Mass. Woman Charged in Death of Boston Police Officer Who Was Found Unresponsive Outside During Winter Storm

Karen A. Read, the girlfriend of deceased Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges related to his death, according to reports.

Read, a 41-year-old adjunct professor at Bentley University in Waltham, Mass., faces charges of manslaughter, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision causing death, and motor vehicle homicide after O'Keefe, 46, was found unresponsive outside a Canton home during Saturday's nor'easter, according a press release.

According to The Boston Globe, Read was released on $50,000 bail set by Judge Daniel W. O'Malley at Stoughton District Court.

Reports say the bloodied and bruised body of O'Keefe, a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department, was found in a snowbank early Saturday morning during a blizzard.

WBZ-TV reports that leading up to O'Keefe's death, the couple of two years spent Friday night drinking while visiting two bars. They then drove to a home on Fairview Road for an after-party at around 12:45 a.m.

Read reportedly said she was too unwell to attend the party, so she dropped off her boyfriend. He exited the vehicle and prosecutors allege that when she made a three-point turn, she struck O'Keefe with her SUV and drove off.

Investigators found a damaged rear taillight on Read's SUV.

Read's defense attorney, David Yannetti, explained that his client attempted to contact O'Keefe at around 4:30 a.m. after he failed to come home.

According to prosecutors, Read had a friend drive her back to the home and they met with the woman who lived there.

They said Read allegedly wondered out loud, "Could I have hit him? Did I hit him?"

The prosecution also alleges she told one of the women, "I wonder if he's dead. It's snowing. He got hit by a plow."

The women found O'Keefe where he had been dropped off and administered CPR as they called 911 around 6:00 a.m.

The Globe reported that when O'Keefe was found, his eyes were bruised and swollen. He was bleeding from the nose and mouth and was unconscious. Additionally, a broken cocktail glass was discovered near his body.

The officer was rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was found to have suffered from multiple skull fractures and hypothermia.

"I am disappointed in the rush to judgment against my client," Yannetti told reporters. "I think there was a lot of political pressure on this district attorney's office to bring charges in light of the fact a police officer was the victim here, but I will tell you this is a defensible case."

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He continued, "I will tell you that my client has no criminal intent. She loved this man. She is devastated at what happened and she is innocent and that will come out at trial."

Outside the courthouse, Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Gregory Long said, "It's not easy. Obviously, you lose anybody, any member, especially under circumstances like this, it's tough."

He added, "We'll summon John's spirit, pick ourselves back up again and we'll continue to do the job that John loved so much. John was a tremendous human being."

Read is due back in court March 1.