Latest news with #JohnOKeeffe
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Mother of slain Boston police officer sends wordless message to Karen Read in courtroom showdown
John O'Keefe's mother sent a solemn message to Karen Read, his suspected killer, in court last week during her trial on murder and other charges, according to a body language expert. Read, 45, is accused of slamming into O'Keefe with her 2021 Lexus SUV and leaving him to die on the ground in a blizzard on Jan. 29, 2022. Her attorneys deny that a collision happened and assert that something else killed O'Keefe, a 46-year-old Boston police officer. Expert Witness In Karen Read Murder Trial Caught With 'Errors' Inflating His Credentials Throughout the bitter court battle of her second trial, the sides have been called to sidebar repeatedly as lawyers on both sides object to one another's questioning. As Read walked to the bench with her legal team, Peggy O'Keefe, seated every day front and center, gave the defendant a grim look, video shows. Read On The Fox News App WATCH: The prosecution team in Karen Read's trial shares 2024 TV interview "It was so overt that she didn't even hide it, because the mom shows every expression on her face throughout this trial," Susan Constantine, the expert, told Fox News Digital. "There's no love lost there. She does not like Karen Read, doesn't trust her, doesn't believe her, thinks she's killed her son." WATCH: Peggy O'Keefe glares at Karen Read during murder trial She called the look "stalker eyes" – like a lioness – and was a way of speaking to Read without saying a word, she said. "She was following her as if she was sending the message, 'I'm watching you, I see you, I'm following you,'" Constantine said. "She's doing what she normally would do as a protective mother." Karen Read Defense Grills Crash Expert Over $400K Price Tag And Experimentation Methods O'Keefe could not immediately be reached for comment. She was back in the front row, observing the proceedings, the next day. "She's the mother," Constantine said. "She has every right to believe what she believes." Who To Watch As Karen Read's Defense Steps Up To Plate – And It's Not Slugger Alan Jackson The relationship between O'Keefe and Read had been deteriorating in the weeks before his death, his niece, a juvenile, testified earlier. Texts between Read and a potential romantic rival, Brian Higgins, showed she complained about having to deal with O'Keefe's adopted children. He was caring for his young niece and nephew after their mother and father died within months of each other. Karen Read's Suv Reached '74% Throttle' Moments Before John O'keefe's Final Movements, Crash Expert Testifies Similar to O'Keefe, Karen Read's father, William Read, has been in court every day as both parents look to cement a sense of solidarity with their children. "The jury misses nothing about family and friend activity in the audience area," retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge and Boston College law professor Jack Lu told Fox News Digital. But in a stark contrast, Read's father has been mingling with her fans and chatting with the press in an apparent bid to win public sentiment over to his daughter. On Friday, he was seen shaking hands and posing for photos with her supporters shortly before arriving for the first day of the defense team's testimony. "I'm always the oldest one in these shots," he told the group as he smiled for the camera. "I guess it's better than the alternative, huh?" WATCH: Karen Read's father greets supporters outside daughter's trial Read's father's demeanor directly conflicts with the behavior of O'Keefe, with experts pointing to key differences between the parents. "He's very cordial," Constantine told Fox News Digital. "There's a stark contrast from the opposing side and [O'Keefe's] mom. [She] is distressed, angry and disgusted. The sneering and all that, we don't see in Karen Read's father at all. I mean he is certainly a trooper, standing in the gap for his daughter and he's standing strong." Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X William Read has frequently stopped to speak to reporters on the steps of the courthouse as his daughter's entourage is leaving for the day, and previously said he would like to be called as a witness in her trial. "What this state is doing is a persecution of Karen Read," her father said on the courthouse steps earlier this month. "And this collection of actors [and] witnesses is disgraceful." Constantine points to his confidence as another indicator of how the family feels about Read's case. "I think that he feels that he's got a great case," Constantine said. "They've obviously had great counsel, and you could tell that he feels very confident having his daughter being represented by this team. I think he feels that she's fairly represented." Hours after her father made his appearance with supporters outside the courthouse, Read spent Friday's lunch recess shaking hands and thanking those who came to show solidarity – a move that mirrors her own father. "You can see a lot of Karen in her father," Constantine said. "You could see that they were waving at everybody. I saw a picture of Karen [and] she's waving at everybody as the car's pulling up. It reminded me of Michael Jackson – he did the same thing in his case. But [William Read] was resting his arm out, and he's waving at everybody as if they're a celebrity. I don't think he is doing it in a showy way or in a narcissistic way at all. I see him as being very, very supportive and cordial with everyone, trying to connect with other people out there and Karen's supporters, and I think he's very appreciative of it."Original article source: Mother of slain Boston police officer sends wordless message to Karen Read in courtroom showdown
