Dog bite expert who believes John O'Keefe was attacked returning to stand in Karen Read's retrial
A defense dog bite expert who testified on Monday that she believes a dog attacked John O'Keefe at a home in Canton where he was found dead is expected back on the witness stand Tuesday in Karen Read's murder retrial.
WATCH LIVE: Day 26 of witness testimony in Karen Read's retrial begins at 9 a.m.
Read, 45, of Mansfield, is accused of striking O'Keefe, her Boston police officer boyfriend, with her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die alone in a blizzard outside of a house party in Canton at the home of fellow officer Brian Albert on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking.
Dr.Marie Russell, an emergency physician and forensic pathologist, spent most of Monday facing questioning, notably telling the court that her opinion is that linear abrasions on O'Keefe's arm were the result of multiple dog bites.
When shown an image of the injuries to O'Keefe's arm, 'Those wounds were inflicted as the result of a dog attack,' the Los Angeles-based doctor testified.
'The teeth made these abrasions,' Russell told the court as she examined the photo and cited 'multiple groupings of wounds.'
Russell said she observed 'multiple strikes from a dog' on O'Keefe's arm, including 'bites and claw marks.'
During Read's first trial, Russell also testified that the holes found in O'Keefe's hoodie and the wounds to his arm were from a dog. She also said her opinion is that O'Keefe's injuries do not appear to have been caused by a vehicle.
The prosecution sought to block her testimony ahead of the start of Read's retrial, but Judge Beverly Cannone ruled in favor of the defense.
Before Russell took the stand, former Canton Police officer and current member of the Boston Police Department, Kelly Dever, was called on by the defense. She was a reluctant witness.
Dever and Read's lawyer Alan Jackson had a contentious back-and-forth in the morning session.
'Did you say, 'I know you're going to tear me a new one?'' Jackson asked.
'That's what you're trying to do,' Dever responded. 'So yes.'
'Actually, what you said was you're going to tear me a new [expletive],' Jackson said.
'I don't recall that,' Dever responded.
Dever was a Canton Police officer in 2022 when O'Keefe was killed. Like many others involved with the case, she was questioned by FBI agents.
'Did you tell those law enforcement agents that you saw Brian Higgins and Chief Berkowitz together and alone with the SUV for a wildly long time?' Jackson asked.
'That was my recollection at the time,' Dever responded.
Dever now says she got that wrong. She called it a 'distorted' memory. She previously told Read's defense team that by phone.
'How did they respond?' Special Prosecutor Hank Brennan asked on cross-examination.
'They became very aggressive,' Dever said. 'Raising their voices, and the one word that I can very definitely remember is they said that they would charge me with perjury.'
Jackson denied Dever's accusation, pointing out that it falls on prosecutors, not defense attorneys, to charge people with crimes.
Dever also confirmed that she was called in to speak with the Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox about the Read murder case.
Outside of court, Read had her own thoughts about Dever's testimony.
'Are you suggesting that Dever may have been coaxed into changing her testimony?' Boston 25 News Investigative Reporter Ted Daniel asked.
'Yes,' Read responded. 'We subpoenaed her to testify to what she told other authorities and just wanted her to be as honest with us as she was with them. And today, she's now telling us that was a lie.'
Read has said she expects her team to present their case in about two weeks.
Get caught up with all of the latest in Karen Read's retrial.
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