Canton’s Invoice Burr reacts to Karen Learn verdict

Crime

The comedian offered a somewhat diplomatic take on the sensational murder case that rocked his hometown. 

By Abby Patkin

June 20, 2025 | 3:58 PM

1 minute to read

Comedian and Canton native Bill Burr had something of a diplomatic response to Karen Read’s “not guilty” verdict, telling fans he “thought everyone was lying” in the sensational murder case that rocked his hometown. 

“Wowwwww,” Burr said as a fan informed him Read had been acquitted on murder and manslaughter charges in the January 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe. The brief encounter was captured in a TikTok video. 

“That’s amazing,” Burr said as he signed autographs following a performance of “Glengarry Glen Ross” on Broadway. “So now what, they keep investigating?”

“That would be the greatest troll ever if you’re messing with me,” he also teased. 

“No, no, I wouldn’t do that to you, Bill Burr,” the fan chuckled. 

“I thought everyone was lying,” Burr said of Read’s case. “I don’t know what happened.”

A jury found Read, 45, not guilty Wednesday of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. 

Prosecutors had alleged Read backed her SUV into O’Keefe in a drunken rage while dropping him off at an afterparty in Canton early on Jan. 29, 2022. But after three years, two trials, and several weeks of testimony, Read was only convicted of drunk driving and received a year of probation.

She’s still facing a wrongful death lawsuit from O’Keefe’s family. 

@2012kiasoulowner From Canton to Broadway #karenread #billburr #boston ♬ NO AUDIO – Sok Baraby

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between. She has been covering the Karen Read murder case.