Fox News
4 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Mother of slain Boston police officer sends wordless message to Karen Read in courtroom showdown
John O'Keefe's mother sent a solemn message to Karen Read, his suspected killer, in court last week during her trial on murder and other charges, according to a body language expert. Read, 45, is accused of slamming into O'Keefe with her 2021 Lexus SUV and leaving him to die on the ground in a blizzard on Jan. 29, 2022. Her attorneys deny that a collision happened and assert that something else killed O'Keefe, a 46-year-old Boston police officer. Throughout the bitter court battle of her second trial, the sides have been called to sidebar repeatedly as lawyers on both sides object to one another's questioning. As Read walked to the bench with her legal team, Peggy O'Keefe, seated every day front and center, gave the defendant a grim look, video shows. WATCH: The prosecution team in Karen Read's trial shares 2024 TV interview "It was so overt that she didn't even hide it, because the mom shows every expression on her face throughout this trial," Susan Constantine, the expert, told Fox News Digital. "There's no love lost there. She does not like Karen Read, doesn't trust her, doesn't believe her, thinks she's killed her son." WATCH: Peggy O'Keefe glares at Karen Read during murder trial She called the look "stalker eyes" – like a lioness – and was a way of speaking to Read without saying a word, she said. "She was following her as if she was sending the message, 'I'm watching you, I see you, I'm following you,'" Constantine said. "She's doing what she normally would do as a protective mother." O'Keefe could not immediately be reached for comment. She was back in the front row, observing the proceedings, the next day. "She's the mother," Constantine said. "She has every right to believe what she believes." The relationship between O'Keefe and Read had been deteriorating in the weeks before his death, his niece, a juvenile, testified earlier. Texts between Read and a potential romantic rival, Brian Higgins, showed she complained about having to deal with O'Keefe's adopted children. He was caring for his young niece and nephew after their mother and father died within months of each other. Similar to O'Keefe, Karen Read's father, William Read, has been in court every day as both parents look to cement a sense of solidarity with their children. "The jury misses nothing about family and friend activity in the audience area," retired Massachusetts Superior Court Judge and Boston College law professor Jack Lu told Fox News Digital. But in a stark contrast, Read's father has been mingling with her fans and chatting with the press in an apparent bid to win public sentiment over to his daughter. On Friday, he was seen shaking hands and posing for photos with her supporters shortly before arriving for the first day of the defense team's testimony. "I'm always the oldest one in these shots," he told the group as he smiled for the camera. "I guess it's better than the alternative, huh?" WATCH: Karen Read's father greets supporters outside daughter's trial Read's father's demeanor directly conflicts with the behavior of O'Keefe, with experts pointing to key differences between the parents. "He's very cordial," Constantine told Fox News Digital. "There's a stark contrast from the opposing side and [O'Keefe's] mom. [She] is distressed, angry and disgusted. The sneering and all that, we don't see in Karen Read's father at all. I mean he is certainly a trooper, standing in the gap for his daughter and he's standing strong." William Read has frequently stopped to speak to reporters on the steps of the courthouse as his daughter's entourage is leaving for the day, and previously said he would like to be called as a witness in her trial. "What this state is doing is a persecution of Karen Read," her father said on the courthouse steps earlier this month. "And this collection of actors [and] witnesses is disgraceful." Constantine points to his confidence as another indicator of how the family feels about Read's case. "I think that he feels that he's got a great case," Constantine said. "They've obviously had great counsel, and you could tell that he feels very confident having his daughter being represented by this team. I think he feels that she's fairly represented." Hours after her father made his appearance with supporters outside the courthouse, Read spent Friday's lunch recess shaking hands and thanking those who came to show solidarity – a move that mirrors her own father. "You can see a lot of Karen in her father," Constantine said. "You could see that they were waving at everybody. I saw a picture of Karen [and] she's waving at everybody as the car's pulling up. It reminded me of Michael Jackson – he did the same thing in his case. But [William Read] was resting his arm out, and he's waving at everybody as if they're a celebrity. I don't think he is doing it in a showy way or in a narcissistic way at all. I see him as being very, very supportive and cordial with everyone, trying to connect with other people out there and Karen's supporters, and I think he's very appreciative of it."
