Days after a Boston Police officer was found dead outside a Canton home, a woman that a source says is his girlfriend has been charged with manslaughter and motor vehicle homicide.
Massachusetts State Police have arrested a woman in connection with the death of a Boston Police officer whose body was found over the weekend in Canton.
Karen Read, a 41-year-old Mansfield woman, was arrested Tuesday night on a manslaughter warrant in the death of John O'Keefe, the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office said.
A source with direct knowledge of the investigation tells NBC10 Boston that Read is O'Keefe's girlfriend.
O'Keefe was found early Saturday morning outside a home on Fairview Road during blizzard-like conditions, the district attorney's office said Sunday. He appeared to have been in the cold for some period of time before his body was discovered. He was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Read is believed to have driven to the area with O'Keefe shortly after midnight, according to Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey. Charges against her include manslaughter, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle collision causing death and motor vehicle homicide.
Read is expected to be arraigned Wednesday morning in Stoughton District Court, Morrissey said in a statement. It was not immediately clear if she had an attorney who could answer to the charges.
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An autopsy was conducted Monday. The results of that autopsy were not immediately released, and authorities did not reveal any further details Tuesday about the cause or nature of O'Keefe's death.
"Additional narrative information may be put into the record during arraignment tomorrow," Morrissey said in a statement Tuesday. "Tonight our thoughts are very much with those whom John left behind."
O'Keefe knew the people who lived inside the house where he was found, prosecutors said. Property records show the home on Fairview Road is owned by someone who has the exact same name and middle initial as a veteran Boston police sergeant, though the Boston Police Department would not confirm that. The circumstances of O'Keefe's death are under investigation.
The Boston Police Department released a statement Sunday, saying it is with "deep regret" that they announced the death of O'Keefe, an active-duty officer.
"John was a kind person, dedicated to his family, and will be greatly missed by his coworkers and anyone who had the privilege of meeting him. Today, the Massachusetts State Police and the Norfolk County District Attorney‘s Office arrested the person responsible for John’s death," the Boston Police Department said in a statement Tuesday night. "At this time, we are stunned and saddened and offer whatever support we can to John’s family. Boston Police Peer Support will be available to assist department members in need of emotional support."
A Boston Police Department spokesperson told NBC10 Boston that no internal affairs cases have been opened and no one has been placed on administrative leave
Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz commented on O'Keefe's death on Twitter, saying, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the deceased officer, his family and the entire Boston Police Department."
Berkowitz also directed all inquiries to the district attorney's office.
On Saturday, Boston and other parts of the state were in the thick of a blizzard, with winds gusting to more than 80 mph in some parts of Massachusetts and snow piling up across the Bay State.
