'Conspiracy theories are not evidence': DA condemns harassment of witnesses in Karen Read murder case
CANTON - Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey has released a statement on what he calls the "absolutely baseless" harassment of witnesses in the Karen Read murder case.
Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police officer John O'Keefe in 2022. Read has pleaded not guilty and claims the charges are part of a cover-up by local and state police.
Late Friday afternoon, Morrissey issued a video statement saying witnesses in the case are being harassed, and false narratives are being spread, but he didn't say who was doing it.
WATCH: DA Michael Morrissey's statement on Karen Read case
"Conspiracy theories are not evidence," Morrissey said. "The idea that multiple police departments, EMTs, Fire personnel, the medical examiner, and the prosecuting agency are joined in, or taken-in by, a vast conspiracy should be seen for what it is - completely contrary to the evidence and a desperate attempt to re-assign guilt."
Prosecutors say Read hit O'Keefe with her SUV while dropping him off at the Canton home of another officer after a night out in January 2022. His body was found hours later in the snow.
Defense attorneys have argued that O'Keefe was actually beaten inside the home and his body was later dumped outside.
Outside Dedham District Court in May, Read denied killing O'Keefe. "We know who did it. We know. And we know who spearheaded this coverup. You all know," Read said.
"There was no fight inside that home," Morrissey said in his statement. "John O'Keefe did not enter the home."
Morrissey said his statement was the first of its kind in his dozen years as Norfolk District Attorney.
"What is happening to the witnesses - some with no actual involvement in the case - is wrong," Morrissey said. "It is contrary to the American values of fairness, and the Constitutional value of a fair trial. It needs to stop now."
Read is due back in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham for a status hearing September 15.