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Brain surgeon testifies John O'Keefe died from fall on frozen ground in Karen Read trial
John O'Keefe died from falling backwards and hitting his head on frozen ground, according to a Yale-educated brain surgeon who testified Wednesday in the murder trial of Karen Read. Read, 45, is accused of killing her then-boyfriend, the 46-year-old O'Keefe, by hitting him with her 2021 Lexus SUV on Jan. 29, 2022, then leaving him to die on the ground in a blizzard in Canton, Massachusetts, about 20 miles south of Boston. The head trauma and skull fractures he sustained, coupled with hypothermia from the cold, would not have killed him immediately, according to Dr. Aizik Wolf, who testified he treated many similar injuries in his career working in Minneapolis. "The only way he could get this kind of an injury was to fall backwards, hit the back of his head, and then the resulting energy forces going into his brain, into the base of his skull," he told the jury during questioning from special prosecutor Hank Brennan. Karen Read Trial Witness Faces Brutal Cross-examination Over Vehicle Data O'Keefe suffered "a classic blunt-trauma injury," Wolf said. Read On The Fox News App O'Keefe fell backwards and hit his head, Wolf said, and the force of the impact fractured his skull and later resulted in "raccoon eyes," which look like black eyes. "This is what happens when soft tissue hits a solid ground," he testified. Swelling in the victim's brain would have killed him under normal circumstances, usually within 24 to 48 hours, according to Wolf. Some victims have died in as little as one to three. In the January nor'easter, O'Keefe's body temperature also tanked. When paramedics found him at 6 a.m., his temperature was just 80 degrees, below the threshold for what medical professionals call "severe hypothermia." Wolf said he treated many patients with similar injuries early in his career, when he worked in a Minneapolis trauma center. The city can be brutally cold during winter. Many of the wounds were fatal. Some were inflicted on drunken patients who slipped on the ice. Others involved people who fell over after suffering a heart attack. "This testimony from Dr. Wolf sets up the commonwealth's argument for count 2, the involuntary manslaughter charge," said Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts defense attorney who is following the case. "The commonwealth will argue to the jury that if they cannot find that Karen Read caused John O'Keefe's death intentionally, counts 1 and 3, then her driving or sideswipe of him and then leaving him injured was the wanton and reckless act, which contributed to his death, then they should find Karen Read guilty of count 2." Expert Witness In Karen Read Murder Trial Caught With 'Errors' Inflating His Credentials According to Wolf's bio at the Miami Neuroscience Center, he is a world-leading authority in his field and the clinic's director. A short cross-examination by defense attorney Robert Alessi discussed separate injuries that O'Keefe sustained, which were not connected to the head trauma that killed him. State Trooper Points To Possible Weapon In John O'keefe Death – And It's Not Karen Read's Car "I thought Attorney Alessi did a good job redirecting Dr. Wolf from the back of the head to the front of the head and eliciting testimony that those injuries were likely not from a fall," Edwards told Fox News Digital. "This supports the defense theory that John O'Keefe was not hit by a vehicle and suggests it was something else because of the laceration to his face and the injuries to the arm, and the investigation did not pursue any other leads to determine how John O'Keefe sustained those injuries." Wolf started the day on the stand. After his testimony, Christina Hanley of the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab returned to the witness stand. She is an expert on glass and plastic fragments who analyzed the broken cocktail glass found outside 34 Fairview Road and on the back bumper of Read's Lexus SUV, as well as pieces of the broken taillight. Follow The Fox True Crime Team On X Her testimony had been interrupted at the early end of the day on Tuesday. She said Wednesday afternoon that some of the plastic debris recovered from O'Keefe's clothing was "consistent" with the materials used in Read's Lexus but could have come from another source with similar characteristics. During cross-examination, she revealed that none of the broken glass on Read's bumper matched the shattered cocktail glass found in the yard near O'Keefe. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE True Crime Hub Defense attorney Alan Jackson had her explain that the only thing any of the bumper glass matched was a glass sample recovered by former Trooper Michael Proctor, who was fired in March after an internal probe into inappropriate text messages he sent during the investigation. Earlier in the trial, the defense played video showing Proctor standing near the rear of the vehicle, out of camera view, while it was at the Canton Police Department headquarters. Proctor, through his family, has maintained that his investigation was in line with the evidence and conducted with integrity. Read could face life in prison if convicted of the top charge, second-degree murder. She is also accused of drunken driving, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a deadly accident. Fox News' Andrew Fone contributed to this article source: Brain surgeon testifies John O'Keefe died from fall on frozen ground in Karen Read trial
