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NBC's Dateline episode about the Karen Read murder trial airs

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NBC's Dateline episode about the Karen Read murder trial airs

An episode of NBC's “Dateline” about developments in the Karen Read case is scheduled to air Friday, more than a year after the network released a clip of the exclusive interview.

The two-hour special focuses on the Mansfield woman charged with second-degree murder in the death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe. Read's trial attracted worldwide attention, but none as intense as the local supporters and critics who sometimes clashed outside the Norfolk Superior courthouse.

Judge Beverly Cannone declared the trial invalid because the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict after the two-month trial. Read's new trial is scheduled for January 27, 2025 and involves all original charges.

Her lawyers appealed to the state's highest court and dropped the charges that the jury unanimously found Read not guilty of: second-degree murder and leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death.

NBC's TODAY show initially aired a portion of the interview in July 2023 and then dubbed it “Taillight Murder.” Police allege that Read backed her car over O'Keefe after a night of drinking, but the defense team says the police blamed Read.

The Dateline preview released on October 15th is now titled “The Night of the Northeast.”

The Dateline preview appears to contain the same interview as the July 2023 clip. It was not immediately clear whether the episode would include a post-trial interview with Read.

The episode also features Read's attorney Alan Jackson, who gave Dateline a glimpse into defense strategy meetings, as well as Beth, an extended O'Keefe family member whose name is not being released by NBC, and NBC10 Boston commentator Sue O “Connell. Reporting was by Andrea Canning and Dennis Murphy.

“It kind of got lost that we were there because Johnny was killed,” Beth said in the preview, referring to the spectacle the trial became.

In the clip of Read's interview, posted by Boston's NBC affiliate, Murphy asks Read what she said when first responders arrived at the scene where O'Keefe was found, outside the home of his Boston police colleague Brian Albert, where Read O had dropped “Keefe left hours early.”

“I said, 'Could I have hit him?' Did I hit him?” Read Recalls.

“How could that be?” Murphy replied. “I mean, you dropped him off at the house.”

“I don’t know what it could have been,” Read said. “It was howling wind, I was listening to U2 on the stereo and thought, 'Was he trying to stop me somehow?' which was my reaction,” hoping to collect myself as I slowly walked away from the house. Did he come out and maybe trip, or did he bend down to pick up his phone and I ran into his foot and then he passed out drunk? I don’t think I hit him, but could I have hit him?”

What channel is Dateline on and what time?

The episode airs Friday at 9 p.m. on NBC.

How to stream new Dateline episodes

New and old episodes of Dateline are available to stream on Peacock, NBC's streaming platform. Plans for Peacock start at $7.99 per month.

What to know about Netflix and ABC's 20/20 shows on Katen Read

Netflix is ​​also working on a three-part documentary about O'Keefe's death, the company announced in July. ABC's 20/20 aired an hour-long segment in September interviewing Read as she prepared for her trial.

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

Hannah Morse covers growth and development for The Patriot Ledger. Contact her at [email protected].

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