At least three jurors and the lead investigator in the murder trial of Karen Read have come forward to comment about the case since a jury returned a not guilty verdict earlier this week.
Read, 45, was charged with second-degree murder by authorities who said she intentionally hit Boston police officer John O’Keefe with her car after dropping him off outside a party following a night of drinking in the suburbs. The high-profile case culminated in a not guilty verdict on murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene charges Wednesday. The jury found Read guilty of operating a vehicle while under the influence.
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Karen Read leaves the courthouse after she was found not guilty of second-degree murder on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
Karen Read suppporters react after she was found not guilty of second-degree murder on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
Peggy O'Keefe, mother of John O'Keefe, watches as the jury enters the courtroom to resume deliberations during Karen Read's murder trial in the Norfolk Superior Court, in Dedham, Mass., Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Karen Read embraces a supporter as she leaves the courthouse at the start of the third day of jury deliberations in her trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
Read weeps as the final verdict of not guilty of second-degree murder is read in Norfolk Superior Court, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
The trial has centered in part on lead investigator Michael Proctor, who defense attorneys described as biased against Read from the beginning. The Massachusetts State Police trial board found Proctor guilty of sending crude and defamatory text messages about Read while leading the investigation into her. He was fired and has drawn ire from Read supporters who believe he played a key role in a cover-up to frame her.
Proctor told NBC's “Dateline” that the idea he is corrupt and framed Read is a “ridiculous” accusation. He specifically said an accusation that he cracked Read's taillight to make it look like she backed into O'Keefe is “absolutely not" true.
“I laugh because it's such a ridiculous accusation,” Proctor told the program. “There's not one piece of evidence or fact to support that because it did not happen.”
The judge in the case announced via court papers Wednesday that the jurors' names would be sealed from public view due to safety concerns. But one of the jurors, who identified himself only as “Jason” in an interview with TMZ, said he did not believe Read collided with O'Keefe. He also said he did not think investigators planted taillight pieces at the scene to frame Read.
“I don't really know if there was a cover-up or not. I know that's the big conspiracy about it but I don't really know. All I know is there was a lot of holes in their investigation,” the juror said.
Another juror, Paula Prado, told local news stations her mind changed about the case over the course of the last three weeks. At first, she thought Read was guilty of manslaughter, but her opinion changed as the case progressed.
“As the weeks passed by, I just realized there was too many holes that we couldn't fill. And there's nothing that put her on the scene in our opinion, besides just dropping John O'Keefe off,” Prado told media.
A third juror, Janet Jimenez, told WCVB-TV that she changed her mind about Read's guilt during deliberations. Jimenez told WCVB she felt there were holes in the investigation, and ultimately she decided Read was not guilty.
“I was hoping that my fellow jurors could help me go through all of this, so I went in with a very open mind but definitely leaning toward that she was guilty,” she said.
Massachusetts State Police said in a statement that it extends its “sincerest condolences to the loved ones of Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe.” The statement said the events of the last three years have “challenged” the department to review its actions and improve accountability and oversight.
“Under my direction as colonel, the state police has, and will continue to, improve in these regards. Our focus remains on delivering excellent police services that reflect the value of professionalism and maintain public trust,” Colonel Geoffrey Noble said in the statement.
The jurors, state police and Proctor are not the first to speak out about the verdict. Upon leaving court, Read told a crowd of reporters and onlookers: “No one has fought harder for justice for John O'Keefe than I have.”
Her father, Bill Read, said on Wednesday that he was “thankful that it's over.” He added: “We always knew Karen was innocent. I’m glad she is free of this mess. Just a weight off our shoulders. The power of the state is immense, and we were able to fight it."
Some of the key witnesses in the trial also released a joint statement Wednesday in which they called the not guilty ruling a “devastating miscarriage of justice.”
The joint statement was issued by several people including Brian Albert, who owned the home where the party took place, and Jennifer McCabe, Albert's sister-in-law, who was with Read and O'Keefe on the night of O'Keefe's death.
Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey said only: “The jury has spoken.”
Karen Read leaves the courthouse after she was found not guilty of second-degree murder on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
Karen Read suppporters react after she was found not guilty of second-degree murder on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
Peggy O'Keefe, mother of John O'Keefe, watches as the jury enters the courtroom to resume deliberations during Karen Read's murder trial in the Norfolk Superior Court, in Dedham, Mass., Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
Karen Read embraces a supporter as she leaves the courthouse at the start of the third day of jury deliberations in her trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)
Read weeps as the final verdict of not guilty of second-degree murder is read in Norfolk Superior Court, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States said Sunday it rescued a service member missing behind enemy lines since Iran downed a fighter jet, as President Donald Trump escalated pressure on Tehran with renewed threats to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump wrote in a social media post that the aviator is injured but “will be just fine,” adding that the rescue involved “dozens of aircraft” and that the U.S. had been monitoring his location in the lead-up to his rescue.
