Murder trial plunged into mystery and chaos as court issues bizarre note CANCELING proceedings
A court hearing for alleged-killer Karen Read's murder trial was abruptly called off just minutes before it was set to begin as officials issue a vague explanation.
Read, 45, was scheduled to appear in Boston court on Tuesday morning for the ongoing retrial of the convoluted case of her boyfriend John O'Keefe's 2022 death.
But the of day of testimony was mysteriously postponed, with a spokesperson from the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts offering little detail about what happened.
'Please be advised that the trial in Commonwealth v. Karen Read is not taking place today due to unavoidable circumstances,' Court Spokesperson Jennifer Donahue wrote to DailyMail.com.
But a source close to the case revealed to WCVB the sudden and unexplained cancellation stemmed from Read being sick.
A court clerk also said the postponement was due to a 'health issue,' although they did not say who was experiencing it.
A private hearing was held to handle rescheduling, with prosecutors meeting in person with Judge Beverly Cannone, while Read's team appeared virtually.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Read's lead lawyer, David Yannetti, for comment.
Karen Read (pictured), 45, was scheduled to appear in Boston court on Tuesday morning for the ongoing retrial of the convoluted case of her boyfriend John O'Keefe's 2022 death
It has not been confirmed who was supposed to testify today and when court will resume. Donahue did not respond to DailyMail.com's inquiry about the court being rescheduled.
Tuesday morning's confusion adds to the already chaotic nature of Read's second murder trial.
The former Bentley University professor stands accused of ramming her SUV into O'Keefe, who was a cop, in the midst of a drunken argument on their way to an after party after leaving a bar January 29, 2022.
Police allege Read struck O'Keefe and drove off - leaving him unconscious on the ground during a blizzard.
O'Keefe, according to his autopsy results, died from hypothermia and blunt force trauma.
Read has long maintained her innocence and insisted that she was framed by his police officer friends.
She first went to trial last year, with prosecutors claiming she knowingly hit and left O'Keefe to die after dropping him off at a party at the home of Brian Albert, a retired Boston sergeant.
The defense fiercely argued she was a victim of a vast police conspiracy and that O´Keefe was fatally beaten by another law enforcement officer at the party and thrown outside on the lawn.
Read (pictured) is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of a collision causing death
Read allegedly realized he was missing and went looking for him with two other women, finding him dead outside of Albert's home.
A mistrial was declared after nine weeks when jurors said they were at an impasse and deliberating further would be futile.
After nearly a year, Read's trial started up again in April, with supporters passionately rallying behind her.
As she appeared in court for the first retrial hearing, demonstrators flaunted flags and signs reading 'Karen Read is innocent.'
At the center of Read's defense has been claims that the investigation was inappropriately handled by dishonorably discharged State Trooper Michael Proctor, who sent vulgar text messages about Read.
He was fired over texts that included calling Read a 'whack job' and a 'c***.'
In other messages, he joked about rummaging through her phone for nude photos during the investigation, and remarked that she had 'no a**.'
Although he was forced to read these messages aloud during last year's trial, his former supervisor, Sergeant Yuriy Bukhenik, was grilled about them this time around by Defense attorney Alan Jackson.
'I believe that as a US citizen. He has the right to comment. That's his First Amendment right. We uphold the Constitution,' Bukhenik said during cross-examination.
'And it's unfortunate, unprofessional what he said the private text message communication. He might have been voicing frustrations. I cannot speak for Michael Proctor.'
Bukhenik's testimony took three days and ended on Monday.
Aside from questions about Proctor's misconduct, he was also asked to read flirtatious text messages between Read and ATF agent Brian Higgins.
Read and Higgins reportedly spoke about her plans of leaving O'Keefe and shared a kiss.
Read's team plans to name Higgins as a third-party culprit, WCVB reported. They believe Read stopped texting Higgins, which may have angered him and caused him to lash out.
Last year, Higgins testified in court and addressed his relationship with Read.
Higgins read some of the messages in court, in which they both said they were attracted to each other, and Read said her relationship with O'Keefe had 'deteriorated.'
Read (pictured going to her SUV to look for O'Keefe) first went to trial last year, with prosecutors claiming she knowingly hit and left O'Keefe to die after dropping him off at a party at the home of Brian Albert, a retired Boston sergeant
He explained to the court he was trying to 'suss out' Read's intentions.
'Was the defendant interested in me? Was she at the end of her relationship with John? Was she trying to weaponize me against John and put me in the middle?' he said.
Read is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of a collision causing death.
If convicted, she could face up to life in prison.
