Who is Karen Read, the glamorous girlfriend dubbed America's 'happiest murder ... trends now

Karen Read, dubbed America's 'happiest murder defendant,' has found herself at the center of a high-profile case after being accused of killing her cop boyfriend in drunken hit-and-run. 

Read, 44, a financial analyst and college professor from Mansfield, is facing charges of second-degree murder, with prosecutors arguing that she drunkenly drove over Boston police officer John O'Keefe in January 29, 2022. 

Amid intense media scrutiny and large demonstrations surrounding her hearings, public opinion on Read's innocence is split - with some calling to 'free her' and others accusing her of being a villainous murderer. 

People who knew her in the past have also shared contradictory statements regarding her character.  

While Read's upbringing was marked by her outgoing personality and academic achievements, according to a report by The Boston Globe, interactions with neighbors in recent years were less amicable, as detailed in police reports.

Read was raised in Blacksburg, Va., and Taunton, Mass and lived on a 'quiet, woodsy cul-de-sac' with her family, where she enjoyed playing piano, and attended Mass regularly, according to her father William Read.

She attended Coyle & Cassidy, a private Catholic school in Taunton, where she reportedly stood out as a high-achieving student. 

After Coyle & Cassidy, Read pursued finance at Bentley University, where she earned both a bachelor's and master's degrees in finance, graduating in 2004.  

Read began working at Fidelity Investments and teaching finance classes as an adjunct professor at Bentley, the same college where her father taught accounting, when she moved back to Boston. 

She served as a faculty member in the Finance Department of Bentley University for over 13 years. 

Read's family and life-long friends are fighting alongside her and believe in her innocence, while the relatives of O'Keefe's think Read is responsible for his death.

Catherine Quarantello, a friend since ninth grade, told The Globe that a close-knit group of Read's friends and family are supporting her. 

The two took Advanced Placement (AP) classes together and were members of the National Honor Society, according to Quarantello.

'We have been by her side since day one and will see it to the finish line for her and John,' Quarantello told The Globe.

'She's the strongest person I know,' she added.

Quarantello told the Globe that Read was always 'outgoing and sociable.'

But Read's journey has also been marked by health battles, including a decade-long struggle with Crohn's disease and later multiple sclerosis, her father, William Read told the Boston Globe. 

Initially diagnosed with Crohn's disease at age 25, Read underwent 10 surgeries in two years, her father said.

Nevertheless, she persevered - ultimately recovering at the Cleveland Clinic, where a surgeon performed 'major reconstructive surgery on her intestines,' he said. 

But at 32-years-old, Read was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.   

Her father and former dean of business at Bentley University expressed unwavering support for his daughter, stating that she will fight the charges with the backing of family and friends.

'She will fight this injustice as long as it takes, and our family and friends will be there every step of the way,' her father, William Read, told the Boston Globe. 

'Karen will never break down and she will never lose her resolve,' he added.

Her father bailed his elder daughter out of jail for $50,000, according to court records obtained by the Globe.  

He now attends each hearing - sitting front and center to support his daughter. To the media, he emphasized his faith in 'God, in the justice system, in his daughter's innocence,' the Globe reported. 

'Karen's road to healthiness was a long ten-year battle, but she ultimately prevailed — as she will from this battle,' he told the Globe. 

In a photo of Read obtained by the Globe, she is displayed in her senior yearbook of 1998, alongside the quote by British writer V.S. Pritchett: 'Youth is the period of assumed personalities and disguises, it is the time of the sincerely insincere.' Her ambition? 'To break on through to the other side.'

Michael Cote, a teacher at the high school said Read stood out to him among his many students. 

He described the time she developed a close relationship with an elderly patient at a nursing home where she volunteered as part of his class, stating, 'She was a remarkable, young, mature woman who showed such compassion and sensitivity.'   

A former Fidelity colleague described Read as generous and humorous, and recalled the time she once salvaged a failed end-of-summer intern party by footing the bill for an event at a restaurant atop the Prudential Center, the Globe reported.

However, more recent interactions with neighbors in Mansfield, where Read relocated from Boston before the pandemic, were reportedly less friendly.

In April 2020, she called the police on her next-door neighbors, alleging excessive noise while she taught an online class- but upon arrival, officers found no disturbance, according to the Boston Globe report.

In November 2020, the neighbors called the police on Read, citing her disruptive behavior while they were vacuuming and mowing the lawn. 

Allegedly, Read approached their residence, shouting threats. 

Read allegedly came to their house, 'yelling and screaming,' according to the report and said, 'Wait and see. You'll be sorry.'

Read had no criminal record prior to the police report. 

Her two-year relationship with John O'Keefe, a Boston police officer, was rekindled from her younger years.

Read was first introduced to John O'Keefe when she was 24 and he was 28, where they become involved in a short-term relationship.

They were separated after Read moved to Dublin, Ireland, for work, her father said. 

During the pandemic, Read reconnected with O'Keefe, who shared his life story, including adopting his deceased relatives' children.