Karen Read trial Day 20 recap: Was John O'Keefe struck by a baseball bat?

Yahoo

27-05-2025

After a morning delay caused by an "issue" with the jury, testimony resumed in Karen Read's second murder trial with new medical analysis of the victim's injuries and key evidence that prosecutors believe tie Read to the crime.
Judge Beverly Cannone told jurors at the start of court on May 21 an issue had arisen that made it necessary for her to pause testimony and meet with each of them. She did not explain the issue, but it did not appear to effect the trial, which resumed before 11 a.m. with testimony from Miami-based Neurosurgeon Aizik Wolf.
Wolf was a critical witness for prosecutors in Read's first trial, which ended in 2024 in a hung jury.
The 45-year-old Massachusetts' woman is accused of striking her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, with her Lexus SUV in a drunken rage and leaving him to die outside the Canton, Massachusetts, home of another Boston cop during a massive snowstorm in January 2022. Read's attorneys say she was framed for the murder by the owner of the home, Brian Albert, and others.
More: The dog did it? What to know about the German Shepherd tied to the Karen Read trial
During his testimony Wolf told jurors O'Keefe's head injuries were consistent with a fall backward onto hard ground, and did not appear to be from a weapon, as the defense team has suggested they could have been.
The testimony comes a day after one of Read's lawyers, Robert Alessi, clashed with a key digital forensics' expert, Shanon Burgess, over allegations that he misrepresented his college degree achievements. Burgess developed a timeline using data from O'Keefe's cell phone and Read's SUV that suggests Read's Lexus could have hit O'Keefe.
That analysis, and Burgess' credibility, came into question after he admitted to not having a bachelor's degree despite listing one as part of his education history on LinkedIn and elsewhere.
Here's what you missed on Day 20 of the trial.
Cannone told jurors the trial is moving ahead of schedule. She adjourned the court until May 27, the Tuesday after Memorial Day, canceling the previously scheduled half day of testimony for May 22.
Read's attorney Alan Jackson zeroed in on Hanley's analysis of the shards of glass found by former Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor on the bumper of Read's SUV.
Hanley said those small pieces did not match the cocktail glass found near O'Keefe when she tried to piece the items together like a jigsaw puzzle.
Jackson further pressed, asking if any other pieces of glass matched the fragments found on Read's Lexus. Hanley said the piece of glass Michael Proctor found at the crime scene matched the bumper glass.
Read's defense team has suggested throughout the trial that Proctor, the fired state trooper who sent crude text messages while investigating O'Keefe's case, was corrupt. In questioning of witnesses, they've frequently cast doubt about whether Proctor properly handled key evidence.
Proctor testified in Read's first trial but was fired in March for reasons unrelated to the crude text messages.
Hanley, the forensic expert, resumed testimony about pieces of evidence she analyzed, including pieces of Read's taillight, O'Keefe's clothing and a broken glass.
She testified that six of nine shards of glass found in the street near 34 Fairview Road matched the broken cocktail glass discovered by O'Keefe's body nearby
Red plastic pieces found in O'Keefe's clothing could have originated from Read's taillight or 'another source with the same characteristics,' Hanley said, based on her analysis.
Prosecutor's called Aizik Wolf, a Miami-based neurosurgeon, to the stand. Wolfe testified in Read's first trial about O'Keefe's brain injuries.
Wolf reviewed and described photos of the cuts found on the back of O'Keefe's head, including an inch and a half laceration, contusion, abrasions, fractures to the base of his skull. O'Keefe also had brain bruising, he said.
Wolf told jurors that such injuries can occur when someone falls backward and their skull hits the ground, 'gets smashed a little bit,' and the brain jostles forward. O'Keefe's injury did not appear to be from a weapon, such as a baseball bat, because he did not have a 'depressive skull fracture,' Wolf said.
It is 'impossible to know' whether O'Keefe became immediately unconscious from his injuries, but Wolf postulated that he 'quickly became unconscious.' He said he doesn't believe O'Keefe died immediately from the brain injury, telling jurors that doctors can't declare someone dead when they have an internal temperature of around 80 degrees, like O'Keefe did. They would have needed to slowly warm O'Keefe and then assess his condition.
Wolf also noted that black and blue 'racoon eyes,' like those exhibited by O'Keefe, can develop one to three hours after a traumatic brain event.
During a brief cross-examination, Alessi questioned Wolf's credentials by asking if any of his workdays in the past few years have included forensic pathology.
'You could have asked that question very straightforward; I'm not a forensic pathologist, I'm a brain surgeon,' Wolf bit back. 'In other words, I see more brains than a forensic pathologist.'
Alessi then asked if a brain injury can cause a laceration to form on the 'racoon eyes,' noting that O'Keefe also had a cut on his upper eyelid. Wolfe said the brain trauma would not have caused the eyelid scratch.
Court resumed a few minutes before 11 a.m. Cannone did not explain what the "issue" was that she mentioned earlier in the day but stressed to jurors the importance of not discussing the case with anyone or allowing others to talk to them about the case.
"That means each other," she said.
The court will not take a morning break and will take an abbreviated lunch period because of the morning delay, Cannone said.
Cannone told jurors at the start of the day that an issue had come to her attention requiring that she, along with counsel for both Read and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, speak with each one at sidebar.
She said the process could take some time. Cameras will be shut off in the court room until testimony resumes.
Hanley testified on May 20 about the pieces of evidence she analyzed from the crime scene, including a clear glass cup, pieces of glass found on Read's SUV and glass and plastic found outside the home at 34 Fairview Road, where O'Keefe's body was discovered. She briefly explained her process for labeling and analyzing the pieces.CourtTV has been covering the case against Read and the criminal investigation since early 2022, when O'Keefe's body was found outside a Canton, Massachusetts home.
You can watch CourtTV's live feed of the Read trial proceedings from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Proceedings begin at 9 a.m. ET.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Karen Read trial Day 20 recap: Was John O'Keefe struck by a bat?