Forensic pathologist set to resume testimony in Karen Read retrial. Follow live updates.
Dr. Marie Russell set to return to stand — 8:55 a.m.
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//byline By Travis Andersen
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Testimony resumes Tuesday in Karen Read's murder retrial in Norfolk Superior Court, with Dr. Marie Russell expected to conclude her cross-examination from prosecutor Hank Brennan.
Russell, a veteran emergency medicine physician in Los Angeles who also worked previously as a Malden police officer, testified Tuesday in Norfolk Superior Court that the scratch marks on the arm of the victim, John O'Keefe, appeared to come from a dog attack, based on the pattern of the wounds.
She told Brennan on cross-examination that she had never testified as a dog bite expert before, and she acknowledged initially testifying last year that the wounds were consistent with an 'animal' attack, rather than a dog specifically.
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'I do remember that,' Russell told Brennan. 'I was certain it was a dog attack. ... My degree of certainty perhaps increased.'
Read, 45, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other counts for allegedly backing her SUV in a drunken rage into O'Keefe, a Boston police officer, after dropping him off early on Jan. 29, 2022, outside a home in Canton following a night of bar-hopping. Her lawyers say she was framed and that O'Keefe entered the house, owned at the time by a fellow Boston police officer, where he was fatally beaten and possibly mauled by a German Shepherd before his body was planted on the lawn.
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Read's first trial ended with a hung jury in July and she remains free on bail.
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What to know about Chloe, the dog at the center of the Karen Read trial this week
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Boston Globe
a day ago
- Boston Globe
Testimony resumes in Karen Read retrial. Follow live updates.
Testimony resumes Wednesday — 8:39 a.m. .cls-1{clip-path:url(#clippath);}.cls-2,.cls-3{fill:none;}.cls-2,.cls-3,.cls-4{stroke-width:0px;}.cls-5{clip-path:url(#clippath-1);}.cls-3{clip-rule:evenodd;} Link copied By Travis Andersen Testimony resumes Wednesday in Karen Read's murder retrial in Norfolk Superior Court Jurors on Tuesday heard testimony from Dighton police officer Nicholas Barros, who testified that when he saw Read's Lexus SUV outside her parents' residence, just one section of the right side of her taillight was missing, whereas a photo of the taillight later at the Canton police garage showed more extensive damage. Advertisement Barros initially told prosecutor Hank Brennan that he mentioned the difference when he testified at Read's first trial last year. But after Brennan showed him a transcript of that testimony, he acknowledged he didn't mention it. 'I know what I saw,' Barros told Brennan. 'And that wasn't it.' Read, 45, has pleaded not guilty to charges including second-degree murder for allegedly backing her SUV in a drunken rage into her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, early on Jan. 29, 2022, after dropping him off outside a home on Fairview Road following a night of bar-hopping. Her lawyers say she was framed and that O'Keefe entered the house, owned at the time by a fellow Boston police officer, where he was fatally beaten and possibly mauled by a German Shepherd before his body was planted on the front lawn. Advertisement Read's first trial ended in a hung jury and she remains free on bail.
