Live court video, updates: Day 18 of witness testimony in Karen Read's retrial
Monday marks the start of the fifth week and Day 18 of witness testimony in Karen Read's murder retrial after the judge presiding over the case issued an important ruling.
WATCH LIVE: Streaming coverage of Read's second trial starts at 9 a.m.
Read, 45, of Mansfield, is accused of striking John O'Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, with her SUV and leaving him to die alone in a blizzard outside of a house party in Canton at the home of fellow officer Brian Albert following a night of drinking.
A new witness is expected on the stand when testimony resumes.
On Friday, right after Judge Beverly Cannone sent the jury home for the weekend, she announced in Dedham's Norfolk Superior Court that she would not penalize the prosecution for entering new evidence.
One of Read's lawyers called it an 'ambush.'
A prosecution expert shifted the timing of a 'trigger' event that was recorded by Read's Lexus. That data is expected to be compared to the last movement of O'Keefe's phone.
The defense has called it a Rule 14 violation and said there is no remedy for it.
'We will not ever be able to recover strategically or substantively from it, given all that's been presented to the jury,' defense attorney Robert Alessi said.
The prosecution says there is no time change, and the defense's expert made an improper conclusion.
'The government is not changing its timeline. The Commonwealth is not changing any information. The Commonwealth is not offering anything that affects in any way the testimony of witnesses,' Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan argued. 'Because their expert made an improper conclusion. It's not our fault.'
Also on Friday, Andre Porto, a forensic scientist who works in the DNA unit of the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab, detailed various items he tested, including the broken rear taillight on Read's SUV.
Porto found three DNA contributors, but only O'Keefe was found to be a likely match. He also tested DNA from parts of a broken cocktail glass found in the yard, and only O'Keefe was seen as a likely match. Porto also tested a hair found on the taillight. No human DNA was found on a hair recovered from the right rear panel of the SUV.
Porto also took DNA samples from stains on O'Keefe's jeans, sweatshirt, and T-shirt. He found DNA from several sources, but the only likely match was O'Keefe.
Under cross-examination by defense attorney David Yannetti, Porto acknowledged that he didn't know the source of the other DNA found on O'Keefe's clothing and other items.
Porto also acknowledged that he was never was asked to test for the DNA on the taillight of Kevin Albert, who is a Canton police officer, or a former Canton police chief. He also said he was not asked to test the broken cocktail glass for the DNA from Brian Albert, a former Boston police officer who owned the house where O'Keefe was found nor Brian Higgins, an ATF agent who attended a party at Albert's house that night.
Prosecutors allege Read intentionally backed into O'Keefe after she dropped him off at a house party and returned hours later to find him dead. The defense has claimed that she was a victim of a vast police conspiracy and that O'Keefe was fatally beaten by another law enforcement officer at the party.
A mistrial was declared last year after jurors said they were at an impasse and deliberating further would be futile.
Read has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence, and leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.
Get caught up with all of the latest in Karen Read's retrial.
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