Karen Read's phones will be extracted before she gets them back
Two of Karen Read's cellphones will undergo a "Full File System extraction" before they are returned to Read.
Read asked a judge to demand that her two cellphones – which have been in the custody of the Norfolk County District Attorney's office since 2024 – be returned. Read won the argument, and the judge ordered the phones returned after the Commonwealth finishes any possible appeals in the case.
Either way, Read will get the phones back eventually, which could impact the evidence in the wrongful death lawsuit filed against her by the O'Keefe family. Read was acquitted of the murder of John O'Keefe in the summer of 2025, but now O'Keefe's family is suing her in civil court.
On Wednesday, lawyers for both sides in the civil case filed a joint motion showing that they have agreed to have Read's two phones fully extracted before she gets them back, in case there is any evidence on the phones to be used in the civil case.
As a part of the joint stipulation:
- The phones will first go to the law firm representing Read.
- A mutually agreed upon forensic expert will create a Full File System extraction of the phones before either phone is booted, operated or used by anyone.
- The extraction will include "evidence of factory reset(s) of the phone(s), system activity, secure messaging (e.g., Signal), deleted records and boot events."
- "Absent Court order or agreement of the parties, [the O'Keefes] will not access, view, hold, or otherwise control the extractions/images or their contents. However, they will remain available in their entirety if needed to comply with Ms. Read's discovery obligations or any Court Order(s)."
- The forensic expert can only share the results with Sheehan Phinney, the firm representing Read.
Whether or not the content on the phones is "discoverable" or possible evidence in the case will be decided separately.
The next hearing in this civil suit is still to be determined.
