Defense attorney's dramatic courtroom move has legal experts talking in Karen Read murder trial

Fox News

16 hours ago

Wearing two black gloves and slamming his palms on the podium Monday, Karen Read's defense attorney Robert Alessi moved for a mistrial for a second time in her retrial on murder charges in the death of her former boyfriend, Boston cop John O'Keefe.
The exchange, based on special prosecutor Hank Brennan's questioning of a defense witness regarding holes in the back of O'Keefe's sweatshirt that were put there by a state crime lab employee, got Alessi trending among true crime followers on X Monday afternoon, but it also drew praise from defense attorneys who are not connected to the case.
Read's defense denies the prosecution's allegation that she killed O'Keefe by backing into him with her Lexus SUV amid a drunken argument and fled the scene. They have maintained that the vehicle never struck him at all, and that something else caused his injuries.
"If I'm Alessi, I'm throwing out those missiles every time," said Louis Gelormino, a New York City defense lawyer.
During a motion hearing without jurors present, Brennan asked the judge to instruct jurors about his error rather than grant the motion for a mistrial.
"It appears that I made a mistake," he said, conceding that a state criminologist made the holes and documented them in her records.
Gelormino told Fox News Digital that the longer things play out, the better off Read will be – especially if this trial ends without a verdict like her first one.
WATCH: Karen Read defense moves for a mistrial again
"A third trial, the county might not wanna pay for," he said. "They might give her a plea at that point. The longer these things go out, the better it is for the defense. All the time."
Read's first trial ended with a deadlocked jury last year, prompting Judge Beverly Cannone to declare a mistrial and the district attorney's office to bring in high-profile defense attorney Brennan as a special prosecutor. His rich and powerful clients have included the mobster James "Whitey" Bulger.
The defense moved for a mistrial earlier in the second trial as well in another contentious exchange over O'Keefe's hoodie, arguing Brennan improperly brought up the absence of dog DNA evidence during cross-examination of a witness who claimed holes in O'Keefe's sweatshirt were consistent with dog bites.
Cannone denied that motion as well as the new one Monday. A routine motion seeking to have her declared not guilty after the prosecution rested its case was also denied.
Other legal experts raised doubts about whether the misstep was a mistake or a calculated move.
"It is unfathomable that he didn't know that the holes were made by his own witness," said Mark Bederow, another New York City defense attorney who is representing Read ally Aidan Kearney, a Canton blogger. "And what about the two other prosecutors sitting next to him? Are we to believe they didn't know after handling this case for three years?"
Unlike Brennan, they were working for the district attorney's office during her first trial, which assistant district attorney Adam Lally led.
"There are many reasons why a large segment of the population believes the investigation and prosecution of Karen Read is unjust and lacks credibility," Bederow said.
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Canton police were cleared of Read's conspiracy allegations in an independent audit completed just before her second trial began – but they made a series of embarrassing missteps during the investigation, including storing DNA evidence in red Solo cups and a grocery bag.
The lead homicide detective, Michael Proctor, lost his job with the Massachusetts State Police after another investigation found he improperly shared sensitive and confidential information in a group chat that included lewd and "inappropriate" messages about Read that were read in court.
"The prosecution has a higher standard because they are supposed to be about fairness and justice – which is what Brennan said to the press when he took the case," said Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts trial attorney who is closely following the case. "This was not a mistake by a seasoned attorney."
Brennan is tasked with overcoming the state's credibility issues and also clean-up after a witness for the commonwealth admitted she gave an incorrect statement to the grand jury and the defense grilled another whose resume showed inflated credentials.
"He is good, but he can only play the cards he's dealt," said David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defense lawyer and former prosecutor, who invoked OJ Simpson's high-drama 1990s trial after Alessi donned black gloves in court and then invoked his A-list defense again. "You can be Johnnie Cochran, and it won't matter."
Jack Lu, a former Massachusetts judge and now a law professor at Boston College, was more forgiving of the special prosecutor.
"To the aspiring trial lawyer-law student, it shows that even the greatest stumble," he told Fox News Digital. "What a grueling occupation."
Dr. Elizabeth Laposata returns to the stand Tuesday for a second day of testimony as the defense nears an end to its case. She testified Monday that O'Keefe's skull fracture was consistent with a backward fall – but something else, possibly a fist, caused the cut above his right eye.
Read could face up to life in prison if convicted of the top charge of second-degree murder. She is also accused of drunken driving manslaughter and leaving the scene.