Karen Read attends her trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool)

DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — Closing arguments are set to begin Friday in the second murder trial of Karen Read, who is charged with killing her Boston police officer boyfriend in a case that has generated more than three years of heated debate.

Read, 45, is accused of striking John O’Keefe with her car outside a suburban Boston house party and leaving him to die in the snow in January 2022. She has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene.

Read's lawyers say O’Keefe, 46, was beaten, bitten by a dog, then left outside a home in Canton in a conspiracy orchestrated by the police that included planting evidence against Read.

Read's second trial followed similar contours to the first, which ended in a mistrial last year.

Judge Beverly Cannone, who also oversaw the first trial, said the case will likely go to the jury shortly after closing arguments. Cannone said she wants the jury to get in several hours of deliberations Friday if possible.

Read has never been jailed for O'Keefe's killing.

Lawyers and judge debate charging instructions

Both sides met Thursday to argue the nature of the jury instructions in the case. The charge conference was held outside the presence of the jury, but in open court.

The defense attorneys requested a required finding of not guilty on Thursday. Cannone denied the request.

Read did not testify at second trial

Read did not testify at her first murder trial or this one.

Read told reporters Tuesday that the defense has called its final witness and that the jury has already heard from her in the form of interview clips. The jury is likely to get the case later Friday, following closing arguments.

“They've heard my voice,” Read told reporters outside court. “They've heard a lot of me.”

Read supporters continue to gather outside court

Several dozen demonstrators, who were mostly quiet, gathered on Thursday, and a few carried American flags and signs calling for Karen Read to be freed.

Paul Lynch, a retired heavy equipment operator from Woburn who was out supporting Karen Read, said he was “very confident” that the jury would return a not guilty verdict.

Lynch cited expert witnesses who testified they did not think Read's SUV hit O'Keefe. Prosecutors and their witnesses have made the case that the evidence at the scene shows she did.

“There was no impact. It’s been proven,” he said. “I think you are going to have a quick return tomorrow with the jury with a not guilty verdict.”

Lynch couldn’t fathom how the jury would find her guilty on any charges.

“They might be able to pull a rabbit out of their hat, I don’t know,” he added. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

News from © The Associated Press, 2025