Glamorous Karen Read, on trial for murdering Boston cop, winks at cameras as she strolls into court past adoring fans: 'This chick thinks she's Miss America'

Accused murderer Karen Read sparked backlash after winking at cameras outside court, where she is standing trial for allegedly running over her Boston cop boyfriend in a drunken fit of rage. 

Read, 44, has come under scrutiny for a perceived flippant attitude during the ongoing trial, including snacking in court and flashing smiles at her supporters. 

She is accused of killing her cop boyfriend John O'Keefe in January 2022, who was found dead outside a police officer friend's home hours after Read dropped him off for an afterparty in January 2022. 

Prosecutors contend that Read struck O'Keefe with her car, while her attorneys argue that she was framed by party attendees and members of the Boston Police Department after he was killed inside the home. 

As her trial began this week, Read received a slew of support from true crime fans and locals who have been camped outside the courthouse with signs reading 'Free Karen Read.' 

Many have taken to wearing pink as a show of support for Read, leading a judge to issue an order barring any clothing or accessories that could be perceived as encouraging, and banning them from coming within 200 feet of the courthouse. 

On the second day of Read's trial on Wednesday, she was seen being flanked by a number of lawyers, cameras and supporters, who cheered her name as she smiled and waved. 

At one stage, Read smiled at a camera as she flashed a large wink, sparking backlash online among some of her detractors. 

'Happiest murder defendant in history!' said one on Twitter. 'The Chick thinks she is Miss America.'

Another commented: 'It’s a murder trial not a traffic ticket she’s fighting. Bad look for the jury.' 

As of Wednesday, the second day of the trial, the court has continued jury selection, with around 80 percent of potential jurors dismissed amid fervent online attention around the case. 

Read, a financial analyst and college professor, is facing charges of second-degree murder, as prosecutors say she drunkenly drove over O'Keefe on January 29, 2022. 

She had spent the evening drinking with O'Keefe and a group of friends at the Waterfall Bar and Grill in Canton, around 14 miles south of Boston, and were invited to his friend Brian Albert's home for an afterparty. 

Read, who prosecutors say drank several alcoholic drinks beforehand, decided to drop O'Keefe at the afterparty before she went to O'Keefe's home - that he shared with his orphaned niece and nephew - to sleep at around 1am. 

Court documents revealed that the couple had been bitterly arguing for weeks beforehand, and on the night O'Keefe died, Read left him a voicemail calling him a 'f****** loser', and 'John, I f****** hate you.' 

The couple had been dating for two years at the time of O'Keefe's death. He had been serving on the Boston Police Department for 16 years. 

As the party went on inside Albert's home, who was a retired Boston police officer, Read said she woke up around 4am to find that he was not at home, and told O'Keefe's niece that she was 'distraught.' 

Attendees at the party, including some law enforcement, claimed O'Keefe never arrived at the party or entered the home. 

Read then searched for O'Keefe with a friend, and prosecutors allege that during the search she speculated: 'What if he's dead? What if a plow hit him?… I don't remember anything from last night, we drank so much I don't remember anything.' 

At 6am, Read found O'Keefe laying in the snow outside Albert's home, and a first responder on the scene reportedly claimed Read repeatedly cried out, 'I hit him, I hit him', reports CBS News. 

O'Keefe was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy found that the cause of death was blunt impact injuries and hypothermia. 

However, Read's defense team claim that this was 'false and deceptive testimony' that the grand jury heard that indicted Read for murder. 

Read had also allegedly told her friends during the search that she cracked her tail light, and pieces of a broken cocktail glass and a tail light were found around O'Keefe's body, prosecutors say. 

As the college professor argues she was framed by police officers at the party, prior to jury selection on the first day of trial, the judge ruled that she would not stop her legal team from mounting a 'third party culprit defense.' 

The tactic is used by attorneys to argue that someone other than the defendant committed the crime in question. 

The judge said: 'I'm going to give you a chance to develop it through relevant, competent, admissible evidence... but you cannot open with it.' 

Read has also compiled a blockbuster legal team for her defense, including attorney Alan Jackson, famed for representing actor Kevin Spacey when he was cleared of sexual assault charges in 2019. 

Her claims of innocence also coincide with an FBI probe into the investigation of the death, seeking to see if there is any merit to her claims that she was framed. 

Read's defense attorneys argue that O'Keefe was involved in a fight inside Albert's home, and presented evidence that they claimed showed he had been in an altercation, including wounds on his arms they say came from Albert's dog.

Albert has not been charged with any crime. 

In presenting images of the cop's arms, Jackson insisted to the judge that the claims of framing were 'not just fishing.'

'We've got a fish on the hook, we just need the court to help us reel it in,' he said.  

'Certainly the Massachusetts State Police is involved. There are people that were in that house that are involved,' Jackson claimed at a pre-trial hearing. 

'Brian Albert is involved. Jennifer McCabe is involved. The rest of the folks that were in that house, there's some level of involvement by every one of them. 

'Every single one of them. We're not going to rest until we get to the bottom of exactly who's behind this coverup. Not only Karen Read deserves this. John O'Keefe deserves this, and has deserved this from moment one. And that's why they're not going to rest.' 

Read also spoke to reporters on the steps of the courthouse at a pre-trial hearing in May 2023, where she claimed that she and her attorneys 'know who did it.' 

'We know. And we know who spearheaded this coverup. You all know,' she said. 'I tried to save his life. I tried to save his life at 6 in the morning, I was covered in his blood. I was the only one trying to save his life.' 

Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally countered that there is 'no evidence that Mr. O'Keefe was beaten and left for dead.'