Judge delays wrongful death lawsuit against Karen Reed until after criminal trial

BOSTON — A judge ruled Thursday that Karen Reed will not have to testify in a wrongful death lawsuit until after her criminal trial ends in January.

Judge William M. White Jr.’s announcement Thursday effectively puts the lawsuit accusing Reed in the death of John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer who was her boyfriend, on hold. The lawsuit also alleges negligence on the part of the bars, which continued to serve her drinks despite signs that she was intoxicated.

Reed has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting retrial on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while driving under the influence and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Her two-month criminal trial ended in July when Judge declared the trial a mistrial after the jury said it was deadlocked. Judge rejected arguments that the jury later said they unanimously agreed that Reed was not guilty of charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident.

Reed appealed the decision to the state’s highest court. Next week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will hear oral arguments in her motion to dismiss the two charges.

Reed’s attorneys filed a motion to delay trial of the lawsuit, citing that a criminal case would adversely affect Reed’s Fifth Amendment rights and her ability to vigorously defend herself against criminal prosecution.

Reed is accused of crashing into O’Keefe with her SUV and leaving him for dead during a January 2022 snowstorm. A second trial is scheduled for January 27.

But an attorney for O’Keefe’s brother, Paul, and other relatives who filed the wrongful death lawsuit oppose any delay. They suggested that relying on the Fifth Amendment ignores the fact that she has spoken publicly about her case to the media several times and will be the subject of at least one upcoming documentary.

After shopping, Reed, a former Bentley College adjunct professor, dropped O’Keefe, a 16-year member of the Boston Police Department, off at the Canton home of another cop. His body was found in the yard of the house. An autopsy determined O’Keefe died from hypothermia and blunt force trauma.

Reed’s lawyers argued that O’Keefe was killed in the house and that those involved decided to frame her because she was a “convenient bystander.”