DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) – As happy as Karen Read supporters may be after Wednesday’s verdict, for some, there was a sense of sadness.
“This circus, it’s unacceptable, but you respect the jury’s decision,” said John Jackson, a friend of John O’Keefe’s. “The prosecution did an excellent job. Everything the jury needed to convict was in front of that jury and they just didn’t see it that way.”
Jackson wore a hat with his late friend’s badge numbers on it. He told 7NEWS that he was more than a police officer.
“Incredible man, just an incredible man, and this whole process is not something- it’s not something he deserved. It’s just- it’s unfortunate,” said Jackson.
O’Keefe became the legal guardian for his niece and nephew after his sister passed away in 2013 and her husband shortly after.
“It’s the worst possible moment for the [O’Keefe] family, and it’s pretty terrible for a prosecutor to deal with having to console the family afterwards,” said former state and federal prosecutor Evan Gotlob.
Gotlob knows the outcome must be the worst case for the O’Keefe family, who were quickly rushed out of the courthouse as soon as the verdict came down.
Before the verdict, the O’Keefe’s were silent walking into court.
The family has been tight lipped outside of court throughout the retrial.
Unlike the first trial, O’Keefe’s mother Peggy took the stand this time around. It was the first time we’d heard her speak about the death of her son.
A joint statement from the Albert, Robert, and McCabe families said in part, “Today, our hearts are with John and the entire O’Keefe family. They have suffered through so much and deserved better from our justice system. While we may have more to say in the future, today we mourn with John’s family and lament the cruel reality that this prosecution was infected by lies and conspiracy theories spread by Karen Read, her defense team, and some in the media. The result is a devastating miscarriage of justice.”
As for O’Keefe’s family and friends, their hearts are heavy.
Gotlob says they don’t have a sense of justice.
“Because the jury just told them ‘Ms. Read didn’t kill your son, we don’t believe any of the evidence that Mrs. Read killed your son, we don’t believe she had anything to do with it, that’s what we believe the facts are.’ The family doesn’t believe that. That’s not what the family thinks, the family obviously thinks the complete opposite, as do the prosecutors who are prosecuting the case. There’s really no way to deal with it. They’ve been reliving this for the past, almost three years going through John’s death, and now it was just like a gut punch that she’s not responsible for it, she’s not gonna be held responsible for it,” said Gotlob.
The O’Keefe family has filed a civil lawsuit against Karen Read.
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