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By Monica Sager
Live News Reporter
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Some Boston Red Sox fans showed their support for another local "team" this weekend at Fenway Park, with "Free Karen Read" tank tops and even a poster right behind home plate.
Karen Read is on trial in Massachusetts for allegedly killing her police officer boyfriend. Read has been on trial for two months for allegedly murdering John O'Keefe on Jan. 29, 2022 with her car after he was found dead in a fellow police officer's driveway after a night out drinking. Read, 44, is charged with murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
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Supporters have stood outside of the courthouse in Dedham, Mass. since the jury went into deliberations on Tuesday last week.
Holly McNamara posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, that the ballpark typically does not allow "political" messages. She had made a pink "Free Karen Read" tank top to dawn with her pink B-logoed cap for the Red Sox
"The main security girl was really awesome and loved the shirt and I gave her a hug," McNamara said in response to her comments. "She liked the positive messaging."
Newsweek reached out to McNamara but did not hear back immediately.
Earlier, in May, another supporter, sitting right behind home plate, held a "Free Karen Read" sign. It was clearly seen on television.
According to the Fenway Park security page on MLB.com, signs may be admitted but cannot have a commercial or political message. They also are not allowed to "interfere with other fans' enjoyment of the game."
The Karen Read supporters
Supporters of Read gathered near the courthouse in Dedham, Mass. for multiple days with flags, posters, T-shirts and even umbrellas that voiced their support for Read.
Some held signs reading "Free Karen Read" along highways over the past few months. Read was seen interacting Thursday with supporters as well.
Paul O'Keefe, John's brother, said his family has felt 'harassed' by Read supporters while waiting for Read's verdict since Tuesday.
The O'Keefe family gathered at a location in Dedham, near the courthouse, when 25 to 30 people showed up wearing pink, similar to Read's supporters, and took pictures of the family.
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The O'Keefe family has been seen among the other spectators, stoically waiting for the jury as deliberations continue into the fourth day after 18 hours of trying to determine Read's fate.
The family has not publicly spoken since the start of the trial.
A small group of non-supporters stormed through the cheers calling for a guilty verdict. Their signs read "Karen Read killed a man," "This is about Officer John O'Keefe, not you" as well as "Karen Read is guilty."
What happened to John O'Keefe?
Read and O'Keefe along with a group of friends went to the Water Bar and Grill in Canton on Jan. 28, 2022. After a night of drinking, according to prosecutors, Read drove O'Keefe to Boston police officer Brian Albert's home.
The couple, who began dating in 2019, had a strained relationship, according to court documents. There were cheating allegations on both sides, as shown through text messages and voicemails.
"Things haven't been great between us for awhile," O'Keefe wrote at one point.
A forensic toxicologist estimated that Read's blood alcohol content would have been around 0.13 to 0.29 when she was driving O'Keefe around 12:45 a.m.
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Around 1 a.m. on Jan. 29, Read allegedly left O'Keefe a voicemail that called him an "f---ing loser." Read allegedly told O'Keefe "John, I f---ing hate you."
Brian Loughran was driving his plow down Fairview Road on Jan. 29 and said he could see "the entire front lawn" around 2:45 a.m.
"I saw nothing," Loughran said, adding he did not see a body when asked by Read's lawyer David Yannetti.
Loughran said the only vehicle he saw on the street was a Ford Edge.
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A few hours later at 4:23 a.m., O'Keefe's niece called Albert's sister-in-law, Jennifer McCabe, telling him Read was "distraught" because O'Keefe did not come home and wasn't answering his cellphone.
State Police Dt. Lt. Brian Tully told the court that between 12:33 a.m. to 6:03 a.m. Read made 53 calls to O'Keefe.
Around 5 a.m., Read called another woman whose husband was friends with O'Keefe.
"What if he's dead? What if a plow hit him?" Read allegedly said, according to the prosecution. "I don't remember anything from last night, we drank so much I don't remember anything."
Read and two women went looking for O'Keefe shortly after 5 a.m.
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Around 6 a.m., Read saw O'Keefe lying in the snow outside of Albert's home. An emergency responder said Read was hysterical and inconsolable and kept repeating "I hit him."
According to McCabe, Read "stated that she hit him" when a paramedic asked what happened.
A surveillance camera at O'Keefe's house shows Read's SUV coming "extremely close" to O'Keefe's SUV in the driveway. Prosecutors said no taillight pieces were found at O'Keefe's house.
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