Karen Read tries to get her cell phones back 8 months after murder acquittal

Flint McColgan, Boston Herald on Feb 19, 2026

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Karen Read is continuing to seek a return of her cell phones eight months after she was acquitted of the murder of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.

Read, of Mansfield, was tried twice for the murder of O’Keefe, who she was dating at the time of his death in January 2022. Her first trial in 2024 ended in mistrial when the jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict on all charges. A second trial a year later ended with her acquittal on June 18, 2025, on all charges other than drunken driving.

Since then, authorities returned her 2021 Lexus LX 570 SUV, which was the alleged murder weapon, but have never returned her cell phones.

On Thursday, Read and her attorney Ben Urbelis were back in Norfolk Superior Court to argue that her cellphones, which were seized while she was under murder indictment in January 2024, be returned now.

“I think it’s important to recognize that this case is done,” Urbelis told Judge Michael Doolin.

Urbelis further stated that the phones were taken only on a seizure warrant, not a search warrant, He said prosecutors sought a search warrant for the phones 19 months after the fact, after Read had already been acquitted.

That search warrant was for a separate case in which prosecutors were investigating Read-supporting blogger Aidan Kearney, who writes and does a YouTube show under the “Turtleboy” brand, for witness intimidation during the Read trials.

Judge Peter Krupp denied that warrant request late last month.

Special prosecutor Robert Cosgrove said that he intends to discuss “various options” with the Norfolk DA’s office about what to do about the phones. He says they want to hold on to the phones as they appeal.

“We have 30 days to file a notice of appeal of the judge’s decision and it seems reasonable that we have the option to exercise that right before any decisions are made,” Cosgrove said.

Doolin did not make a decision Thursday.

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