Karen Read trial live updates: Final defense witness resumes testimony

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Karen Read trial live updates: Final defense witness resumes testimony
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Karen Read's second murder trial begins with new jury
Karen Read is starting her second trial after being prosecuted for the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, last year.
The defense team's final witness returned to the stand Wednesday in Karen Read's murder retrial, as lawyers prepare to hand the case to jurors in the coming days.
Andrew Rentschler, a biomechanist and accident reconstruction expert, is expected to testify about his analysis of what caused Boston police officer John O'Keefe's head, brain and body injuries.
O'Keefe's was found lying frozen and unconscious underneath a pile of snow outside the home of another cop, Brian Albert, on Jan. 29, 2022. He had a skull fracture, cuts on his face, two black eyes and surface-level gashes along his right arm. Police later found red plastic pieces nearby and a broken cocktail glass near where his body was discovered.
More: The dog did it? What to know about the German Shepherd tied to the Karen Read trial
Read, 45, is accused of backing into O'Keefe, her boyfriend at the time, with her Lexus SUV while dropping him off at a house party after a night out drinking with friends and then leaving him to die outside in the middle of a historic blizzard. Prosecutors charged her with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death.
Her defense has said Read is the victim of an elaborate police conspiracy. They say law enforcement officers at the party beat O'Keefe, let a dog attack him, threw his body on the front lawn and then used their power to plant evidence and frame Read.
So far, Read's defense team has called a snow plow driver who said he did not see O'Keefe's body outside the home at 34 Fairview Road; a friend who said the couple appeared 'very happy' at a bar the night before O'Keefe was found; and two forensic experts who said O'Keefe's wounds may have come from an animal attack.
Read recently told local media outlets she does not plan to testify.
The case is expected to head to the jury soon. Prosecution and defense attorneys told Judge Beverly Cannone they hope to wrap their arguments by Friday or Monday.
This will be the second time a jury deliberates over Read's fate, after her first trial last year ended in a hung jury.
CourtTV has been covering the case against Read and the criminal investigation since early 2022, when O'Keefe's body was found outside a Massachusetts home.
You can watch CourtTV's live feed of the Read trial proceedings from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Proceedings began at 9 a.m. ET.