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Diddy trial latest: Ex-girlfriend known as 'Jane' giving evidence for third day
14:20:59 'Jane' returns to the stand A former girlfriend of Sean "Diddy" Combs, testifying under the pseudonym "Jane", has now returned to the stand to continue giving evidence. She is wearing a white jacket. On Friday, she told jurors about days-long sex sessions with male escorts in hotels, saying she was given "multiple doses" of ecstasy to keep her awake during some of the longest "debauchery" or "hotel nights". Today is her third day on the stand. 14:15:54 Day 19: Court is in session Before testimony resumes, we are hearing a series of discussions between defence and prosecution lawyers as to whether certain pieces of evidence are admissible. Over the weekend, the defence called for a mistrial, arguing that Cassie Ventura and Bryana Bongolan lied about Bongolan being "dangled" over a 17th floor balcony by Diddy in September 2016. The defence say the government should have known this was not possible, and say Diddy was away on the East Coast at the time of the alleged incident. The government has also asked to recall Dr Hughes, a psychologist who spoke earlier in the trial, talking about 'trauma bonds' between an abuser and their victim. Both of these issues are expected to be addressed by Judge Arun Subramanian tomorrow. 14:02:38 Welcome back We are back with our live coverage of the trial of hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, on day 19 of the trial. Proceedings at the federal court in Manhattan are due to start at around 2pm UK time. We are scheduled to hear more evidence today from a former partner of Combs, testifying under the pseudonym "Jane". It's her third day on the witness stand, as we begin week five of the trial. 22:31:00 What you need to know after day 18 of Diddy's trial - scroll down to catch up An anonymous former girlfriend and alleged victim of Sean "Diddy" Combs continued her evidence against the rapper on the 18th day of his sex-trafficking trial. If you're just checking in, here's a round-up of all the key updates: Jane began her evidence by telling jurors that Combs would become "incensed" if she asked for the "entertainer" to wear a condom, adding the rapper said he "didn't want to see a rubber while he was watching"; As she began to recall "hotel nights" she became emotional in court, saying she was given "multiple doses" of ecstasy to keep her awake with the longest session lasting around three days; She explained that she felt she had to take the drugs "because when I wouldn't it would just feel too real"; Recalling a sobriety party in Beverly Hills, she said she went to the bathroom after having sex with two men and threw up, but Combs told her "let's go, third guy is here"; Jane said Diddy would call an assistant or security when he ran out of drugs, and told the court she also picked up a "white envelope" of drugs and "put it in my luggage" for Combs; Explaining how "entertainers" were chosen, Jane said Combs chose who took part in the hotel nights at first, before she then started to pick them from late 2021 because she "didn't like to be surprised by a stranger"; But she recalled one occasion when she was "repulsed" by an entertainer who she described as being "really sweaty" and "smelled"; Jane said Combs filmed hotel nights "several times" and even directed what he wanted her to do - from putting baby oil on the man to touching herself; The rapper also asked her to get nipple piercings because "that's what he wanted from his girl" and paid for her veneers as "he didn't like my teeth"; In a voice note played out to jurors, Combs told Jane "I can do whatever the f*** I want" after she said she needed a "breather and a break" from him; Jane will return to the stand to continue her evidence on Monday. 21:59:59 Court finishes for the day It's just reaching 5pm in New York, and that's all we're going to hear from Jane today. She will return on Monday to continue giving evidence. We'll be back with a recap of today's hearing soon - in the meantime scroll through our posts to catch up on what was said in court. 21:57:58 'At any moment he could cut me off', Jane says after Diddy voice note left her 'cold' Jurors are played an audio message from Sean "Diddy" Combs to Jane after an argument between the pair in August 2023. "I'm not going to be playing these games with you at all, nah, you are going to have a rude awakening, you will have silence," he said. "You can be mad and have a spat, that's all it is, you got me on my job, it will never work like that over here, you need to get on your job... I am trying to be clear, I am going to disappear on you." When asked about what she thought Diddy meant by saying he was going to disappear on her, Jane says she was "pretty alarmed by that message". "I was just really cold and its true that at any moment he could just do that if he wanted to... cut me off." Prosecutor Maurene Comey asks Jane what Diddy meant by telling her "you need to get on your job". "Expectations of me," she replied. "Taking care of him, being good to him, making sure he's happy. That included these nights." 21:34:20 Jane tells jurors Combs 'didn't like my teeth' and wanted her to get veneers Jane tells jurors that she got veneers after the Turks and Caicos trip because Combs "didn't like my teeth". "After the Turks trip he paid for my teeth," she says. "I got veneers because Combs didn't like my teeth... he wanted me to get new veneers. He gave me the appointment." She says Combs was also paying for her rent, and still is. In March 2023, she said that she and Combs made an agreement that he would pay her a monthly allowance. "I said 15,000 and he said 10,000," Jane says. "I started looking for new places and moved into a new home and used that budget... I had been giving him all my love and this was him giving me something." But she says the allowance was not enough to furnish her new home after moving in April 2023. "I opened three credit cards and went into debt," she adds. 21:23:19 Jane says Diddy made her apologise to entertainer after storming out of hotel on 'birthday make-up trip' After Jane fought with Combs following her birthday in 2023 that ended in a hotel night, the rapper continued to call and text her. Jane tells jurors she scheduled a trip to Paris for Fashion Week, and it was the first time she had gone on a solo trip in over two years. But a few hours before her flight, Jane says Combs repeatedly texted her and called her phone "like 30 times in a row". After she got back from Paris, she began talking to Combs again, adding "he was adamant we should see each other, and I missed him as well". Jane says Combs told her to visit Miami so they could arrange a "birthday make-up trip" and testifies that they planned the trip to Turks and Caicos. But on the second day of that trip, Paul, an entertainer, arrived at the hotel. "I remember it was really painful and me and Paul tried to have sex but I really couldn't... I was very sore at this point," she tells jurors. She says Combs got "very upset" so she threw a bracelet he had given her against the wall and stormed out of the villa. Jane adds that Combs told her to apologise to Paul. 21:07:30 In pictures: Diddy's alleged victim weeps in court - as mogul looks on during her testimony Courtroom sketches from today's proceedings show Jane, an alleged victim of Combs, weeping on the stand - and of the producer-turned rapper watching her give testimony. 20:52:49 Jane wrote 'you're a pathological liar' about Combs in note Jurors are shown a note Jane wrote to herself on 12 February in 2023. She explains the note contains what she wanted to tell Combs. "If you don't want me, that's fine I just accept the fact that you are a pathological liar," she wrote in the note. Jane adds that she wrote the note so she could "think out what I was feeling", adding that notes were copied into texts. In a text to Combs, she told him "anything outside of the hotel I am a joke to you... romance is spending time with love and happiness, not someone you call on Friday to get high".
