Latest news with #KarinaKolokithas
CBS News
4 days ago
- CBS News
Watch Live: Karen Read trial continues with full day of testimony from defense witnesses
The Karen Read trial is back in a Massachusetts courtroom today for a full day of testimony from defense witnesses. You can watch live coverage of the trial on the CBS News Boston livestream or in the video player above. There was no court on Thursday, partly because of hot weather. The air conditioning and fans inside Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham are noisy and can make it hard for jurors to hear what's being said. Judge Beverly Cannone said that after 27 days of testimony, both sides agree that the case is proceeding ahead of schedule. Karen Read trial latest The last witness to testify for the defense on Wednesday was Karina Kolokithas, who was at the Waterfall Bar & Grille with Read and John O'Keefe, hours before O'Keefe's death. Read is accused of hitting her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow in Canton after a night of heavy drinking in January 2022. Before Kolokithas took the stand, snowplow driver Brian "Lucky" Loughran testified that he never saw a body on the front lawn of 34 Fairview Road, the home formerly owned by Brian Albert, even though he made two passes by the address. During cross-examination, special prosecutor Hank Brennan asked Loughran if he was threatened by blogger Aidan Kearney, who writes under the name "Turtleboy." Loughran said he was not. Earlier in the week, Read's attorneys called for a mistrial during contentious cross-examination of Dr. Marie Russell, who testified that O'Keefe was attacked by a dog. The judge quickly rejected the request. How long will the Karen Read trial last? It's not clear how many witnesses the defense has left to call because a gag order prohibits lawyers from talking to the press. But Read said she expects the defense to rest on "Tuesday, give or take." Read's first trial ended in a mistrial due to a "starkly divided" hung jury. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of personal injury and death. Read's defense claims she is the victim of a coverup involving law enforcement and several others.
Fox News
4 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Karen Read denies noticing confrontation between deceased boyfriend and ATF agent hours before death
Shortly after her lawyers played video that appeared to show the late John O'Keefe and ATF Agent Brian Higgins gesturing aggressively at one another in a bar in Canton, Massachusetts, Karen Read told reporters she wasn't paying attention to the interaction. "The video speaks for itself," she said on her way to a waiting SUV on Thursday. Read is on trial for the second time in the January 2022 murder of her boyfriend, O'Keefe, a Boston police officer. "Do you think John and Brian Higgins were at odds?" a reporter asked her. "It appears that way," Read replied. "It appears that way." "Did you pick up on that, though?" the reporter pressed. "I mean, you were with John all night. Were they fighting? Did it seem like they were at each other's throats at all?" "I was not paying attention," Read replied. "As you can see, if you watch the full length of the Waterfall [Waterfall Bar and Grille] between the two trials, I was pretty much in that spot with [witness] Karina [Kolokithas]. We were there for about 90 minutes." "So you didn't notice that?" the reporter asked. "I didn't pick up on it," she said. Read was talking about Karina Kolokithas, a witness for the defense who was present at the Waterfall Bar and Grille in Canton in the hours before O'Keefe was last seen alive. Kolokithas testified that she saw a strange interaction between Jennifer McCabe, whose brother-in-law owns the home where O'Keefe would later be found dead, and Read as they were leaving, but she did not say anything about a fight between Higgins and O'Keefe. "This is exactly why she shouldn't talk about the case," said David Gelman, a Philadelphia-area defense attorney and former prosecutor who has warned for months that Read's public commentary could hurt her at trial. "The prosecution will certainly use this." On the other hand, Read appears on the video speaking with Kolokithas at length, as she told reporters. "She was having a great conversation with Kolokithas," said Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts trial attorney who is also following the case. Read, O'Keefe, Higgins and several other people who attended an after-party at the nearby home where the Boston police officer would later be found dead were seen on surveillance video at the bar as it was closing for the night. An interaction played in court that took place on their way out appears to show Higgins gesturing toward O'Keefe from across the room and another man, identified as Chris Albert, grabbing his arm. It happened less than an hour before she is accused of killing O'Keefe by striking him with the back corner of her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die on the ground in a blizzard outside Albert's brother's house at 34 Fairview Road. GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB Read's defense has denied her vehicle hit him and has been inviting witness testimony to illustrate other potential causes for his injuries, including a potential fight with Higgins, who was not charged with a crime but was carrying on a flirtatious relationship with Read behind O'Keefe's back. Prosecutors have alleged that investigators recovered from O'Keefe's clothes taillight pieces that matched the Lexus. Multiple witnesses testified that after his remains were found on Jan. 29, 2022, Read repeated the phrase "I hit him. I hit him. I hit him."
