The criminal case out of a small suburb of Boston went on to captivate the nation. Why was that and what’s next for Read?
Whether they were scheduling surgeries around it or building an online audience tracking the legal proceedings, people became obsessed with the second-degree murder trial and retrial of Karen Read.
The case of the Massachusetts woman accused of killing the Boston police officer she was dating captivated not only the region but also the nation, even drawing attention from celebrities such as John Stamos.
The multi-year case came to an end last week when Read was found not guilty of the charges surrounding the death of her boyfriend, John O’Keefe, in 2022.
But what was it about the case that captivated so many? According to Daniel Medwed, a distinguished professor of law and criminal justice at Northeastern University, it had “the perfect stew of ingredients that the public tends to consume” when it comes to true crime.
“Homicide cases involving women defendants often capture the public’s attention because of how rare they are and how they collide with gender biases and norms,” Medwed said. “(The fact that) the victim was a police officer, the botched police investigation, the possibility of law enforcement officers as alternative suspects, and the small-town dynamics of long-simmering feuds all fanned the flames of conspiracy theories that proliferated online.”
Beyond the specifics of the case, the drama of the trials served as a distraction for people, said Laurie Kramer, applied psychology professor at Northeastern University, as is often the case for public legal battles.
“We are living in a very confusing world right now,” Kramer said. “As you look at your news feed and social media, we’re bombarded with so much negativity. Having something that seems a lot more interesting — a true crime situation that seems like a puzzle — that people can potentially get together and try to solve and follow in some ways is almost entertainment. It’s like an escape.”
People’s shared obsession with the case brought together a sense of camaraderie, complete with signs of support. Supporters of Read would wear pink at her request and held up the ASL sign for “I love you” when she entered and exited the courthouse.
Read’s public response, including the interviews she did, also helped sell people on the case, painting her as a more sympathetic figure, Kramer said.
“She really told her story in such a way that others could understand it and maybe even relate to it,” she added. “Here’s an attractive young woman who got herself in a situation that maybe a lot of people out there could relate to in some way. … I think there’s a lot of people out there who could see themselves potentially in a crazy situation.”
Now that the retrial is over, with Read facing a year of probation for driving under the influence, Kramer said many of Read’s supporters are probably celebrating, but will likely move on to the next thing.
Others, however, might struggle with resentment given the lack of justice for O’Keefe.
“It’s understandable that people want to get away from all the awful things that we’re bombarded with every day,” Kramer said. “But we did lose sight of the fact that there was a huge tragedy here. A man lost his life, and it was a man who served his community. We all want to find some things to build community around, but true crime, when there’s been a real victim, I’m not sure that’s really the direction that we would, as psychologists, want to encourage.”