“This brave Warrior was behind enemy lines in the treacherous mountains of Iran, being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour,” Trump wrote.
The airman's extraction followed a frantic U.S. search-and-rescue operation after the Friday crash of the F-15E Strike Eagle, as Iran also promised a reward for anyone who turned in an “enemy pilot.”
A second crew member was rescued earlier.
The fighter jet was the first U.S. aircraft to have crashed in Iranian territory since the war, now in its sixth week, erupted.
Trump said last week that the U.S. had “decimated” Iran and would finish the war “very fast.” Two days later, Iran shot down two U.S. military planes, showing the ongoing perils of the bombing campaign and the ability of a degraded Iranian military to continue to hit back.
The other jet to go down was a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft. Neither the status of the crew nor exactly where it crashed was immediately known.
On Sunday, Iran’s state TV aired a video showing thick black smoke rising into the air, claiming that they had shot down an American transport plane and two helicopters that were part of the rescue operation. However, a regional intelligence official briefed on the mission told The Associated Press that the U.S. military blew up two transport planes due to a technical malfunction, forcing it to bring in additional aircraft to complete the rescue.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the covert mission.
In Kuwait, an Iranian drone attack caused significant damage to two power plants and put a water desalination station out of service, according to the Ministry of Electricity. No injuries were reported from the attack, the ministry said.
In Bahrain, the national oil company said that a drone attack caused a fire at one of its storage facilities, which was extinguished. It said the damage was still being assessed and no injuries had been reported.
In the United Arab Emirates, authorities responded to multiple fires at the Borouge petrochemicals plant, a joint venture of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Borealis of Austria. They say the fires were caused by falling debris following successful interceptions by air defense systems, but production at the plant in Ruwais, near the UAE’s western border with Saudi Arabia, has halted.
The strike came a day after Israel struck a petrochemical plant in Iran that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said generated revenue that it had used to fund the war.
The war began with joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Feb. 28 and has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices. Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets, bringing warnings of possible war crimes.
Trump renewed his threats for Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz by Monday or face devastating consequences, writing Saturday in a social media post: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out — 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.”
The waterway is a critical chokepoint for global energy shipments, especially oil and gas moving from the Persian Gulf to Europe and Asia. Disruptions there have injected volatility into the market and pushed oil and gas-importing countries to seek alternative sources.
“The doors of hell will be opened to you” if Iran’s infrastructure is attacked, Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi with the country’s joint military command said late Saturday in response to Trump’s renewed threat, state media reported. In turn, the general threatened all infrastructure used by the U.S. military in the region.
But Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, told the AP that his government’s efforts to broker a ceasefire are “right on track” after Islamabad last week said that it would soon host talks between the U.S. and Iran.
Mediators from Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt were working to bring the U.S. and Iran to the negotiating table, according to two regional officials.
The proposed compromise includes a cessation of hostilities to allow a diplomatic settlement, according to a regional official involved in the efforts and a Gulf diplomat briefed on the matter. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, issued a veiled threat late Friday to disrupt traffic through a second strategic waterway in the region, the Bab el-Mandeb.
The strait, 32 kilometers (20 miles) wide, links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. More than a tenth of seaborne global oil and a quarter of container ships pass through it.
“Which countries and companies account for the highest transit volumes through the strait?” Qalibaf wrote.
More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began.
In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed. In Lebanon, more than 1,400 people have been killed and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Ten Israeli soldiers have died there.
This report has been corrected to show that Borealis is an Austrian company and not Australian.
Metz reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
Members of Lebanon's General Security stand at the Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa valley, eastern Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A man, who fled Israeli bombings in southern Lebanon with his family, sleeps in his car used as shelter, along a seaside promenade in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Followers of Iraq's Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr chant slogans as they wave national Iraqi flag during a protest against U.S. and Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
A bedroom is damaged in a building struck in an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Pedetrians walk by a destroyed building within the Grand Hosseiniyeh, with the mosque visible in the background, which officials at the site say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday, in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Police officers and their horses take cover in an underground parking garage as sirens warn of an incoming missile fired from Yemen in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)
A man looks at a destroyed building within the Grand Hosseiniyeh complex that officials say was hit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes Tuesday in Zanjan, Iran, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
