Jury Finds Karen Read, From HBO Series ‘A Body In The Snow’, Not Guilty

This isn’t the first HBO docuseries to find resolution after the final credits have rolled.

2015’s bombshell series The Jinx famously delivered critical audio evidence amounting to a confession from now convicted murderer, Robert Durst, and this year’s A Body In The Snow: The Trial Of Karen Read reaches its final resolution in Reads retrial acquittal on all accounts except driving under the influence today in a Massachusetts court room.

The series, which debuted in March, documented the mysterious death of Read’s boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, in 2022, for which she was accused of murder and follows the investigation and prosecution up until a mistrial in July of 2024. The retrial, which began in April of this year, ended today with the not-guilty verdict.

Showrunners and lawyers contended with two opposing theories that captured the attention of true crime fans worldwide:

Prosecutors claimed Read back her SUV into O’Keefe, and then drove away, leaving him to die of blunt force trauma and hypothermia in the front lawn of another officer’s home where they were attending a party.

Read’s defense countered with the claim that evidence had been planted in a cover-up attempt to frame her for events that occurred after she had left the party. Their timeline alleges that O’Keefe was beaten inside the home, bitten by a dog and then left outside the Canton home to die. The original investigator on the case was also fired by Massachusetts State Police for offensive and unethical texts related to the case. Read has stated, “no one has fought harder for justice for John O’Keefe than I have — than I have and my team.”

Whether HBO will release a follow-up episode or series covering the second trial is yet to be seen, but the renewed interest and media buzz relating to the case will undoubtedly draw more eyeballs to the platform, and justify continued investment in more timely, investigative, true crime projects.