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USA Today
a day ago
- General
- USA Today
Karen Read trial live updates: Dog bite expert resumes testimony on day 26
Karen Read trial live updates: Dog bite expert resumes testimony on day 26 Show Caption Hide Caption Karen Read's second murder trial begins with new jury Karen Read is starting her second trial after being prosecuted for the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, last year. A German Shepard named Chloe is expected to take the spotlight Tuesday at the second murder trial of Karen Read, the Massachusetts' woman accused of killing her Boston cop boyfriend. Though not yet mentioned by name in the trial, the dog, who lived at the home where John O'Keefe's body was discovered lying in the snow in January 2022, is at the center of Read's defense. Defense expert Marie Russell testified June 2 that the large, surface-level gashes found on O'Keefe's arm appeared to come from canine claws and teeth. Russell returned to the stand Tuesday, June 3, and doubled down on those claims. Her testimony comes days after prosecutor's rested their case against Read, who they say backed into O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV at roughly 25 mph, causing him to hit his head on the hard ground, and then left him to die in the snow during a historic blizzard on Jan. 29, 2022. Read's defense team alleges she was framed for O'Keefe's murder by cops who beat O'Keefe, let a ravenous dog attack him and then dropped his bloodied and bruised body outside in the freezing cold. The lead investigator in the case, Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, attempted to cover up the crime, they say. The yearslong whodunnit case has sparked massive intrigue from true crime fans across the country, many of whom have feverishly taken sides. Read's first trial ended in a hung jury in 2024. Her second trial is now in its seventh week. Here's the latest from Day 26. Russell testified June 2 that wounds on O'Keefe's arm appeared to have been inflicted by a dog, noting patterns she said were consistent with the hundreds of other canine attacks she's seen in her career. Pointing to a picture of O'Keefe's battered arm, Russell described what she said were multiple groupings of incomplete dog bites, which are among the most common. The bites, she said, didn't penetrate the 'full thickness of the skin.' She also contested previous testimony from Judson Welcher, the prosecution's crash reconstruction expert who presented a case study from a car crash where a victim sustained several injuries, including skin loss. Russell suggested O'Keefe did not have the same types of injuries. The prosecution began pressing Russell about her experience and alleged inconsistencies in her statements upon cross-examination. They asked if she had ever identified the origin of a wound as a dog bite without knowing where it came from prior to Read's case. She said she hadn't. CourtTV has been covering the case against Read and the criminal investigation since early 2022, when O'Keefe's body was found outside a Massachusetts home. You can watch CourtTV's live feed of the Read trial proceedings from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Proceedings began at 9 a.m. ET. Contributing: Michael Loria, USA TODAY
USA Today
5 days ago
- USA Today
Karen Read trial live updates: Defense ready to present its case
Karen Read trial live updates: Defense ready to present its case Show Caption Hide Caption Karen Read's second murder trial begins with new jury Karen Read is starting her second trial after being prosecuted for the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, last year. Testimony is expected to resume Friday in Karen Read's second murder trial, as the Massachusetts woman's defense team prepares to present its case to the jury. On Thursday, prosecutors finished highlighting evidence they believe showed that Read, 45, struck her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, with her SUV and left him for dead in the snow outside another cop's home after a night of heavy drinking with friends in 2022. The former finance professor has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crime. Like true crime? Check out Witness: A library of true crime stories But her defense team alleges the car crash at the center of the prosecutor's case never even happened. More: Karen Read claims police bungled the investigation. What did they supposedly do wrong? They say Read was framed for O'Keefe's murder in a conspiracy theory developed by Massachusetts police officers, who they say beat O'Keefe, set a ravenous dog on him and then dropped his battered body on a pile of snow during a burgeoning blizzard. So far, Read's lawyers have built their case by fiercely questioning the prosecution's witnesses, often sewing doubt into the reliability of evidence they've presented. Now, they will begin trying to convince jurors of their own version of the events that led up to O'Keefe's death on January 29, 2022. The strategy is nearly identical to that used by the defense team in Read's first trial, which ended in a hung jury in 2024. CourtTV has been covering the case against Read and the criminal investigation since early 2022, when O'Keefe's body was found outside a Massachusetts home. You can watch CourtTV's live feed of the Read trial proceedings from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Proceedings began at 10 a.m. ET.
