Prosecution rests its case in retrial of Karen Read

CNN

3 days ago

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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts on Thursday rested its case in chief in the retrial of Karen Read, who is accused of striking her off-duty Boston police officer boyfriend with her vehicle and leaving him to die in January 2022.
Prosecutors called nearly 40 witnesses as part of their case, including friends and family of the victim, John O'Keefe; first responders and investigators; and a slew of expert witnesses who analyzed and explained a raft of digital and physical forensic evidence.
Now, Read gets the opportunity to present her case and call her own witnesses, as she aims to convince jurors of enough reasonable doubt that they will finally acquit her in O'Keefe's death.
Read's first trial ended in a mistrial when that jury, after several days of deliberations, told Judge Beverly Cannone they could not reach a unanimous verdict. In that trial, the defense case took less than two days, with Read's attorneys calling just six witnesses – most of whom were experts.
Read expects her attorneys to present a 'more robust' case than last year's, she told reporters last week, according to CNN affiliate WCVB. This time, her defense will include 'more witnesses,' and be 'broader and deeper,' she said.
The prosecution – led by special prosecutor Hank Brennan – has accused Read of killing O'Keefe by putting her vehicle in reverse, pressing her foot on the gas and backing up at 24 miles per hour, hitting the victim outside a home in Canton, Massachusetts, just after midnight on January 29, 2022.
But Read's defense contends she is the victim of an elaborate cover up, alleging other off-duty officers inside that home killed O'Keefe and conspired to frame her.
Exactly how much of that argument will be presented to jurors remains to be seen. Read's defense team will begin presenting her case on Friday.
In a pre-trial ruling, Cannone decided the defense could develop through the evidence its theory of a third-party culprit as part of Read's right to a fair trial, allowing her to illustrate the alleged inadequacy of the police investigation.
At the conclusion of testimony, the defense may seek a jury instruction about third-party culprits, Cannone ruled, though the court may ultimately exclude that evidence.