Fox News
22-05-2025
- Fox News
Brain surgeon testifies John O'Keefe died from fall on frozen ground in Karen Read trial
John O'Keefe died from falling backwards and hitting his head on frozen ground, according to a Yale-educated brain surgeon who testified Wednesday in the murder trial of Karen Read. Read, 45, is accused of killing her then-boyfriend, the 46-year-old O'Keefe, by hitting him with her 2021 Lexus SUV on Jan. 29, 2022, then leaving him to die on the ground in a blizzard in Canton, Massachusetts, about 20 miles south of Boston. The head trauma and skull fractures he sustained, coupled with hypothermia from the cold, would not have killed him immediately, according to Dr. Aizik Wolf, who testified he treated many similar injuries in his career working in Minneapolis. "The only way he could get this kind of an injury was to fall backwards, hit the back of his head, and then the resulting energy forces going into his brain, into the base of his skull," he told the jury during questioning from special prosecutor Hank Brennan. O'Keefe suffered "a classic blunt-trauma injury," Wolf said. O'Keefe fell backwards and hit his head, Wolf said, and the force of the impact fractured his skull and later resulted in "raccoon eyes," which look like black eyes. "This is what happens when soft tissue hits a solid ground," he testified. Swelling in the victim's brain would have killed him under normal circumstances, usually within 24 to 48 hours, according to Wolf. Some victims have died in as little as one to three. In the January nor'easter, O'Keefe's body temperature also tanked. When paramedics found him at 6 a.m., his temperature was just 80 degrees, below the threshold for what medical professionals call "severe hypothermia." Wolf said he treated many patients with similar injuries early in his career, when he worked in a Minneapolis trauma center. The city can be brutally cold during winter. Many of the wounds were fatal. Some were inflicted on drunken patients who slipped on the ice. Others involved people who fell over after suffering a heart attack. "This testimony from Dr. Wolf sets up the commonwealth's argument for count 2, the involuntary manslaughter charge," said Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts defense attorney who is following the case. "The commonwealth will argue to the jury that if they cannot find that Karen Read caused John O'Keefe's death intentionally, counts 1 and 3, then her driving or sideswipe of him and then leaving him injured was the wanton and reckless act, which contributed to his death, then they should find Karen Read guilty of count 2." According to Wolf's bio at the Miami Neuroscience Center, he is a world-leading authority in his field and the clinic's director. A short cross-examination by defense attorney Robert Alessi discussed separate injuries that O'Keefe sustained, which were not connected to the head trauma that killed him. "I thought Attorney Alessi did a good job redirecting Dr. Wolf from the back of the head to the front of the head and eliciting testimony that those injuries were likely not from a fall," Edwards told Fox News Digital. "This supports the defense theory that John O'Keefe was not hit by a vehicle and suggests it was something else because of the laceration to his face and the injuries to the arm, and the investigation did not pursue any other leads to determine how John O'Keefe sustained those injuries." Wolf started the day on the stand. After his testimony, Christina Hanley of the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab returned to the witness stand. She is an expert on glass and plastic fragments who analyzed the broken cocktail glass found outside 34 Fairview Road and on the back bumper of Read's Lexus SUV, as well as pieces of the broken taillight. Her testimony had been interrupted at the early end of the day on Tuesday. She said Wednesday afternoon that some of the plastic debris recovered from O'Keefe's clothing was "consistent" with the materials used in Read's Lexus but could have come from another source with similar characteristics. During cross-examination, she revealed that none of the broken glass on Read's bumper matched the shattered cocktail glass found in the yard near O'Keefe. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB Defense attorney Alan Jackson had her explain that the only thing any of the bumper glass matched was a glass sample recovered by former Trooper Michael Proctor, who was fired in March after an internal probe into inappropriate text messages he sent during the investigation. Earlier in the trial, the defense played video showing Proctor standing near the rear of the vehicle, out of camera view, while it was at the Canton Police Department headquarters. Proctor, through his family, has maintained that his investigation was in line with the evidence and conducted with integrity. Read could face life in prison if convicted of the top charge, second-degree murder. She is also accused of drunken driving, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a deadly accident.