USA Today
6 days ago
- USA Today
Karen Read trial live updates: Crash expert takes stand for third day
Karen Read trial live updates: Crash expert takes stand for third day Judson Welcher's testimony is considered critical to the prosecution's case against Karen Read. Show Caption Hide Caption Karen Read's second murder trial begins with new jury Karen Read is starting her second trial after being prosecuted for the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, last year. Key prosecution witness Judson Welcher returned to the stand Thursday for a third day of testimony in Karen Read's second murder trial, after a dizzying day of cross-examination. Welcher, a crash reconstruction expert, began testifying Tuesday about his analysis of the events that led up to Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe's death in January 2022. His cross-examination by defense attorney Robert Alessi on Wednesday turned contentious when Welcher began questioning the basis of the questions he was being asked, at one point telling Alessi 'your question doesn't make any sense.' Like true crime? Check out Witness: A library of true crime stories More: Karen Read claims police bungled the investigation. What did they supposedly do wrong? Welcher's testimony is considered critical to the prosecution's case against Read, the 45-year-old Massachusetts woman they say rammed into O'Keefe, her boyfriend of about 2 years, with her SUV and left him to die in the snow in January 2022. Read has long said she was framed for the murder. Her first trial ended in a hung jury in 2024. Thursday's testimony is expected to last until 1:30 p.m., rather than 4 p.m., because of a juror's scheduling conflict. CourtTV has been covering the case against Read and the criminal investigation since early 2022, when O'Keefe's body was found outside a Massachusetts home. You can watch CourtTV's live feed of the Read trial proceedings from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Proceedings began at 10 a.m. ET.
USA Today
28-05-2025
- USA Today
Karen Read trial live updates: Crash expert continues key testimony
Karen Read trial live updates: Crash expert continues key testimony Show Caption Hide Caption Karen Read's second murder trial begins with new jury Karen Read is starting her second trial after being prosecuted for the 2022 death of her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe, last year. A crash reconstructionist will resume testimony Wednesday in Karen Read's second murder trial, as prosecutors appear poised to soon wrap their case against the Massachusetts woman accused of killing her cop boyfriend. Expert Judson Welcher is expected to face heated cross-examination from Read's defense team about his analysis of what occurred the night Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe died in January 2022 using data from Read's Lexus SUV, O'Keefe's phone and crime scene evidence. Defense attorney Robert Alessi forcefully objected Tuesday after Welcher said he believed to a 'reasonable degree of scientific certainty' that Read hit O'Keefe with her vehicle, arguing that the answer infringed on the jury's decision-making duty. More: Karen Read: Jurors get look at wounds of cop boyfriend she's accused of killing He and Prosecutor Hank Brennan sparred about whether the fundamental question in the case hinges on whether Read hit O'Keefe deliberately, accidentally or whether she hit him at all. Prosecutors have built their case on the argument that Read, 45, deliberately struck O'Keefe with her SUV in a drunken rage and left him to die in the snow outside the home of another cop after a night out drinking with friends. They've presented evidence of a bombshell admission Read allegedly made the morning O'Keefe's body was found, damage discovered on her Lexus SUV and a timeline that puts Read at the scene of the crime. But Read has long argued that the car crash never happened and says she was framed for O'Keefe's murder. She alleges that O'Keefe was beaten by Massachusetts police officers inside the home of Brian Albert and then attacked by a dog. Read's defense team will soon have a chance to call witnesses and present their own version of events. Now in its sixth week, the trial comes after Read's first trial ended in 2024 in a hung jury. Here's the latest from Day 22: Judge Beverly Cannone will rule Wednesday morning on whether to admit Welcher's conclusion that Read hit O'Keefe with her vehicle. CourtTV has been covering the case against Read and the criminal investigation since early 2022, when O'Keefe's body was found outside a Massachusetts home. You can watch CourtTV's live feed of the Read trial proceedings from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Proceedings began at 10 a.m. ET.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Karen Read trial live updates: Key crash reconstruction expert testifies
As Karen Read's second murder trial enters its sixth week, prosecutors appear poised to wrap their case in the coming days against the Massachusetts woman accused of killing her boyfriend. Judge Beverly Cannone told jurors last week that the trial was ahead of schedule. It was expected to last six to eight weeks. Prosecutors say Read, 45, struck her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, with her SUV and left him to die in the snow outside the home of another cop after a night of heavy drinking in January 2022. Her lawyers say she was framed for O'Keefe's murder in a conspiracy theory devised by the owner of the home, Brian Albert, and other Massachusetts police officials. More: The dog did it? What to know about the German Shepherd tied to the Karen Read trial Jurors have so far heard from witnesses about a bombshell admission Read allegedly made the morning O'Keefe's body was found, damage discovered on her Lexus SUV, phone records that could lay out a timeline of the incident and the injuries O'Keefe sustained. On Tuesday, they were hearing testimony from a crash reconstruction expert believed to be critical to prosecutors' argument that Read backed into O'Keefe. Read's defense attorneys will also soon have a turn at calling witnesses. At every turn in the trial, they've so far sought to sow doubt about the integrity of the case, arguing that the investigation into O'Keefe's death was riddled with bias, incompetence and deceit. Read's first trial ended in a hung jury in 2024. The legal saga has fixated true-crime fans across the country, spurring an array of podcasts, movies and television shows. Here are the latest updates from Day 21 out of the Norfolk County court. Read's defense attorney questioned crash reconstruction expert Judson Welcher, one of the prosecution's key witnesses, without the jury present to determine his competency to testify and the admissibility of evidence he plans to present. The process is known as voir dire. They pressed Welcher on recent changes he made to his presentation and people he spoke with at Massachusetts State Police in the last few weeks. 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 began at 9 a.m. ET. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Karen Read trial updates: Key crash reconstruction expert testifies
