A Boston police officer at the center of the Karen Read murder trial has abruptly resigned after being accused of lying on the stand with a bizarre ‘false memory’ defense. The shocking twist fuels outrage, sparks questions about corruption, and leaves the justice system under fire.
Boston, MA — A new scandal has erupted from the already high-profile Karen Read murder trial, after Boston police officer Kelly Dever officially resigned just months after being accused of lying under oath in one of the most controversial courtroom dramas in recent history.
Dever, who once testified that she had seen federal agent Brian Higgins and former Canton Police Chief Kenneth Berkowitz near the SUV allegedly involved in John O’Keefe’s death, later backtracked in court, calling her earlier statement a “distorted memory.” She stunned the courtroom by declaring that to repeat her prior claim would be “a lie.”
Her shocking reversal quickly fueled allegations of perjury. Defense attorney Alan Jackson, who represented Karen Read, pushed for Dever to be placed on the Brady List — a registry of law enforcement officers with credibility issues that can undermine prosecutions.
🚨 The Resignation
According to city officials, Dever had been on family medical leave since early summer. Her resignation officially took effect on September 1, 2025, just months after her bombshell testimony rattled the courtroom. Neither Dever nor the Boston Police Department have clarified whether the decision was tied to the explosive perjury accusations.
⚖️ The Karen Read Case
The trial itself has captured national attention. Prosecutors accused Karen Read, a financial analyst, of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, by striking him with her SUV and leaving him in the snow outside a house party in 2022.
But the defense argued that Read was the victim of a cover-up and that powerful figures within law enforcement had something to hide. After a lengthy and heated trial, Read was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges, though she was convicted of a misdemeanor DUI and sentenced to probation.
🔥 Fallout and Public Outrage
The revelation of Dever’s “false memory” testimony — and her sudden exit from the force — has only intensified public skepticism about the integrity of the investigation. Critics argue that her reversal suggests deliberate deception to protect certain figures, while others suggest Dever herself may have been pressured or manipulated during the chaotic case.
Now, with her credibility shattered and her career in tatters, Dever’s resignation marks another shocking twist in a case that has already been described as one of the biggest scandals in Massachusetts’ legal history.
The fallout is far from over: questions remain about how many cases Dever was involved in, whether her testimony compromised other convictions, and what this means for trust in Boston’s justice system.
As the dust settles, one thing is clear — the Karen Read saga continues to cast a long and damning shadow over both law enforcement and the courts.
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