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm after a night of drinking outside the home of fellow Boston officer Brian Albert, but during her retrial last year, Read’s lawyers argued that she’s been framed in a cover-up involving prosecution witnesses and law enforcement.
She was ultimately acquitted of murder and manslaughter in O’Keefe’s death in June 2025.
Read has since filed a sweeping lawsuit of her own, accusing multiple Massachusetts State Police troopers and several Canton residents of conspiring to frame her for a crime she says she did not commit.
Read’s Lexus SUV was returned to her in September 2025, three months after her acquittal. The vehicle was to be auctioned off in January, but it’s been delayed until May.
A trial date for the civil case hasn’t been set.
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