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CNN
a day ago
- General
- CNN
Karen Read's defense set to call its first witness in her retrial in the killing of her Boston police officer boyfriend
FacebookTweetLink Follow Karen Read's defense is set to call its first witness on Friday, marking a new phase in her retrial in the killing of John O'Keefe, her off-duty Boston police officer boyfriend whose body was found buried in the snow outside a home in Canton, Massachusetts, in January 2022. Read – whose first trial ended with a hung jury – has already promised a 'more robust' case than the one her attorneys put on last year, when they called six witnesses for less than two full days of testimony. Their case this time is 'broader and deeper,' Read told reporters last week, saying it will include 'more witnesses' and last at least a week. Prosecutors have accused Read of putting her Lexus SUV in reverse and striking O'Keefe with her vehicle just after midnight on January 29, 2022, after the couple went out with drinking with friends who were gathering for an after party at a home on Fairview Road. But Read's defense argues she has been framed by other off-duty law enforcement who were inside that home, alleging they killed O'Keefe and conspired to frame her. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a collision resulting in death. A key question is whether Read will take the stand. She did not testify in the first trial. But jurors in her retrial have already heard from the defendant: Throughout their case, prosecutors – led by special prosecutor Hank Brennan – have played numerous clips taken from interviews Read gave reporters or documentary film crews, working to use her statements against her. 'This is my version of testifying. Doing this film is my testimony,' she said in Investigation Discovery's 'A Body in the Snow: The Trial of Karen Read.' (Investigation Discovery, like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.) 'I want to say what happened,' she added, 'exactly as it happened.' The last thing played for the jury by the prosecution before it rested its case Thursday was a clip from the documentary showing Read telling the film crew her attorney informed her, she may have 'some element of culpability.' 'I thought could I have run over him? Could he have tried to get me as I was leaving, and I didn't know it? The music was blasting, it was snowing, I had the wipers going, the heater blasting. Did he come and hit the back of my car, and I hit him in the knee, and he's drunk and passed out and asphyxiated or something?' Read says in the clip. Read then talks about hiring her attorney, David Yannetti, and asking him those questions. 'I said 'David what if … what if I ran his foot over? Or what if I clipped him in the knee and he passed out or went to care for himself and threw up or passed out?' and David said, 'Then you have some element of culpability.'' Prosecutors for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts rested their case in chief on Thursday after calling 38 witnesses over more than 20 days of testimony, including the victim's friends and family; members of state and local law enforcement who played a role in the investigation; and experts who analyzed a raft of digital and physical forensic evidence. Notably absent from the prosecution's case was Michael Proctor, the former Massachusetts State Trooper who led the investigation into O'Keefe's death but was dishonorably discharged from the agency earlier this year for sexist and offensive text messages he sent about the suspect. Proctor apologized for the texts during his testimony in the first trial, but Read's defense attorneys used them to paint a picture of a flawed and biased investigation – a strategy they have so far echoed in the retrial. Proctor is included on the defense's list of prospective witnesses, but whether he will testify again remains to be seen. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Who to watch as Karen Read's defense steps up to plate – and it's not slugger Alan Jackson
Karen Read's defense team of heavy-hitting attorneys is ready to begin tearing down the prosecution's murder case against her after the state rested its case this week. Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, outside an acquaintance's house party just after midnight on Jan. 29, 2022. The prosecution alleges that Read struck O'Keefe with her 2021 Lexus SUV in a drunken ragme after an evening of fighting before leaving him to freeze to death in the front yard of 34 Fairview Road. Karen Read Defense Grills Crash Expert Over $400K Price Tag And Experimentation Methods Special prosecutor Hank Brennan rested the state's case on Thursday, nearly two months after jury selection began. Brennan's final witness, Aperture crash reconstructionist Dr. Judson Welcher spent three days on the stand providing testimony on his findings supporting the state's allegations that Read fatally struck O'Keefe with her vehicle. He pointed to his own experimentation using a Lexus taillight and wet paint to illustrate how O'Keefe could have sustained the injuries to his arm, and he said that a "glancing" blow from the vehicle could explain why the victim didn't have typical car-strike injuries. Read On The Fox News App "If you impact the hand with a 1-inch narrow metal bar, that's a lot different than if you have a broad, plastic taillight or rear body panel," Welcher said. "So when you have distributed loads, you can take much more." Read's defense team is set to begin presenting their case on Friday as attorneys Alan Jackson, David Yannetti and Robert Alessi look to sow doubt around the state's allegations, with Yannetti viewed as the strongest member of Read's team by experts. Karen Read's Suv Reached '74% Throttle' Moments Before John O'keefe's Final Movements, Crash Expert Testifies "David Yannetti is the best trial lawyer in the case," retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge and Boston College law professor Jack Lu told Fox News Digital, "with the possible exception of Brennan." Yannetti is a seasoned criminal defense attorney and has been with Read since before her first trial. "He has the range that Mr. Brennan might lack," Lu said. "Brennan, with all his spectacular talent, mostly has one speed, well, two speeds. Yannetti, an award-winning advocate since law school, has seen it all and fights for a position from which the defense can possibly salvage things." Karen Read Judge Blocks Sandra Birchmore Mentions; Expert Says Cases Should Be Wake-up Call For Police The defense will look to dismantle the state's case, which often pointed to Read's interviews with various news outlets, addressing the public in her own words. "So I thought, 'Could I have run him over?'" Read said in a 2024 interview with Investigation Discovery. "Did he try to get me as I was leaving and I didn't know it?" Read's legal team insists her vehicle never came in contact with O'Keefe while pointing to the possibility that something or someone else was responsible for the police officer's death. Karen Read Defense Floats Theory That 'Jealous' Brian Higgins Fought John O'keefe Before Death "And then when I hired David Yannetti, I asked him those questions," Read said in the same clip. "The night of Jan. 29, David, what if I ran his foot over? Or what if I clipped him in the knee and he passed out or went to care for himself and threw up or passed out? And David said, 'Yeah, then you have some element of culpability.'" Lu believes the primary goal for the defense team should be to humanize Read in a way that paints her in a favorable light to the jurors while taking aim at an alleged cover-up scheme by the Massachusetts Police Department. Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X "The prosecutor has made her into a self-absorbed caricature," Lu told Fox News Digital, adding, "They must get into the hatred of her by [former investigator] Michael Proctor." Proctor is on the witness list, but it remains unclear whether the defense will put him on the stand. Prosecutors did not call him this time around after his testimony in the first trial saw jurors shaking their heads as they heard his inappropriate texts about Read in court. The case ended in a mistrial, and he lost his job days before the second trial kicked off. Read has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, she faces the possibility of life in prison for the most serious charge of second-degree murder. "Right now Ms. Read's legal case is badly wounded," Lu said. "Mr. Yannetti has the ability to charm the jury, fight the judge as needed, present the defense witnesses – some of whom are hostile – and in closing, inspire the jury."Original article source: Who to watch as Karen Read's defense steps up to plate – and it's not slugger Alan Jackson
CNN
2 days ago
- General
- CNN
Prosecution rests its case in retrial of Karen Read
FacebookTweetLink Follow 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.
Fox News
2 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Who to watch as Karen Read's defense steps up to plate – and it's not slugger Alan Jackson
Karen Read's defense team of heavy-hitting attorneys is ready to begin tearing down the prosecution's murder case against her after the state rested its case this week. Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe, outside an acquaintance's house party just after midnight on Jan. 29, 2022. The prosecution alleges that Read struck O'Keefe with her 2021 Lexus SUV in a drunken ragme after an evening of fighting before leaving him to freeze to death in the front yard of 34 Fairview Road. Special prosecutor Hank Brennan rested the state's case on Thursday, nearly two months after jury selection began. Brennan's final witness, Aperture crash reconstructionist Dr. Judson Welcher spent three days on the stand providing testimony on his findings supporting the state's allegations that Read fatally struck O'Keefe with her vehicle. He pointed to his own experimentation using a Lexus taillight and wet paint to illustrate how O'Keefe could have sustained the injuries to his arm, and he said that a "glancing" blow from the vehicle could explain why the victim didn't have typical car-strike injuries. "If you impact the hand with a 1-inch narrow metal bar, that's a lot different than if you have a broad, plastic taillight or rear body panel," Welcher said. "So when you have distributed loads, you can take much more." Read's defense team is set to begin presenting their case on Friday as attorneys Alan Jackson, David Yannetti and Robert Alessi look to sow doubt around the state's allegations, with Yannetti viewed as the strongest member of Read's team by experts. "David Yannetti is the best trial lawyer in the case," retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge and Boston College law professor Jack Lu told Fox News Digital, "with the possible exception of Brennan." Yannetti is a seasoned criminal defense attorney and has been with Read since before her first trial. "He has the range that Mr. Brennan might lack," Lu said. "Brennan, with all his spectacular talent, mostly has one speed, well, two speeds. Yannetti, an award-winning advocate since law school, has seen it all and fights for a position from which the defense can possibly salvage things." The defense will look to dismantle the state's case, which often pointed to Read's interviews with various news outlets, addressing the public in her own words. "So I thought, 'Could I have run him over?'" Read said in a 2024 interview with Investigation Discovery. "Did he try to get me as I was leaving and I didn't know it?" Read's legal team insists her vehicle never came in contact with O'Keefe while pointing to the possibility that something or someone else was responsible for the police officer's death. "And then when I hired David Yannetti, I asked him those questions," Read said in the same clip. "The night of Jan. 29, David, what if I ran his foot over? Or what if I clipped him in the knee and he passed out or went to care for himself and threw up or passed out? And David said, 'Yeah, then you have some element of culpability.'" Lu believes the primary goal for the defense team should be to humanize Read in a way that paints her in a favorable light to the jurors while taking aim at an alleged cover-up scheme by the Massachusetts Police Department. "The prosecutor has made her into a self-absorbed caricature," Lu told Fox News Digital, adding, "They must get into the hatred of her by [former investigator] Michael Proctor." Proctor is on the witness list, but it remains unclear whether the defense will put him on the stand. Prosecutors did not call him this time around after his testimony in the first trial saw jurors shaking their heads as they heard his inappropriate texts about Read in court. The case ended in a mistrial, and he lost his job days before the second trial kicked off. Read has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, she faces the possibility of life in prison for the most serious charge of second-degree murder. "Right now Ms. Read's legal case is badly wounded," Lu said. "Mr. Yannetti has the ability to charm the jury, fight the judge as needed, present the defense witnesses – some of whom are hostile – and in closing, inspire the jury."
CNN
2 days ago
- General
- CNN
Prosecution rests its case in retrial of Karen Read
FacebookTweetLink Follow